75 years of the Central College of the German Confectionery Industry (ZDS): Competence centre for the confectionery industry celebrates anniversary

Solingen, 28 January 2026 – The Central College for the Confectionery Industry (ZDS) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Since its foundation, the ZDS has established itself as a unique educational and training institution for the confectionery industry and continues to play a central role in training the next generation of German industry professionals.

With a range of courses tailored to the information needs of confectionery manufacturers, the ZDS stands for the highest quality in training and further education. In addition to modern training rooms, six technical centres are also available. In these technical centres, confectionery can be produced manually and on pilot plants. This infrastructure is also popular with ZDS members, who use it with the support of ZDS confectionery experts for raw material suitability tests and product development measures. In addition to state-recognised training courses, the extensive range of educational programmes also offers individualised further training formats for member companies, both in face-to-face, digital and hybrid formats. In addition, workshops, seminars and conferences are offered in several languages. CHOCOTEC has thus developed into the European industry meeting place for the chocolate-processing confectionery industry.
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‘This anniversary is an opportunity for us to look back with pride on our history and at the same time look ahead to the future,’ says Andreas Bertram, Executive Board Member. ‘Our aim has always been to actively support the positive development of the confectionery industry with contemporary educational programmes.’

Close cooperation with companies, associations, research institutions and universities makes the ZDS a key network partner for the industry. In addition to developing professional expertise, strategic exchange with cooperation partners is also playing an increasingly important role, enabling the ZDS to further expand its profile as a modern education provider for the industry.

About the ZDS

The Central Technical College of the German Confectionery Industry (ZDS), based in Solingen, is a renowned educational institution for the confectionery industry. In addition to centralised training as a confectionery technologist and courses for industrial master confectioners, it offers numerous other training and further education formats, such as food technology machine and plant operator, and has stood for industry-oriented training and further education excellence since 1951. Its educational offerings accompany industry participants throughout their professional lives. True to the motto ‘Once ZDS, always ZDS’.