Bakery ingredients supplier Zeelandia UK has invested in a MIWE condo deck oven for its Essex-based technical centre.
The five-deck oven will be used for baking breads, pies, cakes and other sweet products, and will be a key part of Zeelandia’s work in developing and testing bakery ideas.
It is a replacement for the existing oven at the Colchester technical centre, which was more than 30 years old and had begun to deteriorate in performance.
“We began to see that steam generation was ad hoc, we had hot spots and cold spots, and the baking area was too close to the door, so the product wasn’t baking properly, and results were very inconsistent,” said Zeelandia product development manager Andrew Taylor.
After carrying out research to find a replacement, the team opted for a MIWE Condo 5-deck 1208 oven.
“We were looking for an oven that would last many years, be cost effective in use, provide reliable steam generation, and deliver a consistent bake wherever the product is placed,” said Taylor. “We wanted no cold spots, and glass doors to enable us to see the product baking.”
The MIWE condo, which was supplied by European Process Plant Ltd (EPP), features a steam device with steam-proof casing for intensive steam. It also has separate insulation for each oven deck to deliver energy savings, and a new door seal for superior steam use and better climate in the bakehouse.
“Energy costs are always a factor, but especially so at this time,” said Taylor. “The MIWE Condo has an eco mode that reduces the amount of energy needed in between bakes, cutting back on the amount of electricity needed.”
Zeelandia acquired fillings specialist John Morley last year and is now one of the largest manufactures of mincemeat in the UK, and wanted an oven that could bake sweet pies and cakes as well as bread.
“The new oven has three high crown decks and two low crown decks especially for sweet products,” added Taylor.
Zeelandia said the installation was not without its challenges, as a door frame and section of the wall had to be taken out to remove the old oven and replace it. Once this was done, EPP’s engineers connected the oven and set up for use in under a day, with the oven put to immediate use.
“The oven is performing better than expected with amazing heat transfer and consistent end baked results,” added Taylor.
No comments yet