Innovation rife at IBA

A staggering 77,000 people went through the doors at last month’s IBA exhibition in Munich, Germany.

This extravaganza of bakery was sooo big we thought we would extend our coverage in this online feature. But, if you want even more, you can check out the feature in the 2 October issue of British Baker.

Here we look at some of the other companies that caught our eye – and also look at the lighter side of the show.

Aichinger

The shop is your selling tool. That was the key message from Wolfgang Kuhn of Aichinger, which was showing off its fridge counter with a glass top, a refrigerated cabinet and its vario-flip counter top. “Every shop we refurbish has more than 30% more sales,” he added.

Brook Food Processing

Brook Food Processing has been manufacturing confectionery machinery for nearly 15 years since purchasing Yorkshire-based Bell Perkins. It rebranded its manufacturing division in 2010 to Reach Food Systems and now exports a wide range of machinery globally via a network of distributors.

IBA 2015 in Munich saw the company exhibit on a larger scale than ever before, with a 100sqm stand, dedicated to showcasing its latest equipment developments. Highlights from the range included the newly launched Ultrasonic Cake Cutter, which was unveiled for the very first time at IBA. The Ultrasonic Cutter is a fully computerised cutting-edge model which is capable of managing sticky and difficult products, an exclusive feature of which is the ability to cut products up to 760mm long. Other machines from the range included the Industrial Multihead Pneumatic depositor, versatile cake decorating and bespoke production lines and an industrial chocolate and fondant enrober. The equipment all draws on the facility to manufacture equipment specifically to suit the end-product.

Rademaker

The Dutch-based baking machinery supplier said it had seen an increase in interest from the UK for its artisan bread lines. Gerard Muermans, commercial director, said the company was increasingly being called on to offer a “one-stop shop solution” for its customers. It offers 24-hour engineer support and Muermans said that, in eight out of 10 cases, it could solve problems remotely.

Revent

For Revent, one of the main highlights of its IBA show was its range of One ovens, which are circular in design. They come with triple-glazed glass doors which offer space-saving solutions. The company hopes the round oven will become to bakers what the smartphone has become to the world of communication.

Bosch

At Bosch, the main focus was its new Pack 301 LS machine for the flow-wrapping of biscuits on edge. The manufacturer said its new machine had a modular build, so was scalable depending on the size of the business. It also had a hygienic composition for ease of cleaning.

Rondo

The Swiss baking engineering firm was another company with an extremely busy stand. In particular its Cromaster, a new croissant line, drew the crowds. The Cromaster can have an hourly output between 4,000 (two-row production) and 24,000 croissants (eight-row production) per hour. Plus, it has an adjustable curling unit, which allows for the production of both firm and loose curled croissants. Richard Tearle, general manager at Rondo, said the company had also completely upgraded the internal components of its MLC smart line machines.

Arla

The company was showing off its range of whey protein egg replacers and had an emphasis on snacking and the gluten-free markets. John Gelley, sales manager for North America, said the business had seen a great growth in the region as it tapped into consumer trends over there. Lars Vestergaard Nielsen, marketing communications manager, added: “We know that 45% of consumers snack daily and we know that 92% of US consumers snack daily and we have reacted to that.” It was showing a new Snack Cake solution which contained up to 10% whey protein and 200mg of calcium in a 21g serving, with only 100 calories.

American Pan

Also exhibiting at IBA was American Pan, the family-owned group from the US, which has recently acquired Clean Bake. For Shaun Hughes, managing director, the link-up with American Pan means the company can now offer a greater array of solutions for its bakeware customers. He also said that new technology from American Pan meant customers could bake for longer without replacing or refurbishing their trays and tins. William Bundy, vice-president – sales and marketing development, said: “Every application and every product has the perfect coating for it. Some are perfect for Teflon, but others are perfect for a glaze.” Hughes also said that a recent customer had sent four pallets of scrap tins to American Pan and the company had been able to recover 60% of them for reuse.

Bakels

Bakels was showing off its innovative Baking Industry Awards finalist product. Renowned for its business-to-business products, the company has been winning plaudits and contracts for its Gluten Free Multiseed Home Baking Bread Mix. Each pack retails at £2.99 and makes one 500g loaf. The company has been having a lot of success via Amazon with the mix. James Millward, chief operating officer of British Bakels, said the company had also grown its multiseed sales.

Koma

The refrigeration giant was showing off its H80/20 range for smaller bakeries or restaurants. Also proving popular was its Triple Runner, its high-capacity space-saving, multi-level continuous belt freezer. The company claims the Triple Runner reduces the footprint of the machinery and is consistent with its ‘innovate, don’t imitate’ mantra.