If you remember the amazing voice of the late, great Roy Orbison, singing "dream, dream, dream" in his famous song aptly entitled ’Dreams’, you’ll know how to pronounce the name of new company DrieM.

It’s not just the name that is new. The novel design of the company’s sheeted dough line has just been patented and the machine will make its debut at IBA. But British Baker has had a peek at the plans and met Henk Hoppenbrouwer (sales and accounting) who, together with Nigel Morris (technology and sales) and Jan Vermeulen (engineering and project management), formed DrieM in January of this year.

They put their plans to the Kaak Group in the Netherlands, which was impressed enough to back them and make DrieM one of its subsidiaries. And if the name Nigel Morris sounds vaguely familiar, his father and uncle ran bakery and food processing equipment company European Process Plant before they retired.

Morris married a Dutch girl, settled in the Netherlands, and DrieM is the result of combining three different people with diverse talents, who make up the new DrieM company. Hoppenbrouwer says: "The Dutch word for three is Drie and we felt like the three ’musketeers’ with this pioneering project, hence ’Drie M’."

Knowing that, readers will not be surprised to learn the name of the new dough sheeter: D’Artagnan. Hoppenbrouwer says: "Before proceeding with our design, we sat down with key buyers and asked what is important?"

The end-result is an automated dough sheeter, designed to process up to 3,200kg of dough per hour for artisan-style breads - ciabatta, baguettes, bloomers, pain de campagne and pizza bases. A key attribute is that a wide range of viscosities can be processed, ranging from a fine to an open structure.

The thickness of the dough is set by the gaps between three sets of rollers, but in the DrieM system, the centre set of rollers can be offset to help control flow, thus minimising stress damage. A ’dynamic system’ moves back and forth to maintain consistent dough flow. Importantly, all dough levers are cantilevered, with horizontal mounting of the reduction rollers, so bakers can directly see the action.

Cleaning prioritised

Also noteworthy, says Hoppenbrouwer, is the construction, because hygiene and ease of cleaning have been prioritised. Separate doors open, which stops the line, and there are no screws to loosen. Hoppenbrouwer says that, normally with bread doughs, fouling goes everywhere, which causes downtime.

Hoppenbrouwer adds: "The D’Artagnan is aimed at quality-conscious manufacturers who want to make straight-end or rounded-end artisanal-style products. French regions prefer an open and uniform dough, whereas the Spanish prefer a more open and random style; with this machine you can choose. Customers wanting round-shaped loaves can integrate a Benier rounder, with Kaak Group being the only known company to offer both technologies separate or integrated."

He adds that the machine is simple to set up, and calibrate via a PC panel. The operator only needs to change the cutting rollers and guillotine blade.

The final dough sheet is 600mm wide. A non-fraying Ameraal belt transports the dough and there is a modem connection for remote diagnostics.

The three ’musketeers’ are naturally hoping that DrieM’s new dough sheeting line will cut a swathe through the existing market. Make up your own mind at IBA or contact UK supplier David Marsh at Benier UK, to see it in action at Kaak Group’s headquarters.