Baking & Snack - May 2007 - 42

I N N O VAT I O N S

ᮢ This hybrid air
impingement oven is
50 ft long, and a
variable-speed drive
allows it to accommodate bake times
ranging from
30 seconds to more
than three hours.
C.H. BABB CO. INC.

and anything in between," according to Mr. Murphy. All
of the centers have the ability to mix dough, sheet/shape
proof and bake finished proudct for final evaluation. A
significant number of US bakers travel to these European test facilities.
Other companies also have test facilities around the
world. Rheon operates 11 test labs at its headquarters
in Utsunomiya, Japan, and another in Düsseldorf,
Germany. "These facilities are testing and perfecting
products and formulations on equipment available
to our customers," Mr. Thompson said. "If they want,
they could come to Japan and test in our facility there,
as well as see our manufacturing sites and learn what
Rheon is all about."
Rademaker, which has a North American office in
Hudson, OH, opened the Rademaker Technology Center (RTC) at its headquarters in Culemborg, The Netherlands, in January 2005. The RTC offers a wide variety
of testing equipment including a 3-section laminator
with a fat pump feeding a makeup line that can be fitted with a variety of tools to make a wide range of
products including a vision and bending system for
croissants, its Crusto bread line, a Rademaker Multibake D direct gas-fired oven, a Rademaker Multibake
I impingement oven, a full complement of Rademaker
depositing equipment and more.
The 13,650-sq-ft RTC has five full-time test bakers, as
well as three service bakers. "Companies usually want to
use the testing lab because they do not have R&D labs or
cannot use their full-scale production lines for testing new
products," said Eric Riggle, vice-president, Rademaker
USA. "Many times we have equipment available that our
clients do not have in their program, and this gives them
the ability to test our new equipment and processes."
MAKING APPOINTMENTS. Clients and perspective
clients of Rademaker can use the facilities free of charge,

46 / BAKING & SNACK / May 2007

ᮡ This testing center offers two different ovens that bakers can use to finish
their products.
RADEMAKER

but they will generally need to schedule it about two
months in advance. "All a client needs to do is contact
their Rademaker representative to go over the details
of the trial, handle the scheduling of such, coordinate
shipment of ingredients and then make the flight to
Culemborg," Mr. Riggle said.
Bakeries interested in visiting the Rheon USA testing facility at its Irvine, CA, sales office generally need
to make an appointment two to three weeks in advance,
according to Mr. Thompson, who noted that the testing
center "has probably helped us sell more equipment than
any other thing we have ever done."
Dunbar Systems' test bakery also is free of charge to
any customer who is considering purchasing an AutoBake Serpentine Baking System. Bakers need to contact the Dunbar System sales staff generally two to four
weeks in advance, depending on the availability of personnel and supplies required for the test bake, Mr. Diver
said. Two full-time employees are dedicated to the operation of Dunbar's test facility, and a number of expert
bakers are available to profile customers' products and
formulations to ensure optimal success on the serpentine system. "Our experts will work with our customers
to adjust the formulation and bake times required to
produce a superior product on our innovative system,"
Mr. Diver added. "Typically, a customer will come to us
with a formula for their product already in place. Then,
our master bakers will work with the customer to adjust
the product formulation and bake times to best fit the
customer's product needs."
Bakers wanting to use the Groff Technical Center will
pay either a daily or weekly rate to rent the facility, Mr.
Zvoncheck said. Typically, the company requires at least a
month lead time to schedule time at the center; however,
a backlog of bookings currently would have that closer
to two months. Customers generally will ship their own
ingredients and packaging supplies, but the center can
source ingredients locally if it is not something special to
their region or proprietary.

Baking & Snack - May 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - May 2007