In 2013, the bakery invested in a thermal oil deck oven line primarily designed for bread production. The installation consisted of two 12-deck thermal oil ovens operated by a single loader. The entire production concept was optimised for high-volume bread baking.
Changes in Consumer Behaviour
Over the past decade, significant demographic changes have occurred across European households.
The proportion of single-person households has increased considerably, while the average household size continues to decline.
As a result, demand for large bread loaves has decreased, while demand for smaller bakery products has grown. Products such as mini baguettes, bread rolls, buns and specialty bakery items require significantly shorter baking times and place much higher demands on production flexibility and oven utilisation.
IMPLEMENTED SOLUTION
In response to these market developments, the bakery decided to replace the existing thermal oil deck ovens with a new generation of thermal oil baking technology.
The key technical and operational improvements included:
- Replacing a production line consisting of two ovens served by one loader with a configuration where each oven is equipped with its own dedicated loader.
- Enabling 100% utilisation of each oven, even when producing smaller products with short baking cycles.
- Increasing production flexibility, allowing each oven to be configured independently for different products and recipes, enabling a faster response to changing market demand.
- Equipping the ovens with the TopCrust system, which provides accelerated steam evacuation after steaming.
RESULTS AND BENEFITS
1. Increased Productivity and Flexibility
- Dedicated operation of each oven and independent production scheduling significantly improved overall productivity.
- Production planning can now be adapted more effectively to market demand without compromising oven utilisation. While the previous setup was optimised for large volumes of a single product category (bread), the new system enables efficient parallel production of multiple smaller bakery products.
2. Improved Capacity Utilisation
- When producing smaller products, the previous oven configuration often resulted in underutilised baking capacity. The new setup eliminates this issue, ensuring that oven capacity is used more efficiently.
- As a result, ovens are no longer heated unnecessarily without generating corresponding output, contributing to lower energy consumption.
3. Better Alignment with Market Trends
- The bakery has successfully adapted to demographic changes and the growing demand for individually portioned bakery products.
- The new configuration also supports faster product innovation and testing of new recipes without disrupting core production processes
4. Workforce Optimisation
- Although the number of loaders increased compared to the previous configuration, responsibilities are now distributed more effectively and specialised according to individual production lines.
- Operators can focus more on product quality and process supervision rather than managing the entire system simultaneously.
CONSLUSION
The replacement of the existing thermal oil deck ovens delivered significant improvements in production flexibility, operational efficiency and responsiveness to market demand. By implementing independently operated ovens with dedicated loaders, the bakery addressed not only technological challenges but also broader consumer and demographic trends. The project has proven to be a key step in maintaining competitiveness in a market increasingly driven by demand for smaller, fresher and more diverse bakery products.
