News
Coolmore Foods takes the ‘next step’ with Auto-Bake’s convection
June, 6 2007
Ireland’s leading manufacturer of premium quality baked goods, Coolmore Foods, has increased its baking capacity by 50 per cent after adopting innovative Serpentine continuous convection baking technology from industrial baking experts, Auto-Bake. Located in Lauragh industrial estate, West Cork, republic of Ireland, Coolmore Foods has been producing a range of home-style cakes, muffins and deep-fill fruit pies for nearly 20 years. Now Ireland’s largest specialty cake and muffin producer, the company has found it increasingly challenging to meet strong demand, particularly in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. It recently became apparent that Coolmore Foods needed to make the transition from its existing rack oven-based operation to a higher-throughput continuous baking system.
According to Shea O’Dwyer, Coolmore Foods owner and managing director, Auto-Bake’s Serpentine continuous baking technology offered the ideal solution. It has increased production, while maintaining the home-style flavour and appearance of the company’s products. “Our daily production capacity has grown from 7,000 to 14,000 cakes per shift, thanks to the throughput capabilities of the Auto-Bake system,” said O’Dwyer. “It has allowed us to take the ‘next step’ production-wise, while reducing labour costs and streamlining the entire baking process.”
At the heart of the new Auto-Bake line is an ultra-compact Serpentine convection oven. “It was crucial that the new oven was equipped with convection heating technology to ensure the all-over finish, colour and texture of our home-style products is maintained,” O’Dwyer said. He added that the oven successfully bakes the full breadth of Coolmore Foods’ cake, muffin and fruit pie range to perfection.
“Auto-Bake worked very closely with Coolmore Foods to tailor a baking solution, enabling us to maintain the product quality and consistency that our customers have become accustomed to,” he said.
In addition to the Serpentine convection oven, the complete Auto-Bake baking line comprises a Serpentine ambient cooler, loading and unloading systems, and robotic de-panning equipment. The company’s flexible ‘free tray’ transport interface has enabled Coolmore Foods to retain its existing rack oven trays for use in the new continuous baking line.
“Being able to use our existing trays was not only a cost saving, but it also meant that the whole Auto-Bake system integrates seamlessly with our ancillary equipment,” O’Dwyer said. “It has made the transition from rack oven to continuous baking even more straightforward.”
The unrivalled compactness of Auto-Bake Serpentine ovens and baking systems are the result of the ingenious vertical ‘S-shaped’ configuration transport system. This allows product to be conveyed horizontally through numerous precision-controlled convection zones, and results in an oven that occupies approximately one-tenth of the footprint of legacy tunnel oven technology. “Additional floor space was saved at Coolmore Foods by incorporating the Serpentine transport path into the ambient cooler component of the Auto-Bake line,” said Auto-Bake UK/Europe sales manager, Robert Done.
Taking just six months from conception to installation, Coolmore Foods’ new baking system was commissioned in only two weeks. The baking system underwent extensive testing and trial bakes at Auto-Bake in Sydney, Australia, before being shipped to Ireland, and has been operating without incident. “The ability to trouble-shoot and test before shipping dramatically reduces the time spent commissioning on-site,” said Done.
“Coolmore Foods has been highly impressed by the quality of Auto-Bake’s engineering, customer service and attention to detail,” said O’Dwyer. “The performance of the Serpentine convection baking system has enabled us to meet the escalating market demand for our product, while maintaining product consistency. In fact, based on our new production capabilities, Coolmore Foods has recently been awarded a new international supply contract. We couldn’t be happier with our Auto-Bake solution.” Visit Auto-Bake at IBIE 2007 to learn more about the company’s range of energy-efficient, flexible and compact Serpentine baking solutions: stand 4025, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA, 7 to 10 October 2007.
