It's a familiar refrain: the weak economy is driving companies to look for ways to cut costs. For those purchasing ovens, one particular feature is gaining momentum. Daniel Lago, C.E.O., Revent Inc., Piscataway, N.J., cites energy efficiency as the top concern, as bakers focus on more than just sticker price.

“Our key customers are starting to look at not just the cost of the oven, but they are factoring in the cost of ownership into their investment decision,” he explains. “By doing this, they learn that paying more might often be the best alternative when investing in ovens. For a rack oven, the difference in cost of ownership between different makes can be several thousand dollars per year.”

In response, oven manufacturers are examining and redesigning their product lines in order to offer clients the most efficient models.

“High energy costs have led us to work on reducing the fuel consumption of our rack ovens,” says Alan Crosley, marketing coordinator, Empire Bakery Equipment, Hicksville, N.Y. “The latest model of our double rack oven consumes only 200,000 BTUs per hour as compared to our older models and other brands that fire as high as 350,000 BTUs per hour or more.”

“Gemini continues to work on ways to provide an oven that is more fuel efficient and more flexible,” says Mark Rosenberg, C.E.O., Gemini Baking Equipment Co., Philadelphia. “We can provide an oven that can be either oil- or gas-fired and normally expect energy savings of as much as 20 percent in comparison to most direct-fired ovens as well as 10 to 15 percent savings to most competitive indirect-fired ovens.”

Despite this new push for money-saving models, the oven industry hasn't been badly affected by the post-recession economy, Crosley believes.

“In some respects, the weak economy has actually proven beneficial for us,” he says. “The slowdown has forced all business owners, including our customers, to look for ways to trim excess spending. We're showing them that by replacing their old, inefficient oven with a new deck or rack oven, they can save significantly on fuel costs. Some even find that they are saving more in fuel than the lease payment itself, and they are actually able to return money to their bottom line.”

GREEN DESIGN

The Henry Group's indirect gas-fired Turbo Therm tunnel oven is extremely versatile and energy efficient. The design of the air turbulence system in the bake chamber allows the oven to operate at lower temperatures and provide faster bake times. An integrated catalytic oxidizer uses the latent heat energy of the ethanol oxidation process to improve baking efficiency for a typical reduction of 13 percent to 20 percent of fuel consumption.

The Henry Group
800 356 7591 www.thehenrygroup.com

STONE HEARTH DECK OVENS

WernerPfleiderer Matador Stone Hearth Deck ovens are constructed with stringent quality standards: strong, robust, even-heating system (no rotations necessary) with quick recovery for 24-hour per day production. NAVIGO controls ensure precise baking and steaming. WP Matador offers energy saving technology — up to a 30 percent savings compared to similar oven types.

WP Bakery Group
203 929 6530 www.wpbakerygroup.com

ACHIEVE AN EVEN BAKE

AMF Bakery Systems offers its new Vesta A-70 tray oven for bread and rolls. The Vesta A-70 is a direct-fired gas oven with triple zone burners, far side sensing and an automated DSI system. The Vesta A-70 features include stainless-steel paneling, VFD-controlled exhaust and dual-drive options. High density insulation and precise burner control increases energy efficiency. A new Parallel Link chain monitoring system ensures longer chain life and less downtime. The Product Trac system tracks product versus burner location to eliminate flash heat, resulting in extremely even baking.

AMF Bakery Systems 800 225 3771 www.amfbakery.com