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Deck oven offers consistency for Zeelandia

16 January 2023

Zeelandia UK has invested in a deck oven to bring enhanced consistency, capacity and energy efficiency to its technical centre in Colchester.

Zeelandia supplies bakery ingredients and formulates recipes for a variety of customers around the world. It works collaboratively with its customers to provide a diverse range of solutions tailored to local tastes, including bread mixes, bread improvers, fermented product, pastry base mixes, fillings, coatings, release agents and divider oils.

When the existing oven at its testing centre – which was more than 30 years old – started to deteriorate in performance, Zeelandia set out to find a replacement. Andrew Taylor, product development manager at Zeelandia takes up the story:  “We began to see that steam generation was ad hoc, we had hot spots and cold spots, and the baking area was too close to the door, so the product wasn’t baking properly, and results were inconsistent.”

After carrying out research to find a quality replacement, the team opted for a MIWE Condo 5-deck 1208 oven from EPP. “We use MIWE ovens across the test bakeries in the Royal Zeelandia Group, so we knew they are well built and are able to stand the test of time.”
added Taylor. “We were looking for an oven that would last many years, be cost effective in use, provide reliable steam generation, and deliver a consistent bake wherever the product is placed. We wanted no cold spots, and glass doors to enable us to see the product baking. With Zeelandia now one of the largest manufactures of mincemeat in the UK we were also looking for an oven that could also bake sweet pies and cakes as well as bread.” The new oven has three high crown decks and two low crown decks especially for sweet products.

Overcoming challenges
The installation was not without its challenges, as the oven was installed as a whole unit, with its size causing logistical problems. A door frame and section of the wall above the door had to be taken out in order to remove the old oven and replace it. Once this was achieved, EPP’s engineers were able to connect the oven and set up for use in under a day. The MIWE condo provided by EPP features a powerful steam device with steam-proof casing for intensive steam and a good crust. It has separate insulation for each oven deck delivering energy savings, and a new door seal delivers superior steam use and better climate in the bakehouse.

“Energy costs are always a factor, but especially today,” continued Taylor. “The new oven has an eco mode which reduces the amount of energy needed in between bakes, cutting back on the amount of electricity needed. This was very important to us when choosing the oven. This new oven will help us with this growth and enable the amount of test baking to increase along with customer visits to our test facility. It will allow us to explore bakery alongside our customers, with the best and most consistent results possible.”

The oven has been put to immediate use, with good results. “The oven is performing better than expected with amazing heat transfer and consistent end baked results. Zeelandia plan to work with EPP on future growth plans and projects in the test bakery and beyond,” concluded Taylor.


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