Cesar Zelaya, Handtmann bakery sales and technology manager, has announced the expansion of testing and training opportunities for US and Canadian customers with the opening of the new $9M Handtmann Customer Center on the corporate headquarter campus in Biberach, Germany. 

According to Zelaya, this major corporate expansion fits especially well with Handtmann’s North American bakery efforts that have focused on demonstrating the superior dough handling advantages of Handtmann’s adjustable vane cell technology. The shorter product path, reduced temperature rise and gentle handling of grains and delicate fruit inclusions have been important benefits of the vane cell design that have been most useful to bakers as they work to increase both plant productivity and the premium presentation of their products. “And,” says Zelaya, “we’re a traditional industry that wants proven solutions, so showing the vane cell difference is always critical to our success.” 

The new consumer trends and the big challenges that continue to emerge in all areas of the bakery industry make the new expansion of capabilities and technical knowledge in Germany the “perfect complement to the testing facilities and technical teams in our US and Canadian offices in Lake Forest, IL and Waterloo, ON.”  Zelaya also adds that this additional capability for full production line testing is “providing immediate benefits for our North American bakery customers at the very time when their evaluation metrics are more detailed and fact-based, and their needs include more flexibility, more reliability and the total cost of performance are more important than ever.” 

Handtmann research, demonstration and training capabilities for North American custimers now include:

• All types of dough dividing processes
• Portioning doughs and products into molds, trays or other containers
• Forming and producing specially shaped food from a wide variety of raw materials with the potential for creating a unique selling point
• Depositing fillings in continuous and spot depositing modes
• Extruding dough sheets
• Extruding butter/margarine on dough sheets as an endless sheet
• Extruding and portioning doughs, pastes and products for downstream packaging
• Continuous return/supply with rework or recipe components for automated production lines