Fritsch flags new filler for baked goods
Interpack this week, with design innovations including an
integrated control cabinet and improvements on accuracy and
hygiene.
The 81-year-old privately-owned German company specialises in machinery for the bakery industry, from after the mixing stage up until the products enter the oven. Its newest machine, called the Fritsch Universal Filling Unit, is designed to handle a broad variety of fillings - from sweet marmalades and jams to chunky and viscous fillings like Fritsch has previously supplied filling machines to both industrial and artisan customers, but it says the new design is more recent than any of its competitors'. Marketing manager Dieter Wolf told FoodProductionDaily.com that each row of the new machine has a single filling pump. Up to ten rows can be individually programmed for spot and strip filling. "Until now it was not possible to place the controls in one cabinet at the pumps directly," he said. "You needed a separate cabinet before." The intelligent control system is said to be resource-efficient and prevent spillages - since fillings are applied only when the dough sheet is present. The new unit was designed with hygiene in mind. The pumps can be easily pulled out for leaning without the need for tools. This also means that modifications for different fillings can be made easily. Fritsch can also adapt the machine depending on the customer's needs. For instance, Wolf said that if the filling used flows freely it needs no transportation at the hopper. If it is stiffer, there is a need to bring the filling to the pumps. He stressed that filling preferences vary for different markets. The UK, for instance, prefers sweet fillings like marmalade, but in Eastern Europe - a big growth market in the last couple of years - consumers prefers savoury fillings like cabbage. In addition to releasing at least one new machine a year, the company continuously works to improve its existing machines. The Fritsch Universal Filling Unit was in development for six months. However development time can extend into several years depending on complexity. For instance, Fritsch's pretzel machines, claimed to be the only industrial-scale machine of its kind on the market, was five years in the design. The pretzel breakthrough came four years ago, Wolf said, and the market for the machine is mainly concentrated on Germany. However there is also great potential for its use in other countries for different shaped baked goods - like the rings popular in Greece - since it is able to twist the dough into different shapes.
