Tunnel vision adds power to gluten-free bakery plant

European Process Plant has installed the first Gouet double action tunnel oven in Britain at Village Bakery's new £3M gluten-free bread bakery in Wrexham.

It is believed to be the only tunnel oven on the market that combines radiant with forced convection baking. Radiant baking allows the baking curve to be finely tuned in a calm environment, giving products such as Danish pastries and brioches a shiny, spongy texture. By contrast, forced convection provides a highly concentrated burst of energy to prepare products that need intensive baking for short periods.

The oven is completely flexible in function and can be configured to be 100% radiant, 100% convection or a mixture of both. It is to be part of a 2,230m2 facility that will include some of the most automated plant of its type in Europe, capable of producing 2,500 loaves an hour - or four million gluten-free loaves per year.

The plant is the fruit of a five-year partnership with Swiss multi-national Hero Group. Products will be marketed and distributed by Hero in the UK, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Contact: European Process Plant; Tel: 1372 745558