Bread, in its many forms, is eaten in every corner of the world. Because of that, it’s produced in a variety of places and cultures. No matter where a bakery is located, The Netherlands-based WP Haton, the bread specialist within WP Bakery Group USA, seeks to make a connection and be a source of assistance. The WP Haton Dough Center, a 129-square-foot training area for automated bread production, is key to that support and was newly renovated in 2018 as a component within the WP Haton headquarters.

“At our WP Haton Dough Center, we demonstrate to our customers the many possibilities of various dough processing concepts, small bread lines up to large industrial lines and other bread dough processing systems,” said Patricia Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of WP Bakery Group USA. “We test your doughs using your own ingredients and your own recipes so that we can determine the best WP equipment, design and layout for your bakery to optimize production using a customized WP solution.”

The center’s experts help customers answer four primary questions about WP equipment: Which equipment will help optimize my current and future dough production process? How can the process be perfected? Can the process be further automated? Is improved future market positioning possible by making other or new types of bread?

To discover the answers, the WP Haton Dough Center offers bread line concepts. These lines are known by their product names: Crustica, which is used for artisan or craft breads with long fermentation times that require dough-friendly handling; Baguetta, which produces baguette-shaped products; and Classica, which is used for panned breads.

“We work with our customers in our Experience Center on these bread lines according to the ingredients, process, people, machines (IPPM) process,” Ms. Kennedy said.

IPPM is a tool developed to train employees by breaking down the complexity of production into its basic elements.

“Based on results after baking with these bread lines, customers can choose complete WP Haton bread line solutions or individual pieces of bread makeup equipment,” she said.

In the bread reference workshop, customers can learn to process their products on WP Bakery Group USA’s equipment in single or multi-day sessions while answering the four primary questions. The center also offers workshops that explain what types of breads are possible, and a technique workshop teaches customers how to fix any technical issues that could arise in the future.

However, the assistance and expertise found at the center isn’t limited to its physical location in The Netherlands. In the WP Haton 4.0 area, the team at WP Bakery Group USA uses digital twinning to develop a 3-D representation of a machine located anywhere in the world. From a distance, the equipment’s status can be evaluated and supervised.

Additionally, WP Bakery Group has other innovation centers for processing breads on its equipment. The WP Kemper Baking Center, located in Rietberg, Germany, and the WP L Baking Center, located in Dinkelsbühl, Germany, have the same capabilities and expert guidance as the WP Haton Dough Center.

These centers are designed to connect WP Bakery Group USA to bakeries, and bakeries to bread, so that bread remains a commonality among people.

“We feel that bread brings people around the world together,” Ms. Kennedy said. “We want to share our deep-rooted knowledge and expertise in bread production worldwide.”