Like fixing up a used car with 150,000 miles, upgrading an older oven with the latest controls and safety features requires a careful cost analysis. At what point should bakers decide to bite the bullet and buy a new one or refurbish that warhorse that’s served the bakery for decades?

“As the hard cost delta drops to less than 40% between rebuild or purchasing new, key deciding factors become downtime for each, potential efficiency and waste reduction, followed by uncertainty based on age of the existing oven,” said Jerry Barnes, vice president, Babbco.

Before deciding, Barnes suggested thoroughly searching for other potentially costly issues, such as degradation of internal lining sheets, which allows insulation or rusting panels to contaminate product, or indications of structural floor issues, which can introduce additional unplanned cost and downtime into the equation.

Ken Johnson, president, Gemini Bakery Systems, recommended checking the condition and wear of the bake chamber beds, heat exchangers and burners on older ovens. With today’s programmable controls, bakeries may also experience product quality improvements.

If a new oven can enhance product quality and consistency, it may justify the investment, said Matteo Pasquali, application manager, soft dough cookies, GEA Bakery.

“Consider not only the initial costs but also long-term expenses, including maintenance, repairs, and energy consumption,” he advised. “Ensure that any new or upgraded equipment is in compliance with the latest industry standards and regulations, including food safety, reduced energy footprint and environmental regulations.”

Potential business opportunities also may play a role as well as product quality and the need for greater throughput.

“Bakers might decide to target new bakery sectors or make products differently. In such cases, upgrading an oven might not be enough,” noted Nicola Menardo, president, TP Food Group North America. “Baking quality could also be a topic. Sometimes, upgrading an existing oven is just not enough to guarantee performance when quality standards change. In other cases, investing in a new and more capable oven is the only way for having that extra capacity that one cannot obtain through the upgrade of an existing oven.”

Bakeries should also consider if the existing oven can be retrofitted for various fuels or energy sources such as natural gas or electricity.

“While electric is being heavily relied upon to power and control our machines, the infrastructure is not yet in place for a rapid changeover to electrically heated ovens,” said Cameron Johnston, senior director of innovation, Reading Bakery Systems. “Because of that, bakeries are considering a hybrid approach to their conversion or electing to purchase assets that are capable of full electric conversion years down the road. This is much like the world’s approach to hybrid cars, slowly pulling away from our reliance of fossil fuels.”

He added RBS offers bakeries the option to install gas-powered ovens now but easily convert to electric in the future by replacing the gas penthouse with an electric one. The body of the oven functions exactly the same.

Safety should also be paramount, particularly when the bakery’s staff is less experienced, said Tim Clark, president and chief executive officer, Radio Frequency Co. Retrofitting features to meet current National Fire Protection Association and other safety standards may involve upgrading outdated controls and a power distribution panel.

“Many times, it doesn’t make good financial sense to spend a large sum of money when, in the end, you wind up with a more modern ‘old’ system,” he said. “It really depends on the customer’s goals and the condition and design of the existing system. In the end, the customer needs to be happy and productive with their project outcome.”

For some bakeries, especially those housing a single production line, installation time may be another factor. Several equipment vendors noted they offer modular or partially assembled ovens with new construction methods that take days or weeks to set up instead of months as in the past.

GEA Bakery’s ovens, for instance, come with modular parts that can be easily replaced without specialized knowledge. 

“Creating ovens with plug-and-play capabilities where components are ready to be connected with minimal setup can significantly reduce installation time,” said Matteo Pasquali, application manager, soft dough cookies, GEA Bakery. “This approach also minimizes the potential for errors during installation.”

The Mistral oven by GBT GmbH Bakery Technology, a Middleby Bakery company, comes with a modular design. Matt Zielsdorf, global category manager, specialty bread and pastry, Middleby Bakery Group, said the oven can be installed quickly because the modules are 90% assembled prior to shipping.

This article is an excerpt from the August 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Ovens, click here.