At this years’ Interpack exposition, Haas networked to develop concepts for the latest consumer trends and offered solutios to the industrial baking and snack industries. The company aims to offer more ideas, more value, and more flexibility.
Trends
Haas-Mondomix’s managing director Otto Vink reported demand for aerated snacks: "They have a fluffy texture and increased volume, which allows for less sugar content and less calories per item."
CFT Haas’s convenience food equipment managing director Michael Baumann said: "A further trend is centre-filled cakes with savoury fillings such as cheese, meat, and potato chunks encased in a thin layer of dough; convenient snacks with plenty of satisfying filling inside. And cake on a stick, considering the long off season for ice cream manufacturers, is a product which could generate sales year round.
"Booth visitors also frequently requested wafer crisps, which have a similar texture to chips. Instead of sweet varieties, customers showed a preference for savoury or lightly sweetened products based on ingredients such as green tea or hazelnut."
FHW Franz Haas Wafer’s managing director Peter J. Keller reported: "We can develop new textures, shapes, flavours, and incorporate dips. We can also adapt recipes to suit locally available ingredients."
Another novelty, the new FF-AWD free-shape cutter produces interlocking figures that provide opportunities for higher product prices. Director and head of sales and marketing at Haas-Meincke Michael Hansen noted: "We have also found that cookies, as well as hard and soft dough lines, are in demand. For allergen-free products we offer versatile machines that can be easily and quickly cleaned. There’s big potential."
Efficiency
Otto Vink added: "Standardised equipment for quicker and simpler delivery was in demand at the show and our augmented reality demonstrations went down very well."
Michael Baumann said: "Saving resources is one of our top priorities."
Peter J Keller added: "If we succeed in decreasing baking temperatures, we can considerably decrease energy consumption too. In turn, if the moisture content of a product can be reduced, this influences the baking process immensely.
"We were perceived as actively leading innovation in sustainable production with huge savings: For example, our ECO oven is guaranteed to save 25% in gas consumption."
Michael Hansen said: "We put great effort into better efficiency: Recipes are exactly defined to achieve consistent high quality. Heat recovery rates have been improved. We can adapt to any available energy source and can even use low quality diesel effectively."
Service
Otto Vink continued: "We need to add value and develop further improvements."
Haas already offers the SPIDER equipment monitoring system and easy data transfer.
Michael Baumann stressed: "Our final inspection for all new lines has become even more stringent. In a continuous, two-hour operation at 100% capacity lines must perform flawlessly, alternatively at 105% for 15 minutes."
Peter J Keller added: "Thanks to our remote service we can provide quick, live guidance. For example, a customer in India needs help because there is a problem in the wafer production. We can solve the problem quickly and efficiently.
"Quick trouble-shooting is absolutely crucial to minimize downtimes."
For Haas, participation at this year’s interpack was extremely rewarding, with a noteworthy number of high-profile visitors, an interest in detailed and in-depth consultations, and the anticipated orders in the short term.
