Carbon infra-red (CIR) emitters from Heraeus Noblelight form an essential component of an industrial browning machine on a food production line at Rowan Foods Ltd of Wrexham. The custom-built machine is used to brown potato and pasta toppings and follows on from the successful installation of a similar system seven years ago.

Rowan Foods manufactures a range of potato- and pasta-based ready meals for major supermarkets. For a new production line, it contacted food processing machinery specialists Protech Food Systems of Bedford who had built and installed the first line in 2006. Protech worked with Heraeus to design and build a new browning oven, incorporating the latest carbon infra-red technology.

Since installation, the new system has proved to be as reliable as the first oven, requiring little or no maintenance. Moreover, it allows significant energy savings compared with competitive systems. The fast response of the system means that the heat can be removed very quickly if the line stops unexpectedly, minimising damage to product.

Heraeus specialises in the production and application of high quality energy sources covering the electro-magnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to infra-red. It has over 40 years experience in infra-red technology and offers the expertise, products and systems to provide efficient and effective solutions to drying, heating and curing problems throughout industry.

www.heraeus-noblelight.com