Debuting at Pack Expo and Now Shipping in Just Four Weeks
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., July 26, 2022—Egan Food Technologies, a confectionery and baking process equipment manufacturer and service provider, is introducing at Pack Expo an assortment of automation upgrades for manufacturing snack and nutrition bars and bites with its popular SlabForm™ DUO. Available add-ons will now include a prefeeder, slitter/spreader, retract conveyor, and cooling capabilities. The new slitter/spreader creates the capability to produce “bites,” or smaller versions of snack and nutrition bars, a product category experiencing rapid growth.
In 2021, Egan Food Technologies first unveiled the SlabForm™ DUO, an automated bar-forming line with an innovative “two-lane” design that removes the need for slitting and spreading mechanisms while still producing up to 100 individual bars per minute. The equipment is ideal for specialty bar makers that need to upgrade from manual production methods. With a starting price of less than $100,000, the SlabForm™ DUO is also part of Egan Food Technologies’ new “quick-ship” program, delivering to customers in less than four weeks.
“Our customers have been heavily impacted by labor shortages and supply chain issues,” says Mike Sherd, managing partner at Egan Food Technologies. “With the SlabForm™ DUO’s new, shorter lead time and additional automation features, we’re directly addressing these major production concerns.”
For a standard 4" L x 1.25" W snack or nutrition bar, manual manufacturing typically requires three laborers to produce 96 bars per minute. A single operator can run the SlabForm™ DUO and produce the same number of bars each minute. Essentially, manufacturers can expect to reduce labor costs by 1/3 with the SlabForm™ DUO. Customers can add more automation and customize their equipment line – further reducing labor needs – by integrating any of these new options:
A prefeeder to eliminate hand-feeding dough onto the conveyor.
A slitter/spreader for recipes that require additional bar cutting options, such as snack and nutrition bites.
A retract conveyor for reducing labor required for product handling.
Onboard cooling capabilities that eliminate the need for secondary cooling and associated labor.
Like all Egan Food Technologies equipment, the SlabForm™ DUO is manufactured and serviced in the U.S.A. Information on the SlabForm™ DUO and Egan Food Technologies’ full line of equipment offerings will be available at Booth #S-2490 at Pack Expo Chicago, Oct. 23-26. Register for free with code 64M53. For more information on this and other Egan Food Technologies equipment, visit us online at www.eganfoodtech.com.
Egan Food Technologies (www.eganfoodtech.com) manufacturers and services food processing equipment for the confectionery, baking and snack food industries. Located in Grand Rapids, Mich., the company’s focus is on customized equipment at competitive pricing.