Bakery machinery-makers make profits

Chennai: While southern markets, mainly in Tamil Nadu, sport a good number of bakery chains and shops, large bread-manufacturers in the north are switching over to compact, fuel-efficient and high-yielding ovens, spiral kneaders and planetary mixers, says A K Baskar, owner of the Coimbatore-based Arun Engineering Works. Other industry players who are showcasing their equipments at Foodpro 2001, an exhibition organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, also voiced similar views.

Arun Engineering, which supplies bakery equipment to leading players like Milka Bread in Tamil Nadu, is floating a joint venture with Rega International, Italy, to cash in on the growth trend. The new company, Arun Rega International, which will manufacture multi-fuel ovens, will have an equity base of Rs 1.5 crore with the Italian company contributing 51 per cent.

The trend now is to switch over to LPG and oil-fired ovens from electric ovens as the power costs make the latter uneconomical. Our new company will be launching ovens that are fired from using even agro-waste, says Baskar.

Compared to conventional ovens, kneaders, the new-generation equipments incorporated with foreign technology, are slightly more expensive but they compensate with increased yield and efficiency. And many small neighbourhood bakers are realising the economic advantage of the new machines. Further, these machines are compact and do not need big premises, thereby the bakers can save on real estate costs, says Baskar.

Speaking about the industry trend, G S Sabapathee, chief consultant with the Kumbakonam-based Shri Chamundi Baking Equipments, says: Bakery chains go for sophisticated equipments - our target segment. The response from the low-end individual bakery shops is mixed.

Among the equipments, ovens log the largest sales in terms of units, as it is a must for every bakery shop. Other machines like planetary mixer, spiral kneaders and slicers are also doing well, thank you. The southern market witnesses good sales in planetary mixers, as people prefer sweets here. The credit for bringing the attitudinal change towards modern equipments among bakers should go to C S Aerotherm, a division of C S Medical, Bangalore. It is true that C S Aerotherm broke the price barrier so that modern technology is affordable to small Indian bakery units, says Baskar.

It was C S Aerotherm that first came out here with a foreign technology in the bakery equipment segment. We launched our rotary-rack and rotary-deck ovens and other equipments like proving chamber and display cabinets, collaborating with FN Aerotherm, Denmark, says its marketing manager Harish C Chouthoy. Capturing a good share in the domestic oven market with supplies to big corporates like McRenett, C S Aerotherm also ships out its machines to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi and Bangladesh.

As the southern market is clocking good growth, overseas players like Mackies Bakeware Systems, Australia, have started showing interest. The Australian company manufactures bread and cake-moulds carved out of aluminised steel, though they are three times more expensive compared to domestic ones. Mackies Bakeware regional sales manager Will Rigg justifies: One has to look at the long-term benefits. Our moulds will last for eight years whereas Indian moulds lasts hardly a year. Indian equipment manufacturers agree with him. Here bakery units use moulds made of tinplates that have limited life, says Chouthoy.