SPX Gerstenberg Schröder shortening production system

For bakeries using large volumes of shortening, producing it in-house can bring significant cost benefits. Producing shortening in-house can lower raw material costs, reduce waste and eliminate the need to dispose of cardboard and plastic packaging.

Shortening is often purchased in crystallised form and provided in bag-in-box format. Handling this at the bakery is a labour-intensive process and the operation is affected by temperature and consistency changes, which can lead to variance in end quality.

With SPX’s Gerstenberg Shröder (GS) system, bulk hydrogenated oil is received and used as input to the shortening production process. After pre-cooling, the oil is pumped through a GS scraped surface heat exchanger (SSHE) to crystallise it and a pin rotor machine to knead it to the required consistency.

It is then tempered for final maturation of the crystals to stabilise the product structure. If required, it can be passed through an intermediate tank to be heated and other ingredients added. The whole process line is completely automated and can connect directly into further systems, such as an automatic blending system, without the need for manual intervention.

SPX’s in-house shortening solutions use technologies such as the SPX Nexus SSHE, which uses CO₂ for higher efficiency cooling and faster product crystallisation. Using a natural refrigerant further reduces environmental impact.

If production of shortening is more than 900 kg/h, the estimated return on investment period for the machinery is one to two years, the company claims. Savings can be realised in raw material costs and required labour.