Client: Sichuan Mankton Food Co., Ltd. (Grupo Bimbo) | Location: Sichuan, China | Equipment: Modular Continuous Tunnel Oven | Application: Commercial Hamburger Buns & Pan Bread
Customer Background & Operational Challenge
Sichuan Mankton Food Co., Ltd.—part of the Mankton commercial bakery brand integrated into Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company—supplies high-volume hamburger buns, toast loaves, and packaged rolls to quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains and retail supermarkets across Southwest China. Serving international QSR brands requires strict adherence to bun crown height, crust color uniformity, crumb moisture retention, and uninterrupted daily delivery schedules.
To support growing commercial bakery demand, Sichuan Mankton needed a high-capacity, straight-line continuous tunnel oven that could synchronize seamlessly with upstream continuous proofing and downstream spiral cooling while maintaining tight thermal uniformity across every baking pan.
Square Technology Solution: Multi-Zone Continuous Tunnel Oven
Square Technology supplied and commissioned an automated straight-line continuous tunnel oven engineered specifically for high-throughput pan bread and burger bun production (24,000 to 60,000 pieces/hour class).
- Independent Top & Bottom Multi-Zone Heat Profiling: The tunnel is divided into multiple modular baking zones, each equipped with independent top and bottom temperature and damper regulation (operating within a 195°C to 230°C baking profile, up to 300°C maximum). Bakers can program strong bottom heat in the entry zones for rapid oven spring, followed by balanced convective and radiative top heat in the finishing zones for uniform golden-brown crust color.
- Inline Pan Conveyor Synchronization: The oven’s heavy-duty pan conveyor shares a master PLC speed reference with the upstream continuous proofer and downstream depanner and spiral cooler, ensuring smooth, vibration-free pan transfer without collapsing delicate proofed dough.
- Active Gas Safety & Floating Pressure-Relief Roof: Continuous combustible-gas concentration monitoring interlocks directly with the fuel shutoff valves and exhaust purge fans, paired with floating top explosion-relief panels engineered for industrial bakery safety compliance.
- Recipe-Driven Siemens PLC Control: Product-specific baking recipes—including zone temperatures, dwell time (5 to 30 minutes via VFD belt speed control), and damper positions—are stored on the touchscreen HMI for repeatable shift-to-shift quality.
Operational Results
Integrated into Sichuan Mankton’s automated bakery line, Square Technology’s continuous tunnel oven delivers consistent bun volume, even crust coloration from edge to center of every pan, and high thermal efficiency—meeting the exacting product specifications of leading foodservice and retail bakery customers.
