Reading Bakery Systems (RBS) has announced the addition of a dedicated cookie production line to its Science and Innovation Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. This new capability compliments the facility’s existing flexible snack production line for testing crackers, pretzels and other baked snacks.

The 600 millimeter cookie line includes a Thomas L. Green Rotary Molder and Wirecut Machine, and a single zone, PRISM Emithermic Oven that includes both radiant and convective heat transfer methods.

“You can either recirculate the air in the baking chamber to create a high radiant environment, or you can directly impinge convection air onto the product,” said Shawn Moye, vice-president of sales. “The PRISM Oven also features our Thermatec high radiant panels that ensure a consistent, uniform bake by storing and re-radiating heat to the product.”

Having a dedicated cookie line will allow us to focus our efforts on those products, with the inherent components of a cookie oven that are different from our flexible line

Moye explained that this expansion is part of Reading’s effort to offer more specialized testing options to its customers. “Having a dedicated cookie line will allow us to focus our efforts on those products, with the inherent components of a cookie oven that are different from our flexible line,” he said.

The RBS Science and Innovation Center is available for food manufacturers looking to test and develop new products and processes.

The 30,000 square foot Innovation Center also includes batch and continuous mixing capabilities, a flexible production line for pretzels, sheeted and other baked snacks and an expanded snack line for creating a wide variety of expanded snacks from corn, rice and other cereal ingredients.