Gilsons, a frozen bakery supplier based in Kettering, Northamptonshire, had two production goals: boost processing capacity on its two bread production lines, and upgrade from a manual blast-freezing process to a fully automated freezing system. The company was able to do both with new systems from U.K.-based Starfrost.

A manufacturer of  spiral systems, IQF fluidized tunnels and contact freezers, Starfrost designed, built, installed and commissioned two bespoke spiral-freezing systems for Gilsons.  

One spiral freezing sytem, with a processing capacity of ~3,086 lb/hr (1,400 kg/hr), was designed for freezing baked bread rolls. It has a 32” wide stainless steel conveyor belt around a single rotating drum, with 26 spiraling tiers.

The second system is a flexible multi-temperature double-drum spiral freezing system with a cooler and a dual-purpose freezer/chiller for baked bread loaves. It has two 12.5-tier drums with a 38” wide stainless steel belt and a total processing capacity of ~4,300 lb/hr (1,950 kg/hr). In the double-drum system, the product is cooled using forced ambient air as it is conveyed around the first drum. The cooled bread loaves then enter a separate enclosure for final freezing on the second drum. The system is designed to give Gilsons maximum flexibility by using the second drum for product chilling or freezing.