Icing and glazing systems must be robust. The equipment has to be able to withstand the eventual buildup of icing or glaze that will occur during the long run times expected of a high-production sweet goods line.

“If you have a 24-hour operation and don’t have equipment engineered to mitigate buildup points, it’s going to start breaking things, such as belting,” said David Moline, sales and marketing manager, Moline Machinery, Duluth, MN.

Reducing buildup and keeping equipment clean are the ultimate challenges with decorating lines. If a baker doesn’t, not only can the icing line break down, but downstream production equipment can be affected as well. To prevent buildup, Moline Machinery uses sanitary belting, heated catch pans in places where buildup likes to lurk and a continuous scraping and wash system to remove glaze from conveyor belts.

With its compact icer/glazer, Hinds-Bock Corp., Bothwell, WA, created a unit that has the capabilities of two machines. This minimizes the amount of equipment needing sanitation in the first place. Its portability also means that it can be moved to a wash area. The conveyor bed tilts up to easily sanitize the entire unit.