Some people may like surprises, but bakers do not care for them, especially when it comes to new equipment. To give bakers confidence in their purchases, more suppliers are offering test facilities that give bakers the opportunity to see how their product will perform in the mixer they’re considering.

“We’ll mix the customer’s formula in our shop before delivery and make sure the bowl is configured properly for the absorption and type of dough,” said Damian Morabito, president, Topos Mondial. “When they get it, it’s already set correctly, and we’ve already mixed the dough in it so there are no surprises.”

Zeppelin Systems USA’s test facility in Germany offers bakers a complete continuous mixer line to conduct practice runs. Baker Perkins, Reading Bakery Systems, Advanced Food Systems and VMI also have test facilities available to ensure bakers won’t have any surprises when their new equipment arrives at their plant.