(From left) Mark Salman, president, Middleby Food Processing Group, and Balaji Subramaniam, MD of Spooner Vicars, key in the remote launch code to start the APEX production line. 

BANGALORE, INDIA — Spooner Vicars has opened a new Bakery Innovation Center in its Bangalore, India, factory. The center has a dedicated hygienic testing space that includes a Vortex mixer, an Apex 400 laminating and sheeting line and a three-zone hybrid oven.  

It will be used by both national and international biscuit manufacturers for recipe and new product development, ingredient substitution trials and training and seminars. It also will showcase Spooner Vicars latest biscuit production equipment. It is the company’s first Bakery Innovation Centre in India.


The grand opening ceremony was attended by Indian biscuit producers as well as a strong international contingent that included visitors from China, Canada, Egypt, America, the Philippines, New Zealand, U.K., Spain, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Sweden.   

Presentations were given by a wide range of speakers from AL Rollers, Sveba Dahlen, Burford, Stewart Systems, Axis Automation, TNA, Ammeraal Beltech India, Rockwell Automation, Festo India, ESA Manufacturing, Keyence India and Mettler-Toledo India. 

Following the speeches, the test line was fired up and a number of Marie batches were mixed, laminated, sheeted and baked for the attendees.