Food & Beverage Processing

Industry Overview – Electric Heating in Food & Drink

Food and drink manufacturers use electric heating in ovens, proofers, fryers, kettles, pasteurisers/UHT systems, CIP/SIP heaters, chocolate lines and packaging equipment. Stable, repeatable temperature control helps maintain product quality, microbiological safety and throughput, while efficient power delivery supports energy and sustainability objectives. Intelligent SCR power control can improve stability, help manage electrical load and provide data to plant automation and monitoring systems.

Baking & tunnel ovens
Proofers, retarders & low-temperature dryers
Fryers, kettles & cooking vessels
Pasteurisers, UHT/HTST & process loops

CIP/SIP heaters & electric boilers
Chocolate tempering systems & conches
Shrink tunnels & heat sealers
Hot-fill & aseptic transfer heating

Process Machinery & Applications

Electrically heated food and drink equipment commonly controlled with REVO SCR power controllers.

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Baking & Tunnel Ovens

Electrically heated batch, rack and tunnel ovens for baking, roasting, toasting and drying of bakery and prepared foods.

Common pain points:

temperature uniformity
recipe repeatability
start-up energy peaks

Recommended controllers:

REVO PC

REVO C

REVO PN

Proofers & Dryers

Air heaters and conditioning systems for dough proofers, retarders, low-temperature dryers and dehumidifiers.

Common pain points:

air temp/humidity
interlocks
start-up load

Recommended controllers:

REVO PC

REVO C

REVO PN

Fryers & Kettles

Electric fryers, jacketed kettles and cooking vessels for snacks, meats, sauces, soups and ready meals.

Common pain points:

oil/contents temperature stability
recovery time
energy demand

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

REVO PN

Pasteurisers & UHT/HTST

Electric heating of hot-water circuits, regeneration sections or direct electric pasteurisers and HTST/UHT skids.

Common pain points:

tight temperature bands
hold-time compliance
load changes

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

REVO PN

CIP/SIP Heaters & Electric Boilers

Electric heaters and small boilers providing hot water or clean steam for CIP, SIP and hygiene-related services.

Common pain points:

sanitary design
temperature stability
demand management

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO C

REVO PN

Chocolate Tempering & Conches

Precision electric heating for chocolate tempering units, holding tanks and conches.

Common pain points:

tight temperature windows
product quality
start-up and changeovers

Recommended controllers:

REVO S

REVO C

Shrink Tunnels & Heat Sealers

Electric shrink tunnels, L-sealers, flow-wrap sealers and tray heat-sealing heads for packaging operations.

Common pain points:

seal quality
film appearance
line speed variation

Recommended controllers:

REVO PC

REVO C

REVO PN

Hot-fill & Aseptic Transfer

Tank heaters, jacketing and heat-trace for hot-fill, aseptic product transfer and sterile utilities.

Common pain points:

viscosity control
hold temperature
mixed loads

Recommended controllers:

REVO DPU

REVO PN

REVO C

Typical Pain Points & How We Solve Them

Temperature Uniformity & Product Quality

Baking, frying, cooking, tempering and pasteurisation processes are sensitive to temperature variation, which can affect texture, appearance, microbiological stability and shelf life.

Solution: REVO C, REVO-PN and REVO-PC-based architectures provide smoother power control to heaters and zones, helping to maintain consistent temperature profiles across ovens, kettles, pasteurisers and lines.

Hygiene, Washdown & Food Safety

Food and drink plants must maintain hygienic conditions and often use washdown regimes around production equipment.

Solution: By locating REVO power controllers in suitable panels and technical areas, the control system can be kept away from direct washdown while still providing accurate electric heating to hygienic process equipment.

Energy Costs in Heat-Intensive Processes

Ovens, fryers, kettles, CIP heaters and UHT/HTST systems can represent a significant portion of a site’s energy use.

Solution: Using appropriate firing modes, demand limiting and staged starts via REVO-PN and REVO-PC can help reduce electrical peaks and improve overall energy performance compared with basic on/off control.

Frequent Changeovers & SKU Complexity

Multiple recipes, formats and packaging configurations require predictable heating performance during changeovers and start-up.

Solution: Digitally controlled SCR power via REVO C or REVO-PC allows heating profiles to adjust quickly to new setpoints, helping to reduce start-up scrap and changeover time.

Downtime & Heater Reliability

Heater and wiring failures can cause downtime on critical assets such as tunnel ovens, pasteurisers or packaging lines.

Solution: Diagnostics like open or partial-load detection and current monitoring from REVO C and REVO-PC assist maintenance teams in identifying developing issues earlier.

Compliance, Traceability & Audit Support

Food manufacturers are asked to provide evidence of process conditions and equipment performance for audits and customer approvals.

Solution: When REVO controllers are connected to PLC or SCADA systems, power and alarm information can be logged alongside temperature data to support traceability and reporting.

Snapshot: Baking Tunnel & Pasteuriser Electric Control Upgrade

Problem: a bakery and ready-meal site using contactor-based tunnel oven control and a basic hot-water pasteuriser loop was experiencing temperature swings, long start-up times and limited information on heater performance and energy use.

Solution: the tunnel oven zones were re-controlled using a REVO-PC master with REVO-S zone controllers, while the pasteuriser hot-water heater skid was upgraded to REVO C (with optional expansion via REVO-PC + REVO-C for future loops). The line PLC now receives power, current and alarm data over a fieldbus connection and coordinates oven and pasteuriser setpoints with production recipes.

Result: more stable baking and pasteurisation temperatures, smoother start-up, improved batch consistency and better visibility of energy use and heater status for engineering and production teams (typical benefits achievable on similar upgrade projects).

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Why CD Automation?

REVO solutions for ovens, fryers, kettles, pasteurisers and utilities
REVO-PC with Modbus, Profinet, EtherCAT into PLC/SCADA
Firing modes for resistive and, where required, transformer-fed loads
Support for OEMs, system integrators and plant engineering teams
Suitable for both retrofit upgrades and new equipment projects

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Industry Overview – Electric Heating in Food & Drink