Bühler Group has unveiled a series of significant innovations and enhancements within its grains and food sector following the Interpack 2026 exhibition.
These advancements aim to assist food, feed, and confectionery producers as they navigate the challenges posed by unpredictable market conditions, varying raw material costs, and heightened safety standards. The new solutions are designed to enhance processing efficiency, promote resource sustainability, and increase operational adaptability. By integrating hygienic design with digital innovations and smart technology, the upgrades promise to boost overall equipment efficiency (OEE) while reducing energy use.
In the realm of cocoa and chocolate production, Bühler has introduced the Lucent cocoa roaster, replacing the older Tornado model. This new system is crafted to optimize energy use as well as product yields. The Lucent roaster “uses at least 20% less energy per batch of cocoa and delivers up to 20% higher throughput, while minimizing yield loss,” compared to its predecessor.
Equipped with predictive, self-learning controls, this system enables operators to achieve consistent results without needing extensive mechanical knowledge. Moving further along the production line, Bühler’s Chocolate Business Unit has also launched the Finer S Edition 26 five-roll refiner and the ELK S Edition 26 single-shaft conche.
Skeljzen Nesimi, Bühler’s head of product management for chocolate and flavor creation, remarked on the refiner’s enhancements: “Our five-roll refiner has been a trusted technology in chocolate production for many years. With Edition 26, we have focused on enhancing the user experience and supporting customers with improvements in operation, maintenance, hygiene, reliability, and energy performance.”
Regarding the single-shaft conche, Nesimi noted: “We have refined several elements of the machine to make day-to-day operation and servicing more straightforward. The latest edition includes a new automation system and further developments aimed at hygiene, maintenance, and overall production efficiency.”
For streamlined chocolate mass production, the firm has introduced CompactMix, which combines the ShearMix system with the Aurora ball mill, achieving particle sizes of under 20 microns while being up to 30% more energy-efficient than traditional models.
For final shaping, the flexible ChocoX moulding line enables manufacturers to quickly switch between producing solid, filled, and aerated products on one line. Module replacements can occur in just 30 minutes, leading to faster product development cycles.
András Somfai, head of product management for confectionery at Bühler, highlighted the adaptability of the moulding line: “The moulding line can be expanded step by step and easily configured to a growing product portfolio. No more cost and time-intensive line modifications. Modules can be added or exchanged within 30 minutes, while the automation system automatically detects new line setups. This shortens the introduction of new products significantly, reducing time-to-market for new products by four to five months.”
In the sectors of cereal, snacks, pet food, and meat alternatives, Bühler introduced the Nutrex 7 Series extruder with a focus on hygiene and accessibility to enhance production uptime. With an elevated base frame for better ground clearance and a relocated hydraulic box, cleaning efficiency has doubled, effectively halving maintenance downtime at initial customer sites.
Stefanie Hardtmann, product manager for value nutrition at Bühler, discussed the design approach: “We concentrated on a holistic approach based on four main categories: hygienic design, process stability, integrated intelligence, and service excellence. All with the goal of increasing overall equipment efficiency (OEE) for our customers.”
Hardtmann emphasized the importance of accessibility in the machine’s redesign: “Externally, we opted for a slimmer extruder design. The elevated base frame provides greater ground clearance, and the hydraulic box has been relocated to the side of the extruder. This allows direct access for cleaning equipment, simplifying the process and reducing cleaning time.”
In the baking arena, Bühler is growing its Smartline offerings with the TurbuBake Smart gas tunnel oven, the RotaMold Max Smart rotary molder, and the new SoftDrop depositor.
Céline Vachet, head of product management for biscuits at Bühler, remarked on this expansion: “With TurbuBake Smart and RotaMold Max Smart, we are further expanding our Smartline portfolio with solutions that combine efficiency, flexibility, and ease of use. At the same time, SoftDrop broadens our offering with a versatile solution for soft mass depositing, helping manufacturers address a wider range of applications with a cost-competitive setup.”
The RotaMold Max Smart molder supports rapid lines of up to 40 meters per minute while maintaining a weight and shape coefficient variation of 1% or less. Meanwhile, the TurbuBake Smart oven employs an optimized airflow design to reduce energy use by up to 15% when compared to standard models.
For wafer producers, Bühler’s inductive OptiBake wafer oven cuts energy consumption by as much as 50% compared to conventional gas-heated systems, completely removing direct CO₂ emissions during the baking process.
Johannes Greil, head of product management for wafers at Bühler, commented: “With OptiBake, we are demonstrating that sustainability and performance do not have to be competing priorities. Manufacturers benefit from significantly lower energy consumption while gaining greater control and consistency in the baking process.”
