Bakery Tray Coolers
A tray cooler carries panned products on traveling trays through an ambient or conditioned cooling environment, much like a tray proofer mechanically. The Henry Group builds them in Greenville, Texas, as an integral part of an automated line: they handle pan-size changes, can be built over ovens or fully floor mounted, and can load on one floor and discharge on another, so they fit layouts where other coolers can’t.
How a Tray Cooler Works
A tray cooler carries pans on trays around a tray circuit, a mechanism adapted from THG's tray proofers. A loader places pans on the trays, the circuit carries them through turnarounds and vertical runs for the time the product needs, and an unloader takes them off at the discharge. The cooling environment can be ambient room air or a conditioned enclosure.
Built Around Your Space
Because the tray circuit can be laid out to fit the building, a tray cooler can go where other coolers can't: over the top of ovens or other equipment, fully floor-mounted, or loading on one floor and discharging on another. Elevators and lowerators bring product down to working height, and discharge conveyors carry it to packaging.
Products and Applications
Tray coolers cool product on pans and take changes in pan size, so one cooler can serve a line that runs several products.
Where It Fits in the Line
After the oven, pans come off the oven unloader and onto the cooler loader. At the cooler discharge, the unloader, lowerators and discharge conveyors take cooled product on to the next step, such as depanning or packaging. THG builds the loaders, elevators, lowerators and conveyors around the cooler, and can supply the complete line.
Configuration Options
- Ambient or conditioned cooling
- Built over ovens or other equipment, floor-mounted, or split across floors
- Elevators and lowerators to and from working height
- Discharge conveyors to packaging
- Designed to take changes in pan size
- Capacity and cooling time sized to the product and line
Service and Parts
THG's cooler services cover rebuilds, upgrades and repairs, cooler replacement parts, and installations and relocations. THG supplies replacement parts for all the equipment it has built. See all bakery cooling systems.
Common questions
Can a tray cooler be built over our oven?
Yes. Tray coolers can be built over the top of existing equipment such as ovens, or fully floor-mounted. The tray circuit can also load on one floor and discharge on another.
What happens when we change pan sizes?
Tray coolers are designed to take changes in pan size, so one cooler can handle several products on the same line.
How is a tray cooler different from a tray proofer?
Mechanically they are similar. The difference is the environment: a proofer holds warm, humid conditions for the final rise before baking, while a cooler brings baked product down in temperature, in room air or a conditioned enclosure.
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