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GEA Group has introduced a new service featuring preassembled oven modules, aimed at accelerating installation times at customer facilities. The GEA Bakery Plug&Play service is designed to streamline the installation process, significantly reducing production downtime for bakeries. The new service enables the preassembly of oven modules at GEA’s production facility in Verona, Italy, ensuring high-quality installation and efficiency. Mario Da Ros, senior director of project management at GEA, said: “The aim of plug & play ovens is to speed up the installation process, in order to reduce production downtime at the customer facility. Preassembled ovens are a great way to ensure a high-quality installation phase of our ovens, given that it is mainly carried out at our own facility.” GEA engineers conducted a theoretical study on a 65-metre-long and 1.2-metre-wide oven, comparing the installation time of disassembled versus preassembled units. Traditionally, installing a disassembled oven can take approximately 45 days, but with the Plug&Play option, this can be reduced to as little as 20 days. This reduction in time pertains to mechanical assembly and electrical connections, excluding the commissioning phase. The practical benefits of this approach were highlighted during a recent installation in Indonesia. GEA delivered a 124-metre-long and 1.6-metre-wide oven consisting of 58 preassembled modules. Gianluca Dolci, senior director of project execution at GEA, added: “We managed to display all 58 preassembled modules in five days, allowing GEA electricians and mechanics to work simultaneously, significantly speeding up the installation process”. The installation time was halved from eight weeks to four weeks due to the preassembled modules. The Plug&Play ovens also offer cost savings by reducing the need for specialised labour. The preassembly process at GEA’s site means fewer mechanics and electricians are required at the customer’s facility. Additionally, the approach enhances safety by eliminating direct contact with rock wool used for insulation, reducing the need for extensive personal protective equipment and minimising contamination risks during installation.