For almost 30 years Bettcher Industries has been involved in breading and other food processing. In 1982 Bettcher purchased Stein Associates in Sandusky, Ohio. This company is the world leading manufacturer and marketer of high volume continuous flow batter-breading equipment, conveyorized deep fryers, counter-flow ovens, filtration equipment and conveyor systems. Under Bettcher leadership, they doubled their sales volume until they were sold in 1987 to Frigoscandia of Helsinki Sweden, a leading international manufacturer of commercial freezing equipment.

Bettcher kept the rights to develop a small batter breading machine specifically tailored for restaurants. Over the years, this design has been refined resulting in the present model breading machine called the Optimax. This batter breading machine is the pinnacle of breading technology that delivers a better tasting product. Most important to foodservice operators is the consistent breading perfection the machine delivers. No other technology can deliver the consistency and great tasting food that the Optimax provides day in and day out for quick service restaurants (QSR), institutional foodservice operations, casinos, caterers, and any other operations looking to improve their product consistency.

To most operations, consistency and great taste is enough of a benefit to invest in the machine. But the Optimax and ABB machines have many other exceptional advantages:

Ingredient & Oil Savings

Study after study with major foodservice chains shows the Optimax saves around 40% in breading consumption. Since the machine applies only the amount of breading that will adhere to the food and it recycles the rest. Additionally, it also vibrates the food to shake off any excess, so when breaded items are placed in the fryer, there's less 'blow off' of breading into the oil, which degrades the oil. The Optimax® prevents burnt, dark oil with unpalatable taste … and increases oil life up to 10%.

This ingenious feature give the breading machine a ROI of 18 to 24 months.

Flawless execution
Back of the House

The back of the house represents the heart of any restaurant. If core principles, procedures and responsibilities are not followed to the letter of the law, customer dissatisfaction is a certainty. The Optimax reduces process variation by eliminating inconsistencies from cook to cook, and the variability from a single cook based on time constraints and deadlines. The reduction of steps and elimination of “short-cuts” ensures a quality product will be produced consistently and efficiently. Therefore, the Optimax allows the most critical area of the kitchen to be optimized and also gives the operator a measure of standardization of food they have never enjoyed.

Improve Core Operations Capability

Breading product with the Optimax takes less time, simplifies the procedures needed for breading and allows for repeatability of the process by removing process variation. The simplification of procedures allows employees to become more efficient, freeing time for cooks to accomplish other tasks. Time savings and simplification also enable training personnel to concentrate more time on proper racking procedure, cleanliness and other critical tasks in place of complicated breading procedures. Food properly breaded cooks better, which can reduce the number of customer complaints and increases customer return and repurchase rates.

Improve Staffing Stability

Hand-breading food is a difficult job with ergonomic challenges, time pressures and a demand for precision that contributes to employee fatigue. In contrast, breading with the Optimax is much simpler to use, takes less time to bread the same amount of product and reduces the procedural complexity that can lead to fatigue and lower back strain. These factors combine to make the job easier which improves staffing satisfaction and lowers the turnover rate for “hard-to-train” cooks. Further, when training is needed, the time to properly learn how to coat with the Optimax is about 1-2 shifts vs. 1-2 weeks for hand breading.

Bettcher Industries, Inc.

Bettcher Industries is a financially strong, privately held company with stable ownership that has been in continuous operation since 1944. Known as a designer and innovator of food processing equipment, Bettcher's sales and service have worldwide reach with distribution in over 50 countries.