From the freezing temperatures of -40 degrees to the burning oven temperatures of over +200 degrees, our bread manufacturers require the most advanced temperature resistant castors within the industry!
From the freezing temperatures of -40 degrees to the burning oven temperatures of over +200 degrees, our bread manufacturers require the most advanced temperature resistant castors within the industry!
To deliver bread onto our tables requires sophisticated handling machinery, relying upon trolleys running on castors that don’t ice up or melt in the ovens. Imagine moving from the North Pole to the Tropics within the space of a few hours and back again. No mean feat for bread trolleys running on castors.
At any moment in the bread baking cycle the castor could freeze and become impossible to move, or alternatively melt and halt the production process.
In these extreme heat environments Bakers in Britain rely upon heat resistant castors and high temperature castors on all of their trolleys as they manoeuvre around the factory. It is often the smallest cog in a machine that keeps it going, and for our Bakers it’s the heat resistant castors. Not a component we pay much attention to as we eat our toast around the breakfast table in the morning. Or pay any consideration to as we drive past Bakeries in the morning, and catch a whiff of the intoxicating bread smell. Or even have a glance at as we do our weekly shopping in the supermarket. These castors enjoy a pivotal role, and are mainly unsung heroes in our daily lives.
According to manufacturers, these high temperature castors come in two types, either with a phenolic resin wheel within the castors or a high temperature rubber wheel in the castor housing. Phenolic resin wheels are hard, durable and resistant to temperature extremes. These castors overtook the old fashioned bakelite wheels, which tended to be costly, complex and brittle. High temperature castors with phenolic resin wheels, provide an inexpensive, durable alternative. They are available in a range of castors sizes suitable for even the most challenging of manufacturing sites.
A more traditional alternative is the high temperature rubber wheel. These castors, you would think, would melt within the fiery ovens. However this specially formulated heat resistant rubber can withstand temperatures of 280 degrees. Bakers often prefer the rubber wheel to the phenolic, as it enables the trolleys on the castors to move more smoothly around their manufacturing plant.
We wouldn’t want our bread to arrive battered around the edges would we?
These hardy castors are used in a variety of industries, from energy companies, processing plants, cold rooms, manufacturing to glazing companies. Without these castors, supporting the movement of trollies, many industrial processes would be more lengthy and complicated.
The science has moved on tremendously from the original developer of Bakelite, Belgian scientist Leo Baekeland. He first formulated his substance in 1907 and since then heat resistant materials have spanned the globe.
So next time you are enjoying your buttery toast around the breakfast table, spare a little thought for the processes, technology and science that enabled it to get onto your plate. Without the advanced development of heat resistant castors that withstand high oven temperatures, where would our bakers be?