As food and beverage manufacturers face growing pressure to deliver consistent quality while reducing energy use and lowering production costs, the Smartline production line, by plant equipment manufacturer Bühler, is designed to support biscuit and cracker manufacturers with a high-performance system that balances efficiency, quality and sustainability.

Developed in India and supported by decades of European engineering expertise, the Smartline integrates advanced automation with energy efficient design to ensure consistent results and improved overall equipment effectiveness.

“Central to the system is the DirectBake Smart oven, which delivers uniform texture, colour and flavour through precise heat control, superior insulation and high-efficiency burners,” Bühler biscuit business product management unit head Céline Vachet explains.

The Smartline production line is a standardised platform that helps to reduce total cost of ownership by combining energy efficient baking, recipe-driven automation and modular scalability.

Although it was developed with strong cost competitiveness in mind, it does not compromise on safety and efficiency, says Vachet.

The line follows Bühler’s engineering governance and performance standards, which ensure that value is derived from smarter design and standardisation, rather than reducing safeguards and process capability to improve margins.

Moreover, the system benefits from a “global design, local cost structure” approach, combining European engineering principles and validation methods with regionally optimised manufacturing and application development.

The Smartline’s design incorporates standardisation and data readiness with consistent controls and recipe structures that allow for performance comparisons and continuous improvement. It provides real-time visibility of process and energy performance using machine-specific key performance indicators and predictive maintenance indicators.





To achieve uniformity through precision and repeatability in heat delivery, the ovens include a multi-zone heat control that has a baking profile “shaped” to control colour and moisture development.

The solution supports sustainability by lowering waste and scrap, with more consistent baking to reduce off-specification production and downgrades; lowering CO₂ emissions; and improving raw material use, with fewer rejects and smoother startups, ensuring a higher yield from the same ingredients, Vachet concludes.