It was actually as early as 1963, when the CEO Nils Eliasson and export seller/technician Tore Andersson were pondering over the problem of uneven baking in the rack ovens. Bread on the outer edge of the trays was more browned than bread in the middle... hardly a desirable result for an oven manufacturer that represents quality and optimum baking results. Until then, none of the options tested had provided any significant improvement to the problem. At the time, both Nils and Tore were smokers. Nils was holding a Solstickan matchbox, that he was spinning round in his hand. You can easily imagine how both their imaginations lit up as they looked at each other:
- “A-ha - we rotate the baking trays...”
And so was born the success of the rotating rack! It is fascinating how small things can be a turning point for the future. Of course, we can’t really know whether this is a tall tale or actually the truth, but either way, we would like to believe that there is a small grain of truth in how it actually happened. In truth, however, today our rack ovens are still among the best rack ovens on the global market. The rotating rack is still installed in them, although the development of both the ovens and the rotating rack is ongoing.
So who dared to try the first furnace with a rotating rack? Well, the last weekend of September 1964 saw the first rotating rack oven installed in the Wienerkronan Konditori (patisserie) in Stockholm, Sweden. And we know for sure that this was just the beginning of their exquisite pastry making!