Auto-Bake America has added capacity to its Chicago area facility, according to Lemont-based Dunbar Systems, which represents Auto-Bake, an Australian baking equipment manufacturer, in North America.

The 6,500-square-foot bakery may be used to produce a variety of baked goods, including pastries, bread, cakes, muffins and cookies.

“We started the test bakery in 1998 to introduce Auto-Bake’s innovative bakery production system to the North American baking industry,” says Tom Ryan, operations manager for Auto-Bake America. “With the new expansion, we will be able to test a greater diversity of products in multiple oven options.”

The test bakery houses two Auto-Bake Serpentine ovens. One oven uses radiant heat and the other is a direct gas fired oven. Both ovens use the patented Serpentine system, where pans are conveyed through multiple horizontal levels in a distinctive “S-Shape,” achieving a footprint one-tenth the size of tunnel ovens, according to the companies.