Koenig lines and Brevetti Gasparin machines deliver quality and consistency at scale

Millers Bespoke Bakery has invested in two Koenig lines from EPP to deliver consistent quality speciality breads at scale. The thriving wholesale bakery produces a broad range of bread products, including high quality hamburger buns which it distributes fresh to gourmet burger outlets across the UK. It also uses a range of Brevetti Gasparin machines to automate slicing, bagging and packaging.

Owner Marcus Miller is a fourth-generation baker who set up the firm in 1997, after he returned to the UK following stints at bakeries in Hong Kong, Thailand and Mexico (for hotel groups such as the Grand Hyatt and the Mandarin Oriental). Millers began life in Battersea, but now operates at its bakery in Windsor Avenue, London, where it has been for 16 years. It can produce about 24,000 buns per hour from its estimated 400 product varieties, using about 20 different types of dough recipes.

Marcus first contacted EPP in 2019 to seek a new line solution after his previous machine had become obsolete. He discussed the possibility of a Koenig line to replace his existing machine. Marcus visited Koenig’s site in Hungary with EPP director Roger Mott to ensure the machine was suitable for the bakery’s requirements, before it was shipped to the UK and installed on-site by EPP. A second Koenig line was added in 2023 as a replacement for another obsolete model.

“The Koenig is a very good machine,” says Marcus Miller, owner, Millers Bespoke Bakery. “We have the industrial head which is excellent –it produces a consistent mould and perfect crumb structure for us. It’s also easy for us to switch to different products as we need to. EPP installed it, set it up, and ran tests with our bakers. We have had similar lines previously, and it was a good transition that was well handled. EPP is well known in the industry, and has become the agency of the best machines from the best manufacturers. EPP’s after sales service has also been very good, and something which not many other suppliers offer.”

Marcus oversees most of the product development, and employs about 130 staff across its 70,000 square feet of production space. It produces fresh and frozen products, as well as ready-to-sell retail products. Two of its largest selling buns are vegan friendly, and feature a highly glazed finish achieved by substituting the egg with a vegetable protein. Millers also produces hotdog rolls on the same line, with optional seeds and glaze depending on requirements.

Millers has continued to grow since its inception, and established a fully automated hamburger factory eight years ago. The line features a Brevetti Gasparin slicing machines and an automatic bagging machine able to pack 10,000 buns per hour, and available exclusively in the UK and Ireland from EPP. Millers also operates two other Brevetti Gasparin bun slicing conveyors and a brand new complete bun/hotdog slicing and packaging line, allowing the baker to make time and cost savings and ensure quality and uniformity of product. “The Gasparin machines work perfectly, they don’t break down, and they’re easy to maintain,” adds Marcus.

“We were delighted to supply Millers Bespoke Bakery with its Koenig lines,” says Roger Mott, EPP. “We have installed hundreds of Koenig lines across the UK and Ireland, so we know that they will do an excellent job for Marcus and his team, providing consistency and reliability for its impressive product range.”