In 1977, Michael Ilitch of Little Caesar’s invented the conveyor belt to help him bake pizza (or should we say “Pizza! Pizza!”) with greater speed. Since then, a number of companies improved upon the conveyor belt, but the premise more or less remained the same.
Most conveyors maximized throughput — and they did it for a single item such as pizza or sandwiches. In other words, there was a glaring issue. While conveyor-based equipment could afford foodservice operators the speed and volume they needed, it didn’t make producing a diverse and evolving menu very easy.

In 2012, Ovention set out to solve this problem. The answer? The Ovention Shuttle®, a revolutionary new approach to conveyor equipment that utilizes two technologies in one

Technology #1: Precision Impingement®
Ovention Shuttle (aka “the Shuttle”) utilizes our patented Precision Impingement® technology. This technology uses hot air for a fast, high-quality cook without microwaves. During the process, hot air is targeted toward the food from the top and bottom of the unit through triple-stacked jet plates. When the food moves through the conveyor into the unit, these jet plates create darts of air that quickly penetrate (and cook) the food. The carriage moves back and forth during the cooking cycle, giving you a perfectly cooked end-product every time.

With the push of a button, Precision Impingement controls time, top and bottom blower speeds, and temperature of the cavity for up to three stages. But, control of menu items is not the only feature in play here. Air flows into and out of the oven with greater speed (or cubic feet per minute) than that of traditional conveyor ovens, which means faster cook times. Also, the nozzles that the hot air flows through are strategically positioned throughout the oven to achieve an evenly cooked product every time (no matter the menu item). But if we’re talkin’ pizza — this means no more polka-dotted pies!

Technology #2: Two ovens in one
As you can see, the Shuttle isn’t an ordinary oven with a conveyor. In addition to its advanced hot air technology, it utilizes another technology that (with the push of a button) allows you to transition seamlessly between a traditional conveyor oven and a closed cavity oven. With our dual oven design, you get the throughput benefits of an improved conveyor oven with the energy efficiency, controls, and lock-in-moisture capabilities of a closed cavity oven. During peak times you can operate the Shuttle in conveyor mode, where that high-speed air we talked about earlier keeps operations moving along quickly. And, for smaller batch-style cooking, you can switch to “Shuttle mode,” which encloses the cavity and takes full advantage of all those Precision Impingement controls for temperature, time, and independent top and bottom blower speeds.

In fact, this Shuttle mode acts a lot like another great Ovention oven, the Matchbox. The Shuttle will automatically load and unload the food product, and using a preloaded menu setting, cook the product exactly to your specification with the touch of a button. The only difference is that the Shuttle best accommodates a linear flow (or assembly line workflow) within the kitchen where the food goes in one side and out the other. The Matchbox, on the other hand, is not as compatible with this service style since the entry and exit are both through the same door.

And to top it off? The Shuttle is much quieter than competitor products (69 dB versus 76-81dB), and each oven uses about 65% less energy cost per hour!

Ready to see the Ovention Shuttle in action?
Ovention set out to solve the everyday challenges that traditional conveyor-oven operators faced. The Shuttle, with two technologies built into one oven, now gives frustrated foodservice operators the best of both worlds — the benefits of a conveyor and a closed-cavity design. To see the Shuttle in action, request a live demonstration at an Ovention test kitchen near you. You can set up your demo directly from the Ovention website or through your local equipment dealer.  We look forward to connecting!