A local frozen food enterprise, primarily producing xiaolongbao (steamed soup dumplings) and other flour-based products, found that its original production model could no longer meet order delivery requirements as market demand continued to grow. To break through the capacity bottleneck and improve product quality, the company decided to comprehensively upgrade its freezing process.
Before the upgrade, the customer had been using traditional cabinet freezers for xiaolongbao/ dumplings freezing. As orders surged, the following problems became increasingly prominent:
① Low output, unable to match order growth. The cabinet freezer is a batch-type equipment – each batch of xiaolongbao / dumplings must be manually loaded, frozen, then unloaded before the next batch can be started; continuous production is impossible. When order volumes surged from a few hundred kilograms per day to several tons, the cabinet freezer’s “small-batch” mode simply could not keep up. Facing skyrocketing orders, the customer could only watch helplessly as production capacity became the bottleneck.
② Low time efficiency, long production cycle. Freezing a batch of xiaolongbao / dumplings in a cabinet freezer typically takes several hours. Prolonged residence in the freezer not only extends the overall production cycle but also causes severe “dehydration” – moisture inside the buns continuously evaporates into the low-humidity environment, resulting in weight loss and degraded taste. The customer urgently needed a device that could complete freezing quickly and continuously.
③ Poor freezing effect, unstable quality. The temperature and air velocity control of the cabinet freezer are not precise enough, making the xiaolongbao / dumplings prone to temperature fluctuations during freezing – already formed ice crystals may melt, and when re-crystallized, they form excessively large ice crystals that cause mechanical damage to the dough structure, ultimately leading to surface cracking. Cracking not only affects the product’s appearance but also directly increases the rejection rate.
④ High labour demand, rising manpower costs. Each batch of loading and unloading in the cabinet freezer requires manual handling, stacking, and monitoring. As production increased, more operators were added, but efficiency did not improve proportionally. Labour costs continued to rise, becoming a considerable financial burden.
After thorough evaluation and comparison, the customer finally chose one of our 1000 kg/h single spiral freezers. The equipment incorporates several targeted design features specifically for the processing characteristics of xiaolongbao / dumplings:
Capacity configuration: designed for 1000 kg/h, matching the customer’s order growth needs.
Freezing temperature: chamber temperature at -35°C, outlet core temperature stably reaches -18°C.
Refrigeration system: uses Freon (R507) refrigerant, environmentally friendly, highly efficient, and stable in operation.
Freezing time: optimised air flow and temperature fields based on the thin-crust, large-filling nature of xiaolongbao, allowing rapid passage through the maximum ice crystal formation zone (-1°C to -5°C) to minimise ice crystal damage to the dough structure.
Continuous operation: the single spiral structure enables continuous production – feeding → freezing → discharging in one seamless flow, with no manual intervention in between.
Compact footprint: the single spiral freezer has a compact structure, occupying only 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor space required by other types of freezers with the same capacity, making it suitable for the existing workshop layout of a local factory.
After commissioning, all performance indicators exceeded the customer’s expectations:
Production mode: batch-type (load-in, load-out) → continuous (a qualitative leap)
Hourly output: approx. 100–200 kg/h → 1000 kg/h (5 to 10 times increase)
Freezing time per batch: several hours → continuous operation, no batch waiting (greatly improved time efficiency)
Xiaolongbao cracking rate: relatively high → significantly reduced (markedly improved quality)
Labour requirement: high (handling, stacking, monitoring) → low (only equipment operation monitoring needed) (labour costs substantially reduced)
Order fulfilment capacity: constrained, unable to meet surging orders → ample, can handle confidently (capacity bottleneck completely resolved)
“Before, with the cabinet freezer, we were always in a rush when orders piled up – production couldn’t keep up and quality was unstable. After switching to this single spiral freezer, 1 ton per hour is easily achieved; the xiaolongbao / dumplings come out with excellent appearance and no cracking, and we’ve cut labour by more than half. Most importantly, we no longer worry about being unable to deliver when orders surge.”
– Production Manager, a local frozen food enterprise
Capacity: from “insufficient” to “more than enough”
Quality: from “unstable” to “highly consistent”
Labour: from “multiple handlers” to “one monitor”
Delivery: from “worried about missing deadlines” to “handled with ease”
The 1000 kg/h single spiral freezer replaces batch operation with continuous production, and fluctuating conditions with precise temperature control – enabling this local xiaolongbao / dumplings factory to completely leave behind the persistent headaches of “low output, low efficiency, poor quality, and excessive labour.”
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If you are also struggling with the capacity bottleneck, quality instability, and high labour costs of cabinet freezers –
Contact us for three free services:
Free process consultation – we recommend the optimal equipment configuration based on your product type and capacity requirements
Free layout planning – we provide a equipment floor plan based on your workshop dimensions
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