With the increasing pressure to cut costs and improve efficiency, more and more food manufacturers are automating their processes as much as possible to reduce labour inputs.

Heat and Control claims its Chip-Stirr is a step towards automating the process of making chips, thus reducing labour and training costs while producing a consistent quality unattainable with hand stirring.

The company claims output gains of up to 25 per cent compared to hand stirring and a "significant" reduction in rejects due to clusters and soft centers.

"In addition, it also ensures your chips receive the precise time, temperature and agitation programme required - with perfect repeatability," the company claimed.

The control system takes over potato batching, slicing, loading, oil temperature, stirring and product discharge, whilst still allowing the program to be changed at any time.

The Chip-Stirr is built to work with Heat and Control's batch cookers to produce up to 500 lbs per hour of chips. This system can also be fitted to all of the company's Mastermatic and Macbeth-style cookers.