Good morning to a toaster that never burns toast

Cambridge Consultants develops new toasting technology

Imagine -- a kitchen appliance that actually does what it is supposed to do! Cambridge Consultants Limited (CCL) is proud to unveil its latest innovation -- Toastz, the toaster that won't burn your toast.

Toastz is a concept product that is incapable of letting toast burn -- unless that's what you want. It toasts all bread, whether frozen or dry, to the browning level desired by the user.

Bread is lowered into and raised from the toasting chamber via a touch control mechanism. In order to monitor how near to the pre-set browning point the bread has progressed, an air stream is extracted from the toasting chamber the toaster's lid. The air stream is monitored for caramelised particles produced as a natural component of the steam released from the bread during toasting.

Toastz's lid doubles in function: not only does it guide air away for monitoring, but also keeps the toast warm when it has finished toasting.

"The idea for Toastz came from an incident involving a recent close encounter between burning toast and a smoke alarm", commented Paul Brown, CCL's senior designer. "Although toasters are in every household and cheap to buy in all shapes and sizes, manufacturers have yet to make a toaster that avoids the headache of burnt toast, until now.

"After working on a variety of technologies, a prototype was constructed, a patent was registered and our model built. We are now discussing the design and key technologies with a number of leading manufacturers", he added.

Notes for editors:

Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide. For over 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of over 300 engineers, designers, scientists and consultants, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA), Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, transport, energy, cleantech and wireless communications.

Created by three Cambridge graduates in 1960, the company has grown into a leading technology business, renowned worldwide for its ability to solve technical problems and provide innovative, practical solutions to commercial issues. In 2009, the company was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, and in 2011 was awarded a second Queen's Award, this time for Innovation. For more information visit: www.CambridgeConsultants.com

Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting. Altran supports companies in the creation and development of their new products and services. For thirty years, the Group has been providing services to key players in the fields of Aerospace, Automotive, Energy, Railways, Finance, Healthcare, and Telecoms. Present at every stage of project development from new-technology strategic planning through to manufacturing, Altran is able to capitalise on its expertise in four key domains: Product Lifecycle Management, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering & Embedded Systems and IT Systems. With a global network of 17,000 collaborators (including 15,000 consultants) and 500 major clients throughout the world, the Group reported sales of €1,420m in 2011. More info: www.altran.com

For further information:

Cambridge Consultants

Patrick Pordage
Marketing Communications Director
Tel: +44 1223 420024
Patrick.Pordage@CambridgeConsultants.com