Technology
An equipment show at a Cincinnati, Ohio, showroom, Professional Reps showcased several pieces to aid the modern pizzeria worker.
Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler// Networld Media Group
September 4, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
In the bustling world of pizzerias, where the air is thick with the scent of bubbling cheese and tangy tomato sauce, the unsung heroes are the machines that transform simple ingredients into a culinary masterpiece. From the fiery heart of a brick oven to the precise blades of a dough mixer, the right pizza equipment can be the difference between a mediocre slice and a transcendent experience, shaping the very foundation of a pizza restaurant’s success.
At an equipment event held at Professional Reps’ test kitchen in Cincinnati, Ohio, tech and pizza equipment were on display for guests. The technologies showcased suggested an easier time in the kitchen for pizzaiolos with limited time. We took a look at five pieces of equipment making waves in the restaurant industry today.
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Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler// Networld Media Group |
Robotics take center stage
Designed for pizzerias with heavy traffic, the XPizza Cube 3.0 by X Robotics tops pizzas with sauce, cheese and freshly sliced pepperoni.
The first step is to load the ingredients into the refrigerated compartment, which holds 2.4 gallons of sauce, 25 pounds of cheese and six whole sticks of pepperoni. Next, choose a recipe. Select from preset recipes or go with custom designs. Users can also edit recipes on the go. Standard presets include Margarita, Pepperoni, Double Pepperoni and more.
Set a pizza skin on the robotic tray and in less than a minute, the user has an assembled pizza ready for the oven.
The machine is a countertop appliance, said Igor Buchatskiy, vice president of business development for X Robotics.
“It tops any pizza from eight to 16 inches,” Buchatskiy said. “It makes up to 100 pizzas before it needs to be refilled.”
Buchatskiy said it’s an ideal machine for restaurants making 100 pizzas a day. “That’s when the labor savings and ingredient savings and consistency kicks in,” he added. “It saves on labor, it saves on ingredients, and it makes sure all of their pizzas are consistent.”
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Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler// Networld Media Group |
Using conveyors for ease
The Ovention Conveyor 2600 Oven is a small conveyor oven with independently controlled top and bottom blowers with speeds up to 741 CFM. Ovention is a division of Hatco, an equipment manufacturer.
It cooks 80 pizzas per hour in conveyor mode and fits up to a 24-inch pie. It also grills, roasts, bakes, steams, broils and air fries. The technology behind it is called precision impingement – there’s no microwaves in the oven at all. It’s air controlled from the top and the bottom.
Richard Larsen, president and managing partner for Professional Reps, “said we can simulate by cooking on a stone putting more air on the bottom to get more browning. And we get the caramelization on the pizza and the cupping of the pepperoni.”
Even better? It’s ventless. No hood system is required. The oven is prime for schools, casinos or bars as well as pizzerias.
“You’re not going to run across many pizza restaurants where you don’t work with Hatco or Ovention at some point,” Larsen said.
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Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler// Networld Media Group |
Holding pattern
Hatco’s countertop Flav-R-Savor humidified holding and display cabinet Model FSDT-1 holds up to four whole pizzas for display.
The cabinet has a rotating rack motor, four-tier circle rack and comes in designer colors and with accessory decals and food pans. It also comes in a five-tier circle rack, a four-tier pan rack configuration, three-shelf angle rack, seven-shelf multi-purpose rack and a three-tier pretzel tree.
“It’s a humidified holding cabinet so you can keep your products in place in front of your customers for display or the customer can remove the product themselves while maintaining the integrity of the pizza for an extended period of time,” said Trevor Sutherland, Central Ohio territory manager and corporate chef for Professional Reps.
The cabinet is especially useful for slice shops, as it showcases the whole pie and guests can choose a slice to be warmed up in the oven. While it works well in pizza shops, it is also a choice for convenience stores who sell pizza by the slice.
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Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler//Networld Media Group |
Under pressure
The Proluxe dough press line eases labor, as it presses dough out to be topped. Blaze Pizza is one chain that uses dough presses in house. The presses don’t require a skilled pizzaiolo to stretch the dough — only an employee who can hit two buttons.
“It does take away some of the texture of the dough so it’s not for everybody, but in a high-volume operation it really makes it so that you can (make) a lot of pizzas,” Larsen added.
The presses have light heat and only for a few seconds. Sutherland said the light heat mimics a pizzaiolo working the dough with his or her hands to soften the dough. “People don’t think about how handling the dough changes how it would relax, so it’s to really kind of simulate that time if you’re actually tossing the dough,” he said.
Dough presses are good in high-volume situations and help lower labor costs.
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Photo: Mandy Wolf Detwiler// Networld Media Group |
On fire
Proluxe’s Carbon’s gas-powered oven is a thing of beauty. With an electric in-floor heater and a smart controller, the pizzaiolo can maintain oven temps and can auto adjust where you need heat to help your oven run more efficiently and save on energy. There’s a state-of-the-art electric heater beneath the brick.
There’s also a patented ceramic convex domed ceiling that sits 16-inches above the deck to provide up to 80% more thermal convection power for less rotating in the oven and for accurate heat. It’s great for open kitchens that allow guests to watch their pizzas being baked in the oven.
A 16-inch oven can bake up to 45 pizzas per hour in the Forge 56 model, while the larger Forge 96 model bakes up to 200 pizzas per hour.
It’s a visual appeal,” Sutherland said. “It gives you the visuals of a wood-fired oven. It gives you the finish of a wood-fired oven. However, it is gas and electric assisted, so it keeps your time and your temps a little more even.”
In conclusion
The evolution of pizza equipment, from robotic topping machines to advanced conveyor ovens and automated dough presses, is fundamentally reshaping the restaurant industry. These innovations are not just about adding new gadgets; they represent a shift toward greater efficiency, consistency and cost savings. By automating repetitive tasks, these technologies free up employees, allowing pizzerias to manage high-volume demands with less labor. The result is a more streamlined and profitable operation, where technology serves as the silent partner, ensuring that every slice, no matter how quickly it’s made, maintains the quality and flavor that defines a great pizza.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
