Technology’s impact on bakery production is reflected in higher throughputs, increased efficiencies and superior outcomes. To realize technology’s full potential, however, requires human change, either in the goals of management or the expectations of staff.
An example of the former is found in vacuum cooling. First, it was simple salad greens that were subjected to vacuum cooling as an alternative to shipping 1,000 lbs. of ice per pallet from the West Coast to the Northeast, demonstrating the solid economics of the technology. Vacuum cooling of baked goods, on the other hand, is a rarity in North America, although executives in Europe and elsewhere who have crunched the numbers are gravitating to the technology.
Ambient cooling in large spiral coolers is the norm for commodities like buns and rolls, with blast freezing sometimes used for higher-priced goods. Time, space and mechanical refrigeration have costs, and some bakers are switching to vacuum to speed throughput, lower labor costs and reduce energy inputs.
About 30 bakeries worldwide are using a system from Aston Foods AG in Steinhausen, Switzerland, including two continuous systems in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, according to CEO Christian Vetterle. No refrigerants are involved in the cooler: The pressure gradient is managed by controls that adjust the vacuum to anywhere from 10 to 500 millibars (0.145-7.252 psi), depending upon how much steam is generated by the product load.
Not only is the final set-point temperature reached faster, “bake time itself also is reduced,” Vetterle explained in an e-mail exchange. “In a traditional baking process, the definition and final stabilization of the crumb-matrix happens during the last phase of baking,” when starch and proteins gelatinize. “This process can take place during the first phase of vacuum cooling as long as the temperature of the crumb is between 60-95°C.” Starch retrogradation is much slower, which retards the drying out of finished goods.
Capitalizing the system gives many executives pause, he allows, although companies as far flung as Australia and South America have crunched the numbers and converted to vacuum cooling. All had to first make a financial case for the investment, says Vetterle. Some realized substantial sales increases, as a result of both compressed production time and positive consumer responses to better-tasting baked goods.
The gate “acts like a valve” for continuous infeed, according to Blake Svejkovsky, a Heat and Control engineer. Instead of a gate, the conveying drum rotates to expose narrower and wider areas on an oval-shaped opening to consistently dispense chips into the seasoner. Cross contamination of seasonings is less likely than with older systems, which were located closer to the fryers, he says, and changeovers are quicker on the more compact units.
A graduate of West Point, Blackburn is among the junior military officers recruited for the Charlotte operation. He exemplifies the “servant leader” model being deployed for plant management. The goal is to “create candid conversations” between associates and managers, says Jeremy Bowen, director-manufacturing, in which critical feedback and ideas for corrective changes are central to the continuous improvement effort.
As in the bakery, epoxy coatings on walls and ceilings and continuous flooring to replace brick have brought the chip plant up to contemporary sanitation standards.
Cases from multiple lines converge in “perpetual merge” lanes feeding robotic palletizers, where mixed loads can be assembled. “Everybody you sell to wants customization,” says Flickinger. With the new technology, Snyder’s-Lance can deliver it.
The plant update also underscores the evolution of food automation. The old line’s conveyors snaked over and back through the packaging area to orient products to machines with limited capabilities. An early generation robotic pick-and-place machine exemplified the problem: Occupying a footprint of about 50 sq. ft., its two axes of motion locked Lance into a single tray pack.
That machine and others are replaced by ABB Flex-Pickers that can fill any number of tray configurations. The new equipment is considerably more compact, opening up the work area and fostering the kind of staff interaction and collaboration leadership is nurturing.
Advanced automation enables productivity improvements, but people drive it. Snyder’s-Lance is shooting for best-in-class production status, and that requires retooling of both the people and the machinery. The mission is summarized in signage that reads, “Our house, our future.”
Whether an equipment upgrade or new technology is being considered, plant improvements are unlikely to have the hoped-for effect unless they are accompanied by a fresh approach by both management and staff. People are the X factor in bakery automation, and how they interact with system improvements determines how much impact those changes will have.
