Baking & Snack - May 2023 - 26

PIANTEDOSI BAKING CO.
Dozens of Piantedosi
Baking's signature
29-inch French
breads come out of
the oven and head
toward cooling and
packaging.
pieces tumble down a chute, then through sheeter rollers,
a curling chain, a 6-foot pressure plate and another
curling chain. The aligned dough pieces then travel onto
a reciprocator that drops them onto peel boards or channel
pans.
Meanwhile, on another line, a Gemini Bakery
Equipment makeup mainly creates panned buns and
soft rolls and is outfitted with a variety of stampers,
cutters, sprayers and topping systems for making everything
from kaiser rolls to soft hamburger buns. The
line also has three scoring systems for creating multiple
products. If needed, this line can also produce hearth
bread and rolls.
With four makeup lines and three ovens, the operation
relies on a network of interconnecting Capway
conveyors to maximize throughput. Arthur Piantedosi
said this matrix allows the bakery to consistently operate
three makeup lines while maximizing oven capacity.
During Baking & Snack's tour, for instance, the bakery
operated makeup Lines No. 1, 2 and 4.
He pointed out that makeup Line Nos. 2 and 3 are so
similar that they can seamlessly feed any of the three ovens.
A Capway T-conveyor directs peel boards or pans to
the proper proofer and oven. This allows the bakery to
clean one of the makeup lines while keeping the ovens
full of product.
After baking and passing through a Capway depanner,
the products cool on overhead racetrack conveyors
while pans travel through a brush cleaner before recirculating
back to the makeup area.
The fresh-baked goods then travel to the enclosed
packaging department on a mezzanine level. Here, the
bakery has one LeMatic and two UBE slicer/baggers that
place products into 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-pack bags followed
by Kwik Lok bag closing and Lock or Sesotec metal detection.
From there, the packages head for cartoning and
26 Baking & Snack May 2023 / www.bakingbusiness.com
freezing or to the shipping department for fresh delivery.
On the lower level, the bakery uses a creatively designed
" bread sled " - an open-faced box that's shaped
like a child's sled - for shipping 10-packs of its 29-inch
French breads. Instead of a bulky cardboard case, the
sled has a handle on the back and is overwrapped in
plastic for distribution.
" The sleds are easy to freeze and easy to carry and
make great sleds in the winter, " Arthur Piantedosi said.
As the bakery expands in the retail channel, additional
deep dives will be needed to make sure that the
packaging department remains in sync with production
volumes.
" If you're producing smaller packages, you need to
produce more of them at a faster rate to keep up with
the volume of product that's being produced, " Arthur
Piantedosi observed. " It's more challenging than producing
larger packaging sizes. "
However, additional operational challenges related
to the expansion of retail sales will be a positive signal
that the fourth generation is succeeding with their vision
while leaving their mark on the family business.
" When we look to the future, it's about continuing
with what we have done successfully with foodservice
while adding new business opportunities such as retail, "
Adam Piantedosi said.
From an operations and sales perspective, Arthur
Piantedosi said, the biggest lesson from the pandemic
involves reacting quickly to the changes in the market
and staying nimble enough to jump on opportunities
when they present themselves.
" We want to leave the business in a better place than
when we received it, " he explained.
At Piantedosi Baking, the secret to long-term success
is no secret at all. It's about doing the right thing for everyone
involved.
*
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - May 2023

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