Baking & Snack - May 2024 - 88

SLICED BREAD PACKAGING
Top: Manufacturers are
working to make machinery
more foolproof for
inexperienced workers.
Bettendorf Stanford
Bottom: Uniform data collection
will be an important
part of helping bakeries
better predict equipment
performance in the future.
Burford Corp.
that stay in the environment before it needs to be packaged?
That affects the quality, " he said. " Once you put
things into accumulation, you've got to be able to deplete
them. "
Kehrli went on to say that if bakers are making 100
loaves of sliced bread per minute, they can deplete any
accumulated loaves that had to be set aside during an
unplanned stoppage by packaging 115 to 120 loaves a
minute once the line is up and running again.
Of course, redundancy affords bakers the opportunity
to keep running when one piece of equipment goes
down by using a spare machine or line.
" That means you have equipment sitting there doing
nothing, which sometimes is the right solution and
sometimes not, " Kehrli said. " If it were up to me, I would
have accumulation systems because packaging equipment
BAKERS MUST CONSIDER
WHAT THEY ARE PLANNING
TO USE THEIR PACKAGING
EQUIPMENT FOR AND IF
THEY WILL NEED TO GO
UP IN SPEED.
tends to run better at a consistent speed. When they start
from zero and go to 100, it's not normally a good idea.
They are more efficient going from 100 to 120. "
Bob Bezanilla, North American sales representative
for Schutte Bagclosures, said larger bakeries often incorporate
two closing machines on their line so they can
turn to the backup when one goes down.
" Your newer and bigger bakeries are probably more
forward thinking and incorporate that, " he said. " It's
relatively painless to swap a machine in and out, but it
requires a mechanic and all that takes time. Your bigger
hitters will simply shut one machine off and have the
ability to turn another one on. "
In the United Kingdom, it is common to have an
overflow line, said Richard Hobson, chief executive officer
at We Seal.
" If the desired output could be achieved with three
lines running at 55 loaves per minute, a bakery would
usually install a fourth line, running them all at 40 to 45
loaves per minute, " he explained. " This approach allows
for production to continue if maintenance is required on
one of the lines. "
Looking to the future
The companies making closure equipment for bread
bags are keeping their eyes on serving bakeries into
the future with smart machinery with more sustainable
equipment.
Kwik Lok manufactures equipment that can be managed
through a tablet or smartphone, helping bakeries
strapped for workers.
" I know that hiring and maintaining workforce is a
major challenge for bakeries so automation really helps
them because there are so many roles that need to be
covered, and if we can help with our automated machines,
then they can put their people on things that
only people can do, " said Karen Reed, global director of
marketing and communications, Kwik Lok.
Burford Corp., a Middleby Bakery company, is looking
at improved data collection for machinery, although
they've been doing it for years.
" We want to get to the next level where we use data more
effectively for our customers, allowing them to easily inte88
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Baking & Snack - May 2024

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