Baking & Snack - November 2023 - 30

BAKERY EXPRESS
around and run product earlier in the day, because right
now we have about 6 to 8 hours of pretzels that go through
the spiral freezer, " he explained. " Spiral freezing capacity is
the real constraint. "
The bakery additionally installed a Promach case packer
last year for its bulk packaging needs.
" We used to have a hand-folding station, and now it's all
automated, which is super helpful, " Mr. Reade said. " The
nice thing about this line is it gives us the flexibility to pack
a variety of stuff. We do muffins and donuts; we can do pastries;
we can do croissants; you name it. And we've got a
wide range of sizes we can do. "
Bakery Express is also renovating its 2,500-square-foot
wash area and adding two new Douglas Machines Corp.
tunnel washers for pans and trays, as well as a rack washer.
The renovated room will be air-conditioned and segregate
the washers from the rest of the bakery, providing a more
comfortable and quiet environment for employees, Mr.
Reade said.
livery, " he explained.
During Baking & Snack's
visit the bakery was also
producing its frozen cookie
dough, which it offers in 15
different varieties in 2- or 4-oz
sizes. Cookie dough is mixed
in a 1,400-lb Topos Mondial mixer
installed this year, then the bowl is automatically
lifted into a Topos Mondial hopper
Top: Muffins are
placed into trays by
hand before being
packaged.
Bottom: Donuts and
other baked goods
travel through the
spiral cooler.
before going through an FME wire cutter.
" This machine saved us probably a couple hundred
thousand dollars, " Mr. Reade said. " It's not cheap, but it's
not a $400,000 piece of equipment, but it has the capability
to do exactly what those major pieces of equipment do. It
runs really well. "
Cookies then go through a nitrogen tunnel freezer that
runs between -270˚F and -300˚F before being conveyed to
a checkweigher and bulk packer.
For its growing frozen operation, the bakery is also adding
a new donut line, which it plans to have running by the
end of the year.
" We've had to expand the actual footprint of the bakery
to accommodate some of the equipment that we bought, "
Mr. Borsh said. " So much of the business has been shifting
to the frozen side, and that just takes a lot of space. "
The line will feature a new Topos Mondial proofer,
which Mr. Reade described as the " crown jewel " of the bakery's
proof boxes, as well as a spiral freezer that will significantly
boost Bakery Express' frozen capacity.
" [The freezer] is going to enable us to shuffle labor
30 Baking & Snack November 2023 / www.bakingbusiness.com
A look at what's next
Going forward, Bakery Express aims to diversify its product
offerings within its customer base, especially on the
fresh side, Mr. Borsh said. Within the next seven years, he'd
like the bakery to double its annual sales.
One way Bakery Express can accomplish this, Mr. Borsh
suggested, is by beginning to produce higher end bakery
products such as crusty breads.
" In the channels where we're already well established,
there's a need for that, " he said. " If you can take a customer
from buying a $1.29 donut to a $4.99 loaf of bread, that's
big in a c-store. You only have to sell two to three of those
a day to really have the category look very good from a
growth perspective. "
The bakery's immediate plans, however, are to complete
its equipment installations and get production humming at
full force.
" In our business, if you're not investing in your business,
you're just not going to make it, " Mr. Borsh said. " If you're
not automating these processes, what are you doing? We
very consciously look for opportunities. "
Reflecting on the success of Bakery Express, Mr. Borsh
said he's proudest of the culture the team has built. It's a culture
of doing whatever it takes to get the job done - the
true embodiment of corporate grit.
" Corporate grit is all of us on the line punching donuts;
it's literally all-hands-on-deck going from making 100,000
of something to 200,000 overnight, " he said. " It's literally everybody
changing their lives just to make sure that we get it
done. No matter what it takes. "
With ambitious plans for growth and the unwavering attitude
to back it up, Bakery Express is full steam ahead on
its path to bakery dominance.
*
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Baking & Snack - November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - November 2023
