Commercial bakers know a thing or two about fast changeovers, and that had to drive the mindset for quick business changes due to COVID-19.
At the start of the pandemic last year, Baltimore-based H&S Bakery made nimble adjustments from foodservice to retail, and as a result, its sister company Schmidt Baking saw an overall 50% spike in sales for branded retail bread in the second quarter of 2020.
“We adapted very quickly,” said Shawn Paterakis, key accounts manager, H&S Bakery and Distribution. The company was able to streamline SKUs, increase shifts and boost employment in the Baltimore area in a very short time. “When your feet get put to the fire, you’re able to sort things out fast.”
Additionally, Schmidt’s 647 brand — its low-calorie, high-fiber bread — experienced 80% overall growth last year. That meant major shifts to accommodate the boom.
For modern bakery manufacturing, automation is at the heart of productivity. For Northeast Foods, sister company to H&S, its highly automated facility in Clayton, NC, is winning the day.
“No matter what level of automation, suppliers must engineer their equipment to make it simpler with just the press of a button. But you can’t remove the need for the operator to look at the product and identify the quality attributes.”
“A lot of technology was put into that plant; it’s very streamlined,” Paterakis said. “In all our facilities, it’s a priority to improve efficiencies and run more smoothly and with less shrink.”
H&S also invested in expansion and equipment installations for its “mothership” bakery in Baltimore, where it runs hundreds of SKU varieties in a highly complex operation.
When determining baselines for efficiency in all its plants, H&S has a simple philosophy. “It all depends on the facility,” Paterakis said.
Many commercial bakers were facing operational challenges prior to 2020, often turning to automation as a solution. As the workforce gap widens, that’s just the first step.
It’s true that automated lines make life easier for operators who haven’t mastered the art and science of baking, but they still must understand the intricacies of the dough beyond simply turning on the machine.
“No matter what level of automation, suppliers must engineer their equipment to make it simpler with just the press of a button,” said Eric Kestenblatt, director of global bakery quality assurance for Lorton, VA-based Five Guys. “But you can’t remove the need for the operator to look at the product and identify the quality attributes.”
This requires training that goes beyond how to run equipment to meet color and size specifications.
“They need to understand the whole bake profile — the thickness of the crust and how dry or moist the product comes out of the oven,” Kestenblatt added. “Those can get overlooked if operators simply become ‘button pressers.’”