Plenty of packaging options
For retail bagged items, buns and premium rolls travel through a UBE slicer, a UBE bagger and a Kwik Lock bag closure system, then to one of two AMF ABL packaging systems. The vacuum heads of the automatic basket loaders gently pick up the packages, Mr. Mitchell said.
“The ABLs pick up the bags without touching the buns,” he noted. “Typically, you can have a lot of damaged product in the packaging area because it’s shortly after baking and the product is so delicate.”
For contingency reasons, Turano Baking installed a fourth, identical Stewart P-1000 pillow packer, which may serve either production line. After slicing, large packages of soft rolls then pass through indexers and aligners to make sure the pillow packers are evenly fed. A heat sealer system separates larger packages into smaller compartments.
“We can take a 30-pack and heat-seal it into three packages of 10 buns, or we can take a 12-pack of brioche and seal it into two 6-packs,” Mr. Mitchell explained. “Because food service operators open up only 6 or 10 buns at a time, the smaller packs help them maintain freshness at the store level.”
The packages travel through metal detection and through one of four AMF basket loaders and stackers — or they are placed on trays or manually case-packed. As its geographic reach expanded over the past few years, Turano Baking discovered it needed to do more cardboard case-packing because the distribution — especially to new customers — is only one way.
The bakery plans to install an inline case erector and automatic case-packer in the near future. Additionally, returned baskets go through a tray washer before reentering the bakery.
