SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Pan Pepin has added production capabilities to its facilities in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The bakery invested $25 million into a bread line that can run up to 150 loaves per minute, doubling the operation’s capacity.

Housed in a new 40,000-square-foot building, the line will produce high-volume items such as Pan Pepin’s Club Sandwich bread in white, whole grain white and whole wheat varieties.

New equipment from AMF Bakery Systems, Shaffer, Shick Esteve, Stewart Systems, Burford and Bettendorf-Stanford will help automate critical production processes and minimize food safety risks, said Mario Somoza, president, Pan Pepin. The bakery installed an AMF Automated Fermentation Room and an automated tray washing system to provide efficiency and consistency to the operation. A quality control/R.&D. lab also was added to facilitate the testing of raw materials and accelerate new product development.

With the new line, Pan Pepin will add 38 new jobs. The company already employs more than 500 people.

Mr. Somoza said the expansion is the cornerstone of a 2010 master plan developed to manage the company’s growth and streamline operations. “In addition to the new bread line, over the last few years we have also built a new employee parking facility, a new distribution depot on the east of the island, installed a brand new tortilla line and built a new water treatment facility,” he said.