Baking&Snack - July 2011 - 76

BAKING PANS

companies in North America for reapplying glazes of its customers’ pans. In Canada, it partners with Lockwood Manufacturing, Brantford, ON, which operates the only five reglazing operations in that country. And in the US, Cainco works with all the independent reglazing centers and can assist in synergizing relationships between its pan customers and reglazers, according to Mr. Caserin. BEYOND TEFLON. Also in the US, Cainco formed a relationship with Bakeware Coating Systems Companies (BCS), Camden, NJ, which offers a wide variety of fluoropolymer pan coatings. In fact, it can provide more than 40 different fluoropolymer coatings specifically designed

for the baking industry, according to Steve Schwartz, BCS president. Also, manufacturers now produce these coatings without using the likely carcinogen perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). BCS was formed nearly 10 years ago to be the exclusive US applicators of SBS-Teflon coatings from Italy. Now, the companies offer a much wider range of fluoropolymer coatings for the baking industry as well as other manufacturing sectors in the US, according to Mr. Schwartz. “Every coating has a specific application whether it’s parbaked, croissants, higher-fat, higher-sugar, cheese applications. The list goes on and on,” Mr. Schwartz said. “For example, some doughs have very high acidity;

thus, you need a coating that is very permeation-resistant so the acids don’t seep down to the substrate.” BCS developed a special line of coatings for Mecatherm parbaked baguette lines. These lines have typically used pans with silicone elastomers; however, the rubberized silicone mechanically bonded to an aluminum tray tends to exhibit breakage, according to Mr. Schwartz. “When we see chunks where rubber is gone from pans, it’s not a mystery where the rubber went,” he said. “The pieces just break off, and it’s not wear — it just breaks. Because of that, bakeries are switching to our more permanent coatings.” DuraShield, a Bundy Baking Solutions brand, is a PFOA-free certified fluoropolymer coating. On bun

Increasing the Life of Pans
A lot of bakers aren’t even aware of the simple steps that can be taken to increase the life of their pans, according to Jason Tingley, vice-president of American Pan, a Bundy Baking Solutions company, Urbana, OH. Most of the mechanical damage to pans occurs during stacking, as the bottom pan supports the entire stack’s weight. Bakeries need to maintain slow drop speeds of stacks onto conveyors. Also, plants need to minimize the drop height and angle when stacking pans and must ensure that magnetic pickup on unstackers do not apply force to the pan. Damage can also take place at transfer points. Companies should avoid pan stacker transfers over uneven surfaces. Pan truck rollers or roller conveyors should have small diameters that are closely spaced to help distribute the load. Pan stack heights also should be as low as practical for the bakery, Mr. Tingley suggested. Pan stops also may lead to pan damage; thus, plants must avoid excessive stop pressure and steel-on-steel contact. Any conveyors under stopped pans should be polymer to avoid abrasion on pan bottoms, he added. Depanning should involve as little friction as possible, and steep depanning can cause resistance that will abrade release coatings. Depanners need to lift at the same rate as the conveyor to avoid further damage to pans and use as little air as possible because residual seeds, crumbs and cornmeal can blast away coatings. Although all residuals should be cleaned from pans before storage, bakeries also must refrain from using stiff-bristle brushes that can cause abrasions to coatings, and mechanical pan indexers must be inspected to make sure they are not scratching the coating surface. Thermal breakdown is a primary cause of release coating failures. Accordingly, bakers should avoid leaving pans in ovens during line shutdowns or running empty pans through the oven. When pans get damaged, a bakery most likely is going to have them straightened when they have them reglazed. Straightening pans protects the new coating and helps to prevent line jams. In addition, Mr. Tingley recommended that bakeries eliminate causes of any pan damage before sending their pans off to be straightened. ▼ Most commercial baking pans are constructed of aluminized steel because of its heat transfer capabilities, corrosion resistance and durability. Bakers commonly expect to get 20 reglazing cycles per pan set, which means the pans will be used for 3 to 5 years in many cases.
AMERICAN PAN

BAKING & SNACK / July 2011

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Baking&Snack - July 2011

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