Baking & Snack - September 2015 - 111

EQUIPMENT
Refrigeration/Freezing

pay it

FORWARD
Bakers can reap rewards by
investing today in freezing
systems that expand as their
businesses prosper.

by Dan Malovany

Be prepared. Following this motto can save a lot of
money and even more aggravation if bakers make a calculated bet on the future when installing a freezer. All
too often, frozen baked goods manufacturers underestimate their companies' potential for growth. As a result,
when the unexpected good news happens, they find
themselves scrambling to meet customers' demands. Or
they're sacrificing speed-to-market because expanding
freezer capacity generally requires a time-consuming,
capital-intensive project.
It's not exactly an act of kindness - nor a sign of
chutzpah - to invest for success, especially in a system
such as a freezer that can quickly become a pain in the
bottleneck. Rather, it's just common sense. As Andrew
Knowles, sales support manager for JBT FoodTech advised, "First and most importantly, new plants need to
have enough foresight to design for expansion. Special
considerations need to be made for future cooling capacity, additional footprint for future lines and more."
The solution to bolstering capacity involves examining - and anticipating - where the bakery's limitations
are, according to Ashley Morris, sales manager, The
Kaak Group, which is represented in North America by
Naegele Inc. Bakery Systems, Alsip, IL. In some cases,
equipment manufacturers such as The Kaak Group offer turnkey concepts that integrate proofing, baking and
freezing. "Some of the key criteria are to make all op-

tions available to the customer during the design process," Mr. Morris said. "This can be in the form of alternative line layouts, visiting existing bakeries producing
similar products or incorporating machinery in the production line that can be expanded in the future."
Boosting a freezer's volume doesn't always require
structural changes to the facility, noted Anthony Salsone,
sales engineer, G&F Systems, Roosevelt, NY. G&F
Systems partners with Air Management Technologies
(AMT), an environmental engineering firm based in
Lewisburg, PA, when it comes to installing freezers.
"Because future growth is often unknown and unpredictable, all G&F Systems spiral blast freezers are
designed and manufactured with variable frequency
drives, allowing for a greater range of dwell times and
product throughput," he said. "However, if this builtin range is not enough, expanding an existing system
is possible but will be difficult and may not be costeffective or practical."
If the actual space within the spiral freezer allows,
adding a wider belt will enable a frozen pie producer, for
instance, to significantly increase throughput by placing four 8-in. desserts across the belt instead of three
at a time. "They may need a 30-in. belt for now, but if
they know they are going to expand in the future, they
need to initially buy a bigger system to accommodate
for that growth," said Jonathan Lasecki, chief engineer,

Bakers need to conduct due
diligence to ensure they tailor
their freezer system to the
products they offer.
The Kaak Group

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Baking & Snack - September 2015

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