Baking & Snack - April 2005 - 42

FOODS
FOODS

After steeping, the corn slurry is
pumped to a separator where the
steep water is removed and the flinty
hulls washed out. The cooked corn is
conveyed to a Maddox stone mill for
grinding to form a masa that is fed
directly into the cutters and formers.
"Some items use prepared masa
flour," Mr. Kraut explained, pointing out the Peerless horizontal mixer
used to prepare such doughs.
The formers for the three corn
tortilla lines can be switched around
to allow the company to produce
the maximum number of product
styles: rounds, triangles and other
cuts. After baking, round corn tortillas pass through a cutter to create wedge-shaped pieces, which are
sold to restaurants to be fried before
service.
Retail tortilla chips pass through a
Maddox oven, equilibrator (cooler)
and fryer. They leave via a draining and cooling system that uses an
exhaust fan to draw off both heat
and excess fat. The chips enter a
tumbling drum for seasoning and
move into the packaging room on
a bucket elevator that feeds a large
surge bin. This bin accumulates the
chips ahead of the two Woodman
vertical f/f/s baggers, each equipped
with net-weighting systems. Package
sizes range from 12 to 32 oz. Bags

44 / BAKING & SNACK / April 2005

ᮤ Bagged, sealed and scanned by a metal detector, flour tortillas are packed into shipping cartons.

"We try to keep at least two truckloads of Chi-Chi's products on hand
at all times for possible rush orders,"
Mr. Kraut explained.

are packed into shipping cases and
stacked onto pallets.
The corn side's newest line line is
a Heat and Control taco shell system.
The taco shells are formed as round
corn tortillas, then baked and cooled.
The tortillas are then automatically
loaded into forming moulds and
fried. As they leave the fryer, they
are draped over a flexible band to
cool before reaching the stacking
table. Line operators group the stillflexible shells manually and insert a
small paper separator that helps the
shells maintain their shape during
packaging and shipping.
Mr. Kraut noted that a tostada line
will soon be added adjacent to the
taco shell system.
The grouped taco shells pass
through a Rose Forgrove overwrapper before they reach a shrink tunnel. An erector automatically opens
cartons, and an operator pushes the
wrapped shells into them before they
run through the sealing system. Finished packages are loaded into shipping cases, which are then stacked on
a pallet.
In addition to its freezer section,
the large warehouse is racked to provide 1,560 pallet slots for dry goods.
The gravity-fed system assures firstin, first-out handling of finished
products and raw materials.

MUTUAL SUPPORT. "We have
worked hard to make one company
out of these two plants," Mr. Longacre said. When communicating
initiatives and programs, Casa de Oro
brings its senior management teams
from both locations together at one
time to talk about issues. "We have
one meeting in one place, not two at
the separate sites," he said.
Mr. Kraut, who has worked in
both plants, agreed and said, "This
is a big improvement. The cooperation between the two plants is
increasing."
Some functions such as marketing, finance and administration are
housed at Louisville, while Omaha
is the base for R&D, pilot plant and
engineering activities. Decisions
about new equipment, for example,
are researched with the help of the
Omaha engineering group.
Besides the updates, Casa de Oro
plans to grow. "One of our goals is to
increase sales by more than 20% per
year, and in order to do this we will
need new and more efficient equipment," Mr. Longacre said. "In flour
tortillas, we are planning to order a
new high-speed line this summer. We
have begun researching the various
alternatives, and we will make our
final decision within 90 days.
"In addition, we are fortunate to
have a top-notch sales and marketing group, headed by Chuck Sinon
and a retail group headed by Brad
Palmer, who are committed to filling
up this new capacity," he added.
Growth is an important Plaza Belmont goal. "We are always looking for
acquisitions," Mr. Longacre observed.
"At some point, I expect Casa de Oro
will be national. Plaza Belmont is very
active in adding to its business."
Ⅲ

Baking & Snack - April 2005

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - April 2005