Plant Features

Bakery on Main: gluten-free snack sensations

Wed, 09 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Gluten-free pioneer Bakery on Main has seen steady growth over the past two decades and brought forth a flurry of innovation in the wake of expansion into a new plant.

Baking bread/roll delectables, at a savings

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Savings-savvy Capistrano’s Bakery combined two small baking operations and renovated a larger, 38,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Phoenix that features a used, multizone, traveling-tray oven it had rebuilt with state-of-the-art features.

High-tech almond processing at Blue Diamond Growers

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Going for LEED Silver certification, Blue Diamond Growers’ new, state-of-the-art almond production plant in Turlock, CA, features nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of sophisticated almond technology, setting new standards of excellence for food safety, processing and building innovation.

Consumers are crazy for chips

Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Packaging enhancements, a twist on shapes and ingredients and many new flavor combinations continue to win over consumers.

The changing face of bread

Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400

The bread market is changing, with fluctuating commodity prices, a still-sluggish economy, consolidations, mergers and buyouts.

Baking treats the gluten-free way

Thu, 08 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Enjoy Life Foods’ cookies, snack bars, chips, cereals, granolas and trail mixes are made in an allergen-free, gluten-free facility, and the company’s 40,050-sq.-ft. production plant is bulging at the seams to accommodate growing demand for its products. Enjoy Life is expanding at such a rapid pace, it may need to add a facility or relocate to a larger one.

Snack Manufacturer of the Year: Ballreich Bros. potato chip production

Wed, 07 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Ballreich Bros.’ 75,000-sq.-ft. potato chip and snack plant churns out 2,000-5,000 lb. of product an hour. Manufacturing product on a just-in-time basis, the family owned and operated company in Tiffin, Ohio, also produces new Sweet Potato Chips and shoestring Potato Sticks in three flavors.

Angelic Bakehouse’s production purity

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Thanks to their new 22,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Cudahy, Wis., the folks at Angelic Bakehouse now have the room, additional equipment and the structure they need to efficiently produce sprouted whole-grain breads, buns, rolls and flatbread/pizza crusts using an unusual process.

Nuts, snacks, get crackin’

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Demonstrating how much the company has grown over the years, John B. Sanfilippo’s impressive 1-million-sq.-ft. production facility/corporate headquarters/distribution center in Elgin, Ill., is outfitted with speedy, state-of-the-art equipment and technology to produce thousands of nut products, snacks and nut mixes.

Masterful Metropolitan

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Crafting artisan breads, café loaves, pastries and more since 1993, Metropolitan Bakery’s Philadelphia production facility mixes clever flavor combinations with a pinch of automation, European equipment and top-quality ingredients to churn out incredibly fresh baguettes, rolls and country breads, seven days a week.

Creating cannoli

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 11:05:00 -0500

From humble beginnings 40+ years ago in a small bakery near Boston to a 30,000-sq.-ft. plant today in Chelsea, Mass., outfitted with four production lines, Golden Cannoli Shells Inc. now generates more than 100,000 cannoli shells each day. The more spacious plant is also allowing the bakery to significantly increase its capacity.

Producing purr-fect artisan

Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Creating a pleasant stir in New York’s restaurants since 1987, Tom Cat combines the craftsmanship of artisan baking with a cupful of automation plus a pinch of top-quality ingredients

Baking biscotti

Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0400

We toured Nonni’s Foods 45,000-sq.-ft. biscotti production facility in Ferndale, N.Y.

State of the Industry Report on Snacks: Making a splash in snacks

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Snack manufacturers are dipping into a new wave pool of offerings for consumers

State of the Industry: Turbo-charging the bakery market

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

It’s been a slippery road this year. Impacted by a widespread drought, fluctuating commodity prices and a still-weak economy, bakers have been hit with some tough circumstances.

A slice of cheesecake production

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Flexible and ready to address many customer needs, the staff at Eli’s Cheesecake’s 62,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Chicago outputs more than 15,000 units a day on eight production lines.

Utz and its incredible cheese balls

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:21:00 -0400

Utz Quality Foods has been making potato chips for years and expanded into other snack foods such as pretzels, and its now-famous cheese balls. The Hanover, Pa., company shares how it makes its fantastic orange, bite-size snacks.

A royal snack plant

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Snak King has added a second snack production location, its recently acquired Vitner’s plant.

Creating cookies to crave

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Running two shifts a day, five days a week on four production lines, The Christie Cookie Co.’s 41,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Nashville, Tenn., has big-company ideas and procedures.

Producing pizza pronto

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Nation Pizza and Foods’ massive 190,000-sq.-ft. operation in Schaumburg, Ill.—one of the company’s two frozen product facilities—features seven speedy production lines that generate at least 30,000 lb. of dough an hour alone. We tour one of the two bakeries and one of four topping lines, which all feature upgraded and soon-to-be-installed equipment.

Simple crunch time

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Launching its own snack brand only three years ago, Simply 7 Snacks has copacked snacks for customers across the country for years.

Labriola flour power

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Popular Labriola Baking Co. recently relocated to a spacious, 175,000-sq.-ft. plant in Alsip, Ill

State of the Industry Report: Pork Rinds, Ingredients: New Twists on an Old Game

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:50:00 -0500

Pork rinds are probably the most misunderstood item in the snack category. This is surprising, because people have been eating pork rinds—also called pork skins—as long as they have been eating pigs. One of the world’s first snack foods created thousands of years ago, and favored in the southern states, pork rinds are a simple combination of fried pork skins and salt.

Perfecting purple chip production

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Axium Foods’ 130,000-sq.-ft, corn-based snacks operation in South Beloit, Ill., has expanded several times, thanks in part to the success of the many private-label products it packs and products it copacks. It’s also launching its own line of Mystic Harvest purple tortilla chips, which contain powerful antioxidants. Outfitted with seven highly flexible production lines, Axium produces 150 different stock-keeping units of snacks each week.

Masada’s Burger Bun Bonanza

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Masada Bakery’s 100,000-sq.-ft. bakery operation in Norcross, Ga., continues to grow, even in a slumping economy, thanks in part to the dramatic success of several customers.

‘Green’ Performance with Purpose

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:42:00 -0400

Chipping in for a “greener” future, Frito-Lay North America’s snack manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Ariz., is the company’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold snack unit—a remarkable achievement in its own right. But the plant, which Frito-Lay calls its Near Net Zero project showcase, is also the result of a highly ambitious sustainability project that took the location “off the grids,” running primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing zero landfill waste. The plant could be the most sustainable food production facility of its kind in the U.S.

Custom pan solutions made in America

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Lloyd Pans, Spokane, Wash., produces its pan products in the good ’ole USA, using a proprietary stick-resistant coating that cleans easily and is 100% PTFE-free. What’s interesting, though, is that it sells almost all of the baking pans online.

State of the Industry Report—Frozen Pizza—A Nice Slice

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:10:00 -0400

Nearly four years after the economic downturn, many Americans are still keeping a tight rein on their expenditures, monitoring how much they spend on essentials, including groceries, and nonessentials, such as eating out. Not surprisingly, many food manufacturers and restaurants have been impacted by this new-found consumer frugality, prompting the former to trim unprofitable items from their product lines and the latter to add more specials to their menus.

Software, Solid Solutions

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:01:00 -0400

Like all manufacturers, bakers and snack producers know that their success (and profitability) depends on more than just regularly introducing new products. Controlling overhead, operating and equipment costs is a major part of the equation.

Artisan Dough-How with a High-Tech Twist

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:54:00 -0400

Hudson Bread, North Bergen, N.J., is rather a paradox. Starting out in 1994 as a small, fully artisan bakery owned and operated by president/chief executive Mariusz (Mark) Kolodziej, Hudson Bread became a favored producer, as its scrumptious baguettes, boules, rolls, brioche, buns, Ciabattas, Pullman loaves and much more gave it plenty of momentum to grow and expand.