How Matcon helped a bakery find a better production solution

British Bakels benefited from Matcon's IBC system.

Firing Industries is Canada’s source for top powder blending equipment by Matcon, renowned for its Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs). Matcon helps businesses worldwide resolve their powder-handling issues and develop lean, flexible manufacturing facilities. One success story involved British Bakels, a United Kingdom food company that needed a more agile production system to cope with small batch runs and high recipe variety while handling allergens safely.

Separating filling, blending, and packing

Bakels manufactures specialized ingredients to the global baking market, from individual bakeries to international chains. Seven years ago, the company began the first phase of a £2.5 million investment to improve its production flexibility to accommodate its increasing line of ingredient premixes. The company realized it had no spare production capacity for the new products, even with 24/7 operation, and the in-line process was not flexible enough to handle smaller batch runs. Each mixer took four operators roughly three hours to clean, increasing downtime by 22 per cent.

For a new solution, Bakels turned to Matcon. This new machinery had a small footprint, so it fit perfectly into the production area alongside fixed mixers. The Matcon system separated the processes of filling, blending, and packing by using the IBCs to transport material throughout the overall process, so each procedure could occur simultaneously. Employees no longer had to wait at the packing line during mixer loading, blending, or cleaning, nor for the packing lines to complete batches.

The new system of powder blending equipment included the following:

• sack tipping for filling IBCs;
• IBC blenders and intensifiers;
• feeding to single FFS packing; and
• 2,000-litre stainless steel IBCs.

Benefits of the new system included better product security, reduced blending times, more efficient packing, and no need to clean powder blending equipment. In the end, Bakels released £175,000 back into the business through inventory.

“The new plant means we can produce an innovative range of premixed ingredients,” Bakels managing director Paul Morrow said. With the help of Firing Industries, Matcon brings similar advantages to Canadian manufacturers.

To learn more, contact Firing Industries’ application-sales engineers at ddubuc@firing.com or (877) 688-0974.

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