Baker Perkins streamlines 'Poppets' production
Date: 16 April 2003
Toffee and fondant handled on one depositor
Baker Perkins process and control technology have created quality and cost benefits in production of the fondant and toffee varieties of the Poppets family of confectionery.
Re-locating manufacture to Northern Foods' new confectionery plant at Leicester provided the opportunity to streamline production. Toffee was switched from die forming to depositing; toffee and fondant are now both processed through the same depositor; and 'Wonderware' software gives total control of both toffee and fondant lines from one central point.
Ian Rushforth, Chief Engineer, says that benefits include greater product consistency, and more economical production with minimal waste. "Replacing batch production of toffee with highly automated continuous depositing created the capacity to integrate both toffee and fondant through one depositor," he says. "It ended the reliance on operator know-how that limits the batch die-forming process".
Product changeover merely involves changing moulds. Automatic recipe memory and management software stores and recalls all the settings for each product, ensuring total repeatability, with quality candy available virtually immediately.
Baker Perkins worked closely with the Popetts team on recipe development in the Innovation Centre at Peterborough. Production scale equipment here is used by confectioners from around the world for process and product tests and trials.
This led to the specification of a complete Baker Perkins toffee production line, automated from feed to packaging.
The control system monitors and controls key processes throughout the system to maintain quality within pre-set parameters. As well as rapid changeover, it provides the benefits of automatic shutdown. and reduced manpower needs. The plant is run as a system rather than a series of unit machines; data capture software contributes to effective resource management with minimal maintenance downtime.
The new toffee line includes an Autofeed which automatically weighs and mixed ingredients; a 'Microfilm' cooker achieving a sub 10-second cook time to ensure product quality; and a 'Carablend' caramelising unit.
The depositor at the heart of the plant was chosen from the market-leading range used in the production of a wide selection of confectionery products, from fondant and toffee to jellies, milk boils and hard candy.
Acknowledged benefits of the depositing process include consistent production of extremely accurate shapes and weights for cost control and packaging efficiency, and smoothness and quality for high consumer appeal.
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