In an era of ever-evolving consumer preferences and heightened demands for efficiency, the food and beverage industry faces the challenge of embracing automation to meet market requirements while maintaining product quality. True North Solutions is proud to showcase our expertise in industrial automation, exemplified through a recent project with the largest commercial baking company in the United States. This project profile will delve into the successful collaboration between True North Solutions and our esteemed client, highlighting the transformation of their bakery operations.

CLIENT PROFILE: A BAKING GIANT

Our client, the largest commercial baking company in the United States, is renowned for delivering a wide range of bakery products, including bread, bagels, buns, English muffins, and sweet baked goods to consumers across the nation. With a history of excellence and a commitment to meeting customer expectations, our client sought to optimize their production capabilities. Specifically, they were keen to add a new production line to enhance their existing operations.

TRUE NORTH SOLUTIONS’ APPROACH

True North Solutions specializes in tailoring automation solutions to meet the unique needs of our clients. In this case, we were tasked with implementing a new production line for English muffins and hamburger buns, a challenge we embraced wholeheartedly.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

1. Understanding Legacy Systems: Our client’s existing bakery facility had served them well for many years. The facility’s systems were built with standalone programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and human-machine interfaces (HMIs), which were interconnected through peer-to-peer and HMI data messaging for seamless sequencing. However, one significant challenge was the lack of comprehensive documentation for these systems, which put the bakery at risk of reduced productivity and unplanned downtime due to staff turnover.
2. Mitigating Risks and Maximizing Capabilities: True North Solutions was engaged to provide vendor-neutral expertise in PLC and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Our approach involved close collaboration with the client’s team to ensure that our execution plan aligned with their budgetary constraints. This strategic alignment helped mitigate unplanned expenditures and delivered a solution that not only met the bakery’s budget but also their operational requirements.
3. Improvements for Both Lines: The successful optimization of the new production line paved the way for applying similar enhancements to the existing bun line. Key to these improvements was the development of an automated batch scheduling SCADA system. This enhancement streamlined operations and operator training. It also ensured a more robust, efficient, and consistent production process.

CONCLUSION

The collaboration between True North Solutions and the largest commercial baking company in the United States exemplifies the power of industrial automation to transform operations in the food and beverage industry. Our client’s bakery saw increased efficiency, reduced downtime, and improved product consistency, all while staying within budget constraints.

True North Solutions prides itself on providing tailored automation solutions that enable businesses to meet and exceed market demands. Our commitment to mitigating risks, optimizing operations, and delivering cost-effective solutions has made us a trusted partner in the food and beverage industry. We look forward to the opportunity to partner with more businesses to revolutionize their operations, just as we did with our esteemed client.