Automation + Sustainability = A Killer Combination
Anthony Martin loves that every day brings new challenges. Most of those challenges fall neatly into two categories. “Good bread depends on time and temperature,” Martin says. As Plant Manager for Lynchburg Organic Baking Company, a Flowers Foods bakery, Martin says environmental conditions can trigger process adjustments—”especially when you’re working with organic ingredients.”
Lately, fewer of those adjustments are required, thanks to an expansion and facilities adjustment three years ago that automated a significant number of the bakery’s processes. “It makes our employees’ jobs easier,” Martin says. “The less manual labor, the likelier they are to stay—and to stay committed. It also allows for a more efficient process because it takes human error out of the equation.”
A Slice of Sustainability
After leaving the proofer where the dough has risen, pans of Dave’s Killer Bread Good Seed bread move on conveyors to the oven for baking at Lynchburg Organic Baking Co.
Flowers Foods produces beloved brands, like Nature’s Own, Wonder, Tastykake, Sunbeam, Merita, and Bunny. But at Lynchburg Organic Baking Co., the focus is Dave’s Killer Bread. Their products include 21 Whole Grains and Seeds, Good Seed, White Bread Done Right, Power Seed, and 100% Whole Wheat.
Sustainability is a huge focus for the bakery, which has been recognized by the EPA with Energy Star certification. In other words, they rank in the top 25 percent of similar facilities across the nation for energy efficiency.
“Each week at the bakery’s staff meetings, we get an ESS (Environmental, Safety & Sustainability) update,” Martin says. “After upgrading the entire bakery, we achieved a 64 percent water reduction and 22 percent drop of energy overall.”
A new oven oxidizer paired with a glycol loop contributed toward the energy advancements. “In the past, you’d have to operate the boiler to generate the steam for the proof box. The oxidizer reduces that heat, the glycol loop recovers waste heat, eliminating the need for a boiler,” he explains.
Inside the oven at Lynchburg Organic Baking Co., loaves of Dave’s Killer Bread “Good Seed” organic bread are baked to perfection at approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
The old 300 horsepower fixed-speed air compressor was replaced with a high-efficiency 150 variable speed air compressor— “which runs on average at about 40 percent capacity,” says Martin.
Finally, they added blowers to clean the pans, which eliminated the use of compressed air and made for a more efficient refrigeration system.
“Throughout the entire expansion and facilities adjustment, the plant was designed with sustainability in mind,” Martin says.
Career Builder
When Flowers Foods acquired Dave’s Killer Bread in 2015, the Second Chance program was an integral part of the brand’s hiring strategy. Second Chance employment gives applicants with a criminal record access to a broader network of opportunities. Managers hire the best candidate, regardless of their criminal background. “With many jobs Flowers offers, it’s not about your history. It’s about what you can do here, inside these four walls,” Martin says. “I’ve had the privilege of working with a few Second Chance hires—some of the most respectable and dedicated employees I’ve worked with. Because they got a second chance, they had an opportunity to come in and achieve their goals and advance in the company. Everybody deserves a second chance.”
When it comes to the Lynchburg bakery’s organic bread, everybody has their favorites, Martin says. If he had to choose, he’d go with the 21 Whole Grains. “It has a nice sweet flavor. My favorite part is the pumpkin seeds on it.”
Martin has been with Lynchburg Organic Baking Co. for 15 years. In that time, he’s risen through the ranks from Production Supervisor to Quality Manager to Production Superintendent. Later, he traveled from bakery to bakery helping plants’ Manufacturing Support team. “During this time, I gained a lot of insights on how other processes and operations run.”
Martin appreciates Flowers’ commitment to automation and facilities enhancements—benefits that have a direct pay-off.
Rather than playing a tactical role, for example, employees have the bandwidth to be strategic. The Lynchburg bakery has implemented Flowers’ Bakery of the Future initiative, which tracks the entire baking process from start to finish. “We can look at a lot of data and use it to work toward better efficiency, less scrap, and a better product,” Martin says.
Good bread may depend on time and temperature, but the secret ingredient? Martin’s happy to fill us in: “The people on the floor baking each loaf with 100-percent Lynchburg Pride—in each and every loaf.”
Robin Sutton Anders is a Greensboro, N.C.-based writer and the managing editor of Verdant Word Communications.