Glocken Bäckerei is part of the Cologne-based Rewe Group, which said that the new 30,000 square metres facility at Bergkirchen near Dachau cost €80m and will double capacity for the retailer’s in-store bakeries as well as increasing its total volume of baked goods by 70 per cent.
The group said that the expected output from 400 employees in Bergkirchen will be 400,000 rolls, 120,000 loaves of bread, 100,000 ciabatta loaves, 80,000 baguettes, as well as 100,000 loaves of toast bread daily during a three-shift operation.
And it claims that the bakery intends to meet those production levels while using 40 per cent less energy consumption in comparison to a conventional industrial baking facility, through a pioneering process based on heat recapture technology that relies on district heating from a waste-fired combination power and heating plant.
Indeed, bakery and snack makers are increasingly working to reduce their carbon footprint, reaping cost savings in the process and plugging into new business opportunities, according to a recent report from UK industry representatives, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Data compiled by the FDF indicate that its members are on target to meet the aspiration of a 30 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, with the report highlighting how the Jordans & Ryvita company’s approach to waste management has resulted in a reduction in the amount of waste from its Stockport manufacturing site sent to landfill by 96 per cent.
This was achieved by the replacement of seven different waste contractors with just one and focusing on recycling packaged food products into constituent parts, namely food, cardboard and plastic.
And the FDF review of the industry’s green ambitions reports how Muesli specialist Alara Wholefoods is the first food company to have obtained zero waste certification following its efforts to ensure nothing is sent to landfill or incineration from its factory in King’s Cross, London.
The small producer said it is aim to become carbon neutral by 2010 through further staff training, further modification of its recycling systems and the introduction of an anaerobic digester.
And the FDF reports that better utilisation of vehicles, training drivers, sharing transport with others in the food industry are proving cost effective as they result in significant reductions in a company’s transport needs.
Nestlé’s collaboration with United Biscuits resulted in both food companies reducing the empty running of vehicles by more than 280,000 km since 2007, states the report.