The makers of the Tastykake brand, have transferred the remaining two production lines at Hunting Park, Philidephila to a LEED-registered (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) bakery in the state’s Navy Yard, finalising a transition over three years in the making.
Company marketing manager Jon Silvon told BakeryandSnacks.com the new leased property used serpentine ovens that provide more consistent baking, offering spatial savings, and run at faster speeds than previous ovens.
“Each process has been evaluated and laid out to minimize the space needed and each step along the manufacturing process utilizes as few movements of ingredients and manpower as possible,” he said.
As the firm look to take advantage of process modelling for energy efficiency optimisation, Silvon pointed to the new bulk handling system to deliver ingredients to the lines with no hand-touches allowing for optimal lines speeds.
High-tech features
The move has initiated a huge modernisation in Tasty Baking’s manufacturing technologies. The new bakery includes highly automated baking equipment and boasts eco components its 88-year-old six-floor predecessor could not.
On a single floor, the new facility features day light harvesting technology, with built in sensors to measure the brightness of natural light, and HVAC systems which control temperature, giving significant energy savings. Silvon added that, along with a more efficient plumbing system, a portion of the plant’s energy would come from solar and wind power.
While the green technologies offer no tax benefits, the facility is in a Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone which provides tax abatements.
The company added that its new “straight line flow” from production to packaging warehouse opens significant opportunities for product and packaging innovations.
“Raw ingredients come in one side, are evaluated, mixed, deposited in the ovens, iced/filled, wrapped, palleted, and shipped out – this all occurs in a straight line limiting the energy and space needed to produce our products,” explained Silvon.
CEO Charles P. Pizzi said: "Now that we have transitioned all seven of our production lines to the new facility at the Navy Yard, we can turn our focus to the optimization of our operations there, a process which we expect to last through the third quarter of 2010."
The firm said it hoped the facility would boost the baking efficiency of the Tastykake brand’s core products, such as pies, cookie bars and cupcakes.
While the Tasty Baking chose not to state publically when it would see a return on its investment, Silvon said that the company expects to achieve a full run rate of savings by Q4 2010.
Hunting Park is now closed for production and the company has entered in to a purchase and sale agreement for $6m with TKMG Associates and its guarantor Metro Development Company, which includes former corporate offices and a distribution centre.