G&F Systems: Weak dollar helps drive international business
New York-headquartered G&F Systems has seen an uptick in international business from markets such as Australia, Malaysia and the Ukraine, according to senior associate for the firm Anthony J. Salsone.
“The global aspect of our business is now more prominent. This year, I would say exports represent about 35-40% of business – it’s pretty impressive,” he told BakeryandSnacks.com.
“It’s been a steady growth, but this year particularly we’ve seen a lot more repeat proposals and purchases from overseas and the weak dollar is driving it,” he said.
There is also significant growth in the bakery sectors within these markets fueling demand, he added.
Salsone said the company would like to work towards a 50:50 export-home market business eventually – driving exports while maintaining US growth.
Spiral conveyors – the benefits
Bakers can expect lots of benefits when shifting from rack cooling ovens to spiral cooling conveyors, the senior associate said.
“You can decrease the manual labor and the vulnerabilities that the human employee presents to a bakery. Labor costs can be quite high, so a machine like this can pay for itself within two to four years.”
The line is also compact because it can be built up vertically, saving valuable floor space for bakers, he said.
“You can capitalize on your ceiling height versus floor space that’s required when you’re using traditional cooling racks and conveying.”
Streamlined bonus
With traditional rack coolers, they need to be manually fed in and taken out, Salsone said.
But with the spiral, automated conveyors the process is continual.
“You keep the process flowing along, so it’s streamlined. You can set this right outside the oven. The product can go from the oven and then directly conveyed into an ambient cooler and then into a refrigerated cooler depending on the process, right through to packaging,” he said.
