Today, many doughnut producers are dealing with large numbers of SKUs to meet consumer demand and satisfy retailers’ requests for seasonal items and limited-time offers.
The challenge, especially for bakeries making yeast doughnuts, is how to meet the need for variety while increasing operational efficiency and keeping unit costs low.
There are several ways to address this challenge. Bakers can choose highly flexible production lines that maximize output while managing a diverse product mix. They can also rely on multiple small lines to produce a variety of small batches, or mix and match large and small lines.
“For bakeries with low production changeover requirements, high-volume lines are generally more efficient and can maximize output with minimal labor,” said Ty Sarajian, president of Axis Automation. “Conversely, for bakeries that need multiple changeovers per day, modular lines are more advantageous because they can quickly switch between decorations, flavors and toppings.”
For decorated doughnuts, Axis Automation offers spare equipment that can quickly change tools such as colors, flavors or fillings, toppings and toppings, he added. Most components can be changed in five minutes or less, he said.
“This flexibility ensures bakers can respond quickly to demand without sacrificing productivity or consistency,” Sarajian says.
Nick Magistrelli, vice president of sales at Rademaker USA, notes that high-volume doughnut lines can minimize changeover time while increasing output and reducing waste. The downside is sacrificing quality and minimizing flexibility to produce a variety of SKUs daily.
One alternative he suggests is to automate the making and frying of yeast-raised doughnuts while relying more on hand filling, frosting and decorating products.
“This allows bakers to scale up production without a corresponding increase in cost,” he says.
Paul Molyneux, group sales manager for baking at Belshaw Adamatic, notes that some larger companies are building almost purpose-built lines because they have long production runs—sometimes requiring the same product to be produced for days on end.
However, he is also seeing a trend toward mid-size lines that can handle multiple changeovers.
“If you’re switching between cake and yeast production, you’ll typically see multiple, smaller lines,” he says. “This gives them the redundancy they might need if something goes wrong. It also gives them more flexibility to switch between products.”
That being said, some high-volume lines can be designed to produce both cake and yeast donuts. After the yeast donuts are produced, the conveyor can pop out of the fryer’s inlet and into a depositor, which is then ready to produce cake donuts, Molyneux explains.
Doug Kozenski, process industry manager for Thermal & Controls, suggests that the best option for a fast-growing bakery might be a combination of large and small lines.
“The biggest potential problem when relying on one high-speed or high-volume line is that all production is concentrated on one line,” he says. “As long as production is running smoothly, everything is fine; however, any problem with the fryer or any other equipment on the line can jeopardize the entire production until the problem is resolved. Fortunately, current fryer systems are very reliable, and with regular, basic preventive maintenance, donut fryers can have extremely high uptime.”
The obvious downsides to multiple lines, he notes, are the investment cost and the space required in the plant.
For versatility, Kozenski notes that the doughnut fryers made by Heat and Control feature adjustable fryer bars on the main conveyor so that the bar/product spacing can be adjusted to accommodate different product sizes.
“This allows for a variety of cuts of meat to be produced on one fryer,” he says.
Moline Machinery recently relaunched its website to provide more details on two categories of yeast-raised doughnut lines, including medium- and high-capacity systems.
Typically, a medium-size line can produce up to 18,000 doughnuts per hour, while a large line can produce about 40,000 3-inch ring doughnuts, or 70,000 mini doughnuts, per hour.
“The difference is in the construction,” Moline says. “Our medium-volume systems are compact and come with auto-loading stampers. This machine cuts the doughnuts, removes the trimmings, then cuts a hole in the center and removes them, and finally loads them into the proofer with a single tool.
The cutter frame can be changed depending on the product in less than a minute. The high-volume systems come with separate cutters, separate hole extractors, dedicated dough trimming attachments, and spreading conveyors for specific lanes. They also come with different proofer loading devices.”
For cake doughnuts, Auto-Bake offers its FlexAgility technology, which can produce multiple formats of doughnuts on the same line with quick changeovers, notes Scott McCally, president of Auto-Bake Serpentine, a Middleby Bakery company.
“Auto-Bake’s customers can maximize their investment by producing multiple products on the same line. One line can produce multiple products. This saves space, operating costs, and overall investment risk,” he says.
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