Baking & Snack - February 2008 - 27

30
are spotlights below each conveyor so the mashgichim
can inspect the equipment and ensure it is cleanliness
for start-up."
Another major improvement with the new equipment was the transition from kosher-daily production to
kosher-for-Passover - a process that occurs in late summer as the plant prepares to produce its annual run of
special matzo for the Passover holiday.
"In the old plant, it took us nearly 30 days, two shifts
per day, 30 people per shift, to get ready for Passover
production," Mr. Frawley explained. "It cost us nearly
$300,000 in time alone. This process included dismantling the oven and removing the oven band, cleaning
them and then reassembling it all. Flour silos and all piping must be thoroughly emptied and cleaned as well."
The new oven line is designed to reach more than
1,000°F and can be held there for more than 30 minutes.
"That time-temperature combination meets the Orthodox Union's (OU) requirement for 'kashering' (making
kosher) the oven, and the rest of the cleaning process only
takes us four days," Mr. Frawley said. "We gained nearly
one month of production and saved countless thousands
on labor and effort."
The decision to use Reading equipment was easy,
according to management. "In a nutshell, the company was
the most responsive to our requests, its proximity to the
plant for installation, training and start-up expedited the
process, and their reputation was excellent," Mr. Frawley
cited. "We also took advantage of Reading's Scorpion oven
temperature profiler. We conducted studies of the old oven
before the shutdown and then used that data in the design
of the new oven to achieve the same heat profile. Matzo
coming out of new oven is actually more consistent and
tastes better compared with product from the old oven."
Another capital process improvement comes at the end
of the matzo line, where the company made a drastic change
from its traditional package that included a tightly glued
box of 10 matzos that was then overwrapped. This was done
primarily to keep the crumbs inside the package.
Taking advantage of the new installation, the company
reversed its process, wrapping stacks of five matzos on a
Doboy horizontal f/f/s, which are then fed two packs at a
time into the Global cartoning system. Finished cartons
are now more consumer friendly.
In all, the new matzo line required more than 60% of
the plant's warehouse space, so operations had to become
even more efficient in timing its deliveries and shipments.
Forecasting future capital spending, Mr. Frawley noted
that the plant has a lot of "museum quality" equipment.
"The only way at this time to gain manufacturing space
would be to upgrade equipment and process lines focusing on smaller footprints and more efficiency. We have
consolidated facilities, installed the new matzo line and
upgraded end-of-line operations on the baking line with

BAKING & SNACK / February 2008

ᮡ After final reduction, the dough sheet is roll-cut into 6.25 in. widths and
spaced out on the belt before docking and cross-cut into 6.25-in. lengths.
an automated canister-loading process including inline
checkweigher and metal detector that reduced headcount
by 20 people per shift and improved yield.
"The next area of focus will be packaging within the
dry mix department," he continued. "We need more
modern and high-speed equipment that will improve
production, reduce headcount and improve profitability
and, of course, gain some square footage for future use."
MANI-FACTURING. The plant is divided into wet and
dry operations, and then subdivided into distinct processing lines so virtually each process is isolated and
separated by walls or partitions. Of the company's
875 SKUs, approximately 500 are produced at the Newark
facility. Others are contracted out.
Supporting the baking side of the operations includes
three 110,000-lb capacity silos, two currently holding
Passover flour and one for "daily" flour. The site has capacity for five additional silos. Three 2,000-lb capacity
indoor supersacks from Reiser have the ability to hold
flour for special products such as Whole-Wheat Matzo.
The mixing room for the matzo line is isolated with
the two Albert Brother's high-speed mixers contained on
a mezzanine. Basic ingredients include wheat flour and
water. However, a religious stipulation mandates that
water used in the mix must sit undisturbed for 24 hours
before using. Therefore, the plant has two 5,000-gal
stainless steel tanks. While one is being used for the day's
production, the other is filled and held for the next day.
Each vertical mixer blends 85-lb batches. While total
time between batches is 53 seconds, actual mix time is
28 seconds. Rabbinic law requires that each mixer produce only 14 batches before it must be manually dismantled and cleaned. Mixers are on rails that allow them
to be moved off-line to a wash area while the second

Baking & Snack - February 2008

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