Baking & Snack - July 2009 - 76

79
tomatically senses when the hopper
needs replenished and will convey
topping until the hopper is satisfied.
"You can do that with a bin setting
alongside the line, a bin under the
line used to reclaim or you can pull
from super sacks, but the bottom
line is that it's unattended and there
are no ergonomic issues."
Burford also is selling more refilling systems. "As bakeries automate,
they have fewer operators around
and their speeds increase, and they
are using more topping as production rates increase," Mr. Hotze said.
"Automatic filling stations that pull
toppings from a tote or large use bin
directly into the seeding hoppers are
a great labor savings, and you don't
have operators slinging 50-lb sacks
of topping all day long. Also, they
keep the levels consistent so you
don't have to worry about running
out. It just makes sense to go with an
automatic filling station."
Nevertheless, as to reclaim systems, Mr. Hotze said Burford steers
its customers away from using
such equipment. "Think about
what winds up in the catch pan
underneath topping systems, especially in a pan environment,"
he observed. "You run a high risk
for contamination, whether it is
because you have water running
in close proximity so you have an
opportunity for mold growth in
that reclaim product, or you have
pans or a conveyor running overhead. You have a risk of contamination from either the bottom of
pans or pan grease or dirt from the
conveyor. There are a lot of reasons why reclaiming topping is not
a great idea. To that end, we have
tried to minimize the waste during
dispensing of topping. We don't
overseed or overtop and then try to
reclaim the waste - we just don't
waste it to begin with."
Christy Machine works with VacU-Max to develop automatic refill
systems for its dispensing machines.
Maintaining a constant head pres-

sure in the hopper allows for more
consistent application of toppings
than if product levels vary from a high
to a low. "We have designed our systems to keep a constant head pressure
for that very reason," Mr. Searle added.
While the latest advances to top-

ping equipment may not be revolutionary, equipment manufacturers
continue to improve upon their systems to allow processors to add value
to their products by depositing new
and interesting ingredients to the top
of their baked foods.
Ⅲ

KB SYSTEMS
SINCE 1968

KB Systems supplies both indoor and outdoor bulk handling
systems that are fully integrated for computerized ingredient
storage and batching systems.

III

S Outdoor bins are available in both assembled or pre-welded versions.

1,1

`I
�

S Indoor storage bins can be
arranged in tight quarters to
maximize storage capacity.
50,000 to 140,000 lb.
capacity indoor bins available.

1,4

ul
I

S Multiple weigh hoppers with multiple
ingredients are easily incorporated for both
horizontal and spiral mixers.
X Centrifugal Pressure Sifter

KB SYSTEMS, INC.
Phone: 610-588-7788 * Fax: 610-588-7785
www.kbsystemsinc.com
E-mail: dmcnamara@kbsystemsinc.com
For more information, see Page 97

July 2009 / BAKING & SNACK

http://www.kbsystemsinc.com

Baking & Snack - July 2009

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