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Lights-Out Mixing Is Within Reach

Presenting on the Processing Innovation Stage at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Reading Bakery Systems explained the benefits of continuous over batch mixing.

Continuous mixing can cut necessary operator interaction considerably over batch mixing.
Continuous mixing can cut necessary operator interaction considerably over batch mixing.
Exact Mixing

Of the challenges that food and beverage manufacturers face today, the one that often tops the list is labor—namely, the availability of labor to keep production running. At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Reading Bakery Systems presented a scenario for bakers to get a leg up on the situation, moving toward a lights-out mixing room.

So named because an operation that requires no people also requires no lights, lights-out manufacturing is a concept that has been tested in a variety of industries. In the case presented by Exact Mixing, part of Reading Bakery Systems, a near lights-out scenario—requiring only 5 minutes of an employee’s time per hour—saved a major cookie manufacturer close to $325,000 per year in labor.

That money saved goes a long way to getting payback on what is admittedly a high upfront cost in automated systems. But the real win is the ability to keep production going at needed rates amid a worsening labor situation. Presenting the case for lights-out mixing on the Processing Innovation Stage, Jim Warren, vice president of Exact Mixing, highlighted the changing times in the workforce.

“Since the advent of COVID, the workforce has become smaller. But in addition to that, the expectations of employees have changed,” he says, pointing to a list of the top 10 goals of today’s potential employees, including work from home, higher pay, improved benefits, more vacation time, quick advancement, flexible work hours, etc. “The difficulty in the bakery world is that other businesses might be better suited to offer things like the opportunity to work from home, flexible hours, and more vacation time.”

Lights-out manufacturing offers an opportunity to overcome those issues. “While most industries are not prepared for lights-out manufacturing front to back, continuous mixture offers the opportunity to operate lights-out in the mixing room,” Warren says.

INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
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INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast