The pace of change has only become faster over the past years, and its rippling effect is also felt in the baking industry. How do industrial players ride the changes while also increasing efficiency? The first change is in the mindset, and then in finding the right solutions. The key word is agility.
The changes in the industrial bakery market have not escaped anyone’s notice. Trends in consumption are evolving rapidly and, in many places, what is massively popular one day is no longer so the next. This inconstancy, for an industrialist, could easily be considered as instability as it is not part of the industry’s DNA to offer custom-made products. By definition, the industry seeks to massify production to make economies of scale and benefit from the experience curve acquired through repetition. However, consumers, and therefore industrial bakers, are increasingly demanding products that are differentiated according to location, time, special occasions, etc. To equip oneself intelligently, it is essential to take a step back and understand the issues at stake in this paradox that is currently affecting the bakery industry. Indeed, Aristotle stated that it is not because humans have hands that they are intelligent, but because they are intelligent that they have hands. Applied to industry, this premise indicates that thought and strategy must always precede equipment. For a worker, the tool is only an extension of their hand, which is itself an extension of their vision. This is how Mecatherm’s vision is at the origin of the equipment it develops.
This tension between the necessary consistency of the industry and diversification exists within companies themselves. Numerous businesses sometimes observe this opposition between a marketing department that would like to develop its commercial offer by diversifying continuously and the production staff who know the human, technical and financial cost of such variations. However, the market is always right, consumers have the last word. The reality is imposed on manufacturers and the question is no longer whether to integrate flexibility into its production, the question is how. It is possible, however, to consider this challenge not as a leak to be permanently plugged but as an opportunity for differentiation and growth. There are conditions, though. First of all, agility must be thought of as a way of listening to the customer, and this must permeate the entire company, from the manager to the operator, including engineers and sales staff.
From a management point of view, this has its own challenges. Managers have the challenge of always focusing on one thing, which is to lower costs, whilst listening attentively to the customer. More than 40% of Mecatherm’s work is carried out on the customer’s premises, from installation to after-sales service, so the customer is there and their demands are naturally heard. To reconcile these industry principles such as massification or planning with the versatility required by the market, the key word is agility. Agility consists precisely in this capacity to set up solid and steady industrial processes, while giving them the ability to adapt to local and specific demands. To achieve this business philosophy, Mecatherm first listened intently. Operating in a vacuum does not allow for this 360° vision.
Volume vs. identity
In any case, the overall picture is clear. The bakery industry must be able to cope with a market split into two main trends: standardized products manufactured in very large quantities and storytelling products corresponding to more specific demands. In Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mecatherm lines produce three million identical baguettes per day. In Russia, Mecatherm lines run a wide range of products such as garlic breads, pastries, stuffed breads, buns, etc. for the growing middle class that enjoys eating a range of more Western-style products.
To meet the challenges of polyvalence, Mecatherm has developed a dedicated line, MECAFLEX. More than 60 units have already been installed in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. Versatility has been the guiding principle behind the entire design of this line, which is based on three fundamental elements: equipment flexibility, architecture and software. Firstly, the equipment must be flexible; the MTA Oven was included, as each of its modules can be operated in cyclothermic or impingement mode. The high power of these ovens allows a quick change of all baking parameters (heating mode, temperature, etc.). The humidity can also be accurately controlled and monitored for each module. The vertical M-UB Proofing system is very flexible as well, allowing fast changes of cooling, proofing and freezing settings. Secondly, the architecture must enable this agility, which is essential for operators who want smooth handling of the line. The processes may vary since recipes differ greatly depending on whether the product is pre-proofed, par-baked, fresh, frozen, sliced, etc. All these features are included in the design of Mecatherm’s lines with easily interchangeable modes.
Smart software
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the software is the key element of these systems. As the lines become more and more sophisticated, a poorly designed software system would make the operators’ tasks too arduous and would not allow the reconciliation between versatility and industrial consistency. A clever computer should only allow those in charge of planning to choose the best daily sequencing for instance. To this end, Mecatherm has developed a specific digital tool dedicated to planning, which simulates different scenarios, thus making the efficiency of the line optimal. Operators are always concerned about the quality of the finished product, the maintenance of the machines and their overall performance. However, human resources to operate such machines are sometimes scarce. Hence, manufacturers must offer turnkey solutions for these operators. Mecatherm uses an advanced software to inform, train, and assist operators with intuitive and efficient applications.
Digital solutions are central to the evolution of the industry, in Mecatherm’s perspective, because they allow a worry-free approach to the increasing complexity of manufacturing processes. Industry 4.0 offers the capacity to simultaneously advance the sophistication of manufacturing processes and the ease of operating them.
As the French philosopher and entrepreneur Gaston Berger said in the 1950s, “We are not living in a new world, which can at least be described, but in a mobile world, which means that the concept of adaptation must be generalized in order to remain applicable to our accelerating societies.” This observation about society and the economy is particularly relevant to the industrial bakery sector. To adapt, our industry must reinvent itself, without forgetting its fundamentals or pretending to be something it is not. The technology developed by Mecatherm is endeavoring to meet these requirements, but it will only be the extension of the hand and the vision of the industrialist who will unlock its relevance and effectiveness.
