Made in Hungary
Specializing in frozen bakery products, Ledora Plus Kft. has always been steadily growing, since its launch. The company’s latest investment is also its biggest to date: a brand-new, fully automated factory in its hometown of Eger, Hungary, designed from scratch to fit production equipment and Ledora’s bold plans.
The first bakery Attila Mlinkó ever worked in, about 25 years ago, was a craft operation. The newest is one he owns – Ledora’s state-of-the-art factory, which was a greenfield project, developed from scratch and from a vision, and started in 2020. Mlinkó wanted a sustainable, automated production line, with the utmost precision in production, and where the people at Ledora could work efficiently, in a last-generation smart factory. Today, the bakery built on an area of 4,500 square meters in the Eger Industrial Park could very well be a real-life showroom of a custom-built production line, reflecting Ledora’s priorities. They have been regularly welcoming visitors who are interested in seeing their factory, since it started running, in mid-2024. At the same time, the factory reinforced the company’s status as one of the prominent bakeries in the country. The very building it resides in was designed for the most comfortable fit.
If you can dream it, you will do it
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney is famously quoted to have said this. For Attila Mlinkó, it is the success story of his work over the past 20 years. At first, his dream was to organize a small bakery specializing in a smaller, premium product range. And it excelled at those – not more than 20 or so different specialties that are handcrafted and nutritious.
Once that dream was an accomplished, working facility, Attila Mlinkó wanted to transfer the spirit of rustic manufacturing onto a modern, automated production line with all the benefits that new and emerging technology could offer. The upgrade came from the need to improve, to better organize production and the teams’ work, he explains. It would, ideally, lighten the load of work that usually needs to be done overnight in a bakery, for instance, and streamline daytime operations. The main product ranges targeted were breads and buns weighing between 100 g and 1 kg. Automatization would help reach all of these goals.
Higher efficiency, bigger production volumes, better safety, increased sustainability, and guaranteed quality consistency: these were the main priorities the project set out to combine. And all these are now under one roof, at the new factory, complete with a production facility and sunny office spaces. For a business that has grown into one of the important employers in the area, which operates 24/7 (excepting holidays), a lot of thought was put into all working spaces, for the teams in the production area and those with desk jobs. And there is more: the new building also has a playroom, for the children of the employees, where various family events are held. After all, the people working at Ledora have always been an essential part of this vision, Mlinkó firmly believes.
The total value of the investment for this project is around EUR 15 milion.
Ledora Plus Kft. at a glance
+ Founded in 2010, in Eger, Hungary
+ Workforce: 160 employees, around 140 of which work in production
+ Products: frozen baked goods
+ Product ranges and average production volumes: max. 4,500 bread products, min. 3,500 baguettes per hour
+ Production capacity: up to 6,000 products per hour, depending on the assortment
+ Markets: Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria (under expansion)
+ Distribution: retail, HoReCa
+ Revenue: EUR 10.2 million (HUF 3.87 billion)
+ Three production facilities, one of which is dedicated to gluten-free products exclusively
India’s snack market is undergoing premiumization and affordability changes simultaneously. However, India remained the top country in the study for snacks replacing meals, with almost one in five adults opting for snacks instead of meals.
An all-new project
The factory planning was not limited to a new production line, housed in a new facility. A new Building Management System (BMS) was set up, to optimize all the operations and environment parameters in the factory, automatically, and an ERP system is used for production management. Ledora’s strategy also considered new assortments that the line could allow them to make, as well as improving the products they were already making. To do this, they had to step up from a semi-automated production setup to a fully automated system. Retaining the rustic feel and taste was imperative. Operations were automated from the ingredients’ point of entry: after unloading, they are automatically transferred for mixing, as needed to each recipe.
The production line was designed in a U-shape, for efficiency, spanning about 250 m in total. Automating process steps continues with the mixing process. Most of the assortments use self-produced, natural sourdough, which adds an extra layer to the whole operation: that of preserving and feeding the mother dough.
For product forming, a RONDO make-up line was the selected technology, for its multiple automation features and flexibility for their product ranges, with the dough sheet gently traveling through the line throughout the process. No trace of handling stress is present. To ensure this without fail, not only is it conveyed gently, but even the edges of the sheet are scrapped (and reused), so that no amount of tension is allowed to carry on to the next processing steps. Only a perfectly uniform dough strip will ever form products, in the first of several quality-ensuring elimination steps. By the time they reach the oven, every single product has undergone multiple inspection stages with rejection systems, and only those that are perfect within the set standards for size and shape will be scored, decorated and then baked.
“The main idea was to organize a kind of
bakery where we could produce very good, better-for-you products, at an acceptable price. Not just reasonably good, but, without a doubt, the very best breads. We wanted to make the kind of bread that we would take from the line and share it with our own families.”
Attila Mlinkó, owner, Ledora Plus Kft.
The Koenig Rustic Bread Line
Koenig worked with RONDO on the project at Ledora, engineering the system together with the bakery. Shapes ranging from round to long-molded and square or rhombus can be created. Ledora chose to automate several processes with robots. One of them is product rounding, which is carried out with robotics with the same results as if they were rounded by an experienced crafter’s skilled hand. Once the products are formed, a strict selection process begins. Each loaf, bun, baguette, or ciabatta is individually inspected for scoring by a 3D system, with staff supervision. Only the products passing this double evaluation continue into production, so only those that are both perfectly shaped and decorated ever reach the oven. In this way, no energy is wasted baking products that will not be sold. Flouring systems can add flour to both sides of the product, as needed for each assortment. The same system can be used to ‘draw’ different patterns with flour on the surface of the product, Koenig highlights another interesting feature.
The RONDO make-up line compliments the Koenig technology downstream. It brings the flexibility to make the entire product range comfortably and efficiently, starting with the very first stage after proofing: scoring. A robotic solution handles a smart scoring process, Koenig’s award-winning system is a pièce de résistance on the line, allowing Ledora to have endless creativity in the design of their breads and buns, with perfect results. The owner worked closely with Koenig for the setup he envisioned, which can now be seen in the plant in Eger. The smart scoring system features not one, but two robots working in tandem, so that virtually any conceivable pattern can be executed. And, as with every single station before it, scoring is also a stress-free process for the dough.
Koenig Rustic Bread Line
+ Board handling system: transfers and phases the boards, starting from the make-up section where the boards are loaded, up to their unloading and return; complete with a board cleaning unit
+ Step proofer
+ Product handling system: picks up the product from the boards, transports it through the manual processing station and the scoring unit and finally transfers it to the oven-loading elevator
+ Product flour duster: working width 1,000 mm; installed on the product handling system immediately after the board depanning; distributes the flour onto the product as the board passes underneath
+ Belt flour duster: installed on the product handling system immediately before the manual processing station
+ Automated bread scoring smart system: uses rotating knives handled by a robot, which allow numerous adjustments such as cutting opening, and depth; with six-axis robots, the inclination of the blade can be controlled; has an integrated vision system
+ Seeding system: 2 meters long, installed immediately after the scoring unit, on wheels; can be bypassed when seeding is not required
+ Oven loading elevator
+ Stone oven MDI Stratos
+ Steam production system
+ Oven unloading elevator
+ Oven unloading conveyors
+ Spiral cooler
+ Spiral freezer
“The magic is in the software,” Mlinkó emphasizes. Scoring is done with the help of a 3D vision system, to optimize the placement, depth and angle of the cuts. The exact position of the loaf on the board is detected and the score is adapted to each loaf individually. The cut is made while the bread is passing through the system, on the belt. Changing or adding new patterns can be done easily from the equipment’s interface. In addition, the vision camera acts as a quality control system, at the same time, another one of many product checks.
A peelboard handling system helps transfer the products from make-up to the oven, where they are unloaded. The line is also equipped with a peelboard cleaning system, so they are automatically prepared to re-enter the process and receive new products. Depending on the production needs, the peelboards can also stored, thanks to a built-in buffer system.
The oven
An MDI Stratos three-deck oven is in charge of the baking process on the Koenig Rustic line. The oven is king of any line, and Ledora handpicked the latest technology for baking its products: lava stone baking was a must-have. Each baking chamber of the decks can be adjusted independently. In the future, it can even be expanded with additional decks, if needed. The baking process is a combination of indirect radiation heat, with radiant pipes above and underneath the baking surface; direct contact and natural or forced air convection. Steam application and extraction processes can also be controlled.
“Having a Koenig multi-deck oven is a major advantage because it can bake continuously, without the need to stop the belt for loading, which enables much better baking results and a much more consistent product color,” explains Harald Burgstaller, CEO of Koenig Technology Projektmanagement in Italy. Moreover, this oven’s ability to isolate the heat inside, exactly and exclusively where it is needed, is immediately noticeable: the metal is barely warm to the touch, at around 23 °C. No heat escapes out of the oven, into the bakery.
After baking, a team again performs a quality check at the oven’s exit, on the conveyor, as products are transferred to the cooling spiral.
Cooling and freezing
Before going to the freezer, the products take their time to naturally lower their temperature in the spiral cooler, also provided by Koenig. A controlled airflow (via the BMS) will lower the products’ moisture content to prepare them for freezing. The cooling is automated to the optimum settings for the product continuously, in an energy-saving mode.
The Koenig freezing system is also state-of-the-art technology and a sustainable choice for the products and the environment, as it works with ammonia and CO2.
Once the production is completed, packaging and palletizing are also automated, yet another job entrusted to robotic solutions. All the latest tools for safety checks are also in place: from X-ray inspection machines, to vision cameras.
High-performance robots at work
Robotic solutions are held in high esteem here. They are generously deployed for various operations and are not limited to production. Ledora Bakery must be kept clean 24/7, and for this task, the plan is for autonomous robot to be deployed – adding to the facility’s high-tech robotics lineup. It will come with vision technology to make its way around the machines and cover the available floor space thoroughly, following a similar operating principle with at-home automated smart cleaning robots, but for heavy-duty use. Once sweeping is completed, the robot returns to its station for self-cleaning and automated recharging, before starting a new round. It reduces the need for manual cleaning to handling the equipment, once every few days (as needed). Having the floor continuously cleaned means not only improved hygiene, but a safer environment, as flour dust is not allowed to collect, on the floor and in the atmosphere.
In addition, pressurized air and controlled humidity levels ensure a dust- and particle-free working area. Moreover, hot air from baking is reused to help heat up the facility in a sustainable way, which is always an important consideration for Ledora, across the entire process flow.
A complete project: The equipment provider’s point of view
Ledora’s project is a complex one, where all the variables had to be accounted for and thoroughly analyzed. Usually, a project like this starts with an assessment of the available space for the installation and the desired product list. After a first layout design, revisions can begin, made together with the bakery. Then, detailed project engineering can start.
From the manufacturer’s perspective, too, this is a unique project: Koenig could design the ideal layout for the process and the products, without any space restraints, since the facility was built as a part of the same project, once the line design was established. A rare occurrence for designers. The installation was also done in an ideal scenario, since it could be carried out without having to disrupt any production workflow, as it was made in a brand-new building.
Once the contract is finalized, all the necessary utilities are managed, to pinpoint where they should be available, anything from the gas supply to the water connections and power supply, to match the calculations made in the project’s engineering phase, Harald Burgstaller notes. Detailed engineering can then begin, including the complete, 3D drawing of the line. The timeline from the first project kick-off to operations is usually around two-three years for Koenig. The ‘special requests’ making this project unique have since become the line’s strong points, especially the scoring system with the 3D vision system, Koenig highlights.
“What is very impressive at Ledora is that people only carry out some tasks manually at the beginning of the process, in the mixing area. The rest of the line works without the need for any staff to intervene. This is even more impressive to see, when considering that they are producing a lot of different specialties,” Burgstaller underlines. The first point where manual operation is set up is at the oven exit, for quality checks.
And, since it’s a smart line, Koenig can access it remotely if any service or support is needed.
The best ingredients around
The products made here are made respecting traditional techniques and are free of preservatives. Mediterranean flavors are a source of inspiration for the recipes and most products use sourdough. For the best possible quality and taste, even the ingredients used stay true to this mindset: the olives used in some of the products, for instance, come from Chalkidiki, in Greece.
It is very important to Ledora that their products do not contain any chemical ingredients, including preservatives, which is why all products are made with natural ingredients, in addition to flour, water, salt and yeast. Every ingredient is carefully selected to ensure safety and prevent any kind of contamination. For ciabatta, only olives in plastic containers are bought, for example, to avoid any risk of oxidation that might occur with metallic boxes. Beyond that, product development is approached with a twist; sometimes, quite literally, as is the case of the ciabattas, which are sometimes twisted for a unique creation.
A constant learning curve
The production line in Eger has been running for about a year now. The process has been established, and it produces considerable volumes reliably. While the process has already been minutely finetuned, with many checkpoints throughout, Ledora’s team is still very much in the process of learning the machines, in every small detail, to continuously optimize production. Of course, everybody has received guidance and the necessary training from the equipment providers. More than that though, it is a constant learning curve, to discover the full potential of the machines, the owner believes. It was Ledora’s first contact with the world of fully automated production lines, so considerable research was a compulsory part of the process. It has been a steep learning curve while selecting the solutions, and it continues now, to gain a thorough understanding of the brand-new line, with everything it offers (and can offer in the future). Experiments are constantly carried out, to test possible product interpretations, from all possible variables.
“After one year, perhaps, we will know every single part of each machine, inside-out. We would like to become experts in this technology,” the bakery’s owner anticipates. This will ensure maximum efficiency and consistent results. Breads with the exact same characteristics are a must in Hungary, in look, taste, weight, and texture, while still retaining their rustic, artisanal look; this is the goal.
Attila Mlinkó summarizes the concept behind the entire project: “The main idea was to organize a kind of bakery where we could produce very good, better-for-you products, at an acceptable price. Not just reasonably good, but, without a doubt, the very best breads. We wanted to make the kind of bread that we would take from the line and share it with our own families.” To achieve this, Ledora invested in the best technology systems for its needs, up to the smallest details, and selected high-quality ingredients. The results speak for themselves, in every product coming out of the factory.
