An ideal partnership for fine baked goods
The Micro Croissant ® from La Petite Bretonne is the star product in the Canadian bakery ’ s portfolio . The familyrun company from Quebec , established 52 years ago , produces up to 1.2 million Micro Croissants ® every day . An efficient production process calls for a high degree of automation . To expand its production , La Petite Bretonne relies on the proven expertise of the Schubert company , the leading manufacturer of TLM packaging machines from Germany . The Canadian company recently ordered a lightline Flowpacker for its main production site in Blainville , Quebec .
“ La Petite Bretonne would need countless employees to be in the position to satisfy the high demand ,” says Julian Conway , Sales Account Manager at Schubert North America and responsible project manager . Julian Conway and Serge Bohec , the owner of La Petite Bretonne , have enjoyed a close working relationship for more than a decade . To adapt the existing processes to the increasing production volume , the bakery was looking for a high-quality automation solution that is highly flexible , very compact and also cost-effective . The producer had already been operating several individual machines for end-ofline automation when he heard about Schubert ’ s new flow-wrapping unit , the Flowmodul .
THE FLOWMODUL ENABLES MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY The Flowmodul from Schubert is a flowwrapping unit which is also integrated into the Flowpacker from Schubert ’ s lightline machine series . This range consists of three preconfigured , compact and highly efficient packaging systems . It boasts short planning and installation times as well as attractive procurement costs . The proven TLM standard modules and intelligent robot technology ensure
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reliable operation with high system availability .
At La Petite Bretonne , the new lightline Flowpacker would have to pack , among other things , filled Danish pastry ( Danoise ) and chocolate-filled croissants ( Chocolatines ) in different sizes on one line , while gently handling the fragile , heat-sensitive products . Schubert meets all these requirements in a complete system that comprises four pick & place robots , a 3D scanner and the Flowmodul . The 3D scanner checks the position , shape , volume , orientation and degree of browning of each product and allows only perfect baked goods to pass on to the next packaging step . The baked goods are then carefully placed into the Flowmodul ’ s feed chain by four pick & place robots and packed into flowpacks . First the longitudinal seam of the flowpack is sealed by an ultrasonic sealing unit . This is then followed by Schubert ’ s patented heatsealing technology with the flying crosssealing unit . It automatically adapts to the speed of the upstream pick & place robots and therefore enables constant sealing times with outstanding sealing quality .
COST-EFFECTIVENESS AND SCALABILITY FOR THE FUTURE Packaging machines from Schubert stand
out with their cost-effectiveness , high degree of automation and very wide performance spectrum . These are all advantages that Bohec also praises : “ It ’ s fascinating that we can now package numerous products and formats on a single line . I ’ m convinced that with Schubert , we have the right partner at our side to successfully take on current and future challenges .”
Facts & figures
• Products to be packed : - A flowpack with a Danoise - A flowpack with a Chocolatine - A flowpack with a Mini Chocolatine
• 183 Danoises per minute
• 220 Chocolatines per minute
• 280 Mini Chocolatines per minute
• Flowmodul in use
• Patented heat-sealing technology
• Fully automatic ‘ chain flight ’ changeover
• 99 % efficiency
www . schubert . group