The Flowpacker with Schubert’s pick & place robots – the power compressors.
(video: Gerhard Schubert)
The Micro Croissant from La Petite Bretonne is the star product in the Canadian bakery’s portfolio. The family-run company from Quebec, established 52 years ago, produces up to 1.2 million Micro Croissants every day.
Existing bakery processes adapted to the increasing production volume
“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-of-line automation when he heard about Schubert’s new flow-wrapping unit, the Flowmodul.
The Flowmodul enables maximum efficiency
The Flowmodul from Schubert is a flow-wrapping unit which is also integrated into the Flowpacker from Schubert’s lightline machine series.
This range consists of three preconfigured, compact and highly efficient bakery packaging technology systems.
It boasts short planning and installation times as well as attractive procurement costs. The proven TLM standard modules and intelligent robot technology ensure 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.
Pick & place robots, 3D scanner and the Flowmodul: the bakery packaging technology
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 with the bakery packaging technology, 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 heat-sealing technology with the flying cross-sealing 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.
Info about About Gerhard Schubert GmbH:
Gerhard Schubert GmbH is a globally recognised market leader in top-loading packaging machines (TLM). For its digital, robot-based packaging machines, the family-owned company based in Crailsheim (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) builds on an interplay of simple mechanics, intelligent control technology and high modularity. With this philosophy and a highly developed culture of innovation, the company has been pursuing an entirely independent technological path for more than 50 years.
With its TLM technology, the machine manufacturer provides its customers with future-proof packaging machine solutions that are easy to operate, flexible in terms of format conversion, high-performance and stable in function. The TLM packaging machines pack products of all types and from all sectors – from food, confectionery, beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to technical products – into trays, cartons, boxes or into flow-wrap bags.
Well-known brands such as Ferrero, Nestlé, Unilever and Roche rely on Schubert’s automation solutions, as do numerous small, medium-sized and family-owned companies. Founded in 1966, the second generation of the company now employs 1,400 people.
