Northeast Foods -Automatic Rolls of NC
Automatic Rolls of North Carolina was chosen as Food Engineering’s 2012 Plant of the Year.The Paterakis family owns Baltimore-based Northeast Foods, a commercial baking powerhouse with 13 production facilities either owned outright or in partnership. Five are part of the Northeast Foods group that stretches from Connecticut to Clayton, NC, where the newest plant began production in May 2011.
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Operator Richard Obermeyer fills a quality control function while overseeing two makeup lines at Automatic Rolls of North Carolina.
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Sharon Williams performs the final quality inspection as baked buns enter the bakery’s packaging line. Quality inspectors are the only personnel in the packaging department.
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The two 8-pocket wide pan-o-mats only run at 88 cuts per minute. This relaxed rate allows accurate scaling and precise control of the dough pieces, which in turn enables very accurate placement of the dough pieces in the oversize baking pans.
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Raw dough is conveyed in the foreground, while baked buns exit the oven in the background. The plant is capable of producing more than 2 million buns in a day, with minimal human labor.
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Two of the plant’s four ammonia system compressors are equipped with variable frequency drives, optimizing load demand and lowering energy consumption by the 250hp units.
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Liquid-sugar and vegetable-oil silos are below grade in a room that could contain 8,000 gal. of liquid in the event of a silo leak.
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A reciprocating conveyor alternately feeds dough to dividers on two makeup lines. The conveying system reduces stress on dough during the transport from the dough pump to the divider.
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Uniform color, shape and size are evident as hamburger buns head to a depanner. While only four types of buns are produced, the plant must meet stringent quality standards.
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Brian King (left) of A M King Construction and Northeast Foods’ Dennis Colliton confer in a room overlooking the production floor at Automatic Rolls of North Carolina.
Northeast Foods
Northeast Foods accepts the Plant of the Year Award at the 2012 Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference. Pictured left to right: Brian King of A M King, Dennis Colliton of Northeast Foods, Joyce Fassl of Food Engineering and Rich Tommy of Northeast Foods.