Page 6 - Industrial Technology EXTRA 26th April 2021

FOOD AND BEVERAGE...

A pizza challenge for Control

Freaks to cut production costs

Accredited automation ‘solutions provider’ Control Freaks has applied the latest

Mitsubishi Electric PLC technology to solve production challenges and increase
competitiveness for Bakkavor’s Lincolnshire based pizza production facility.
Bakkavor, the leading provider of fresh prepared food in the UK, is enjoying the
benefits of having successfully improved pizza dough base quality and consistency
while at the same time reducing production costs through less maintenance and
downtime at its pizza factory in Holbeach St. Marks.

izza is one of the UK’s most loved foods
with the average Brit eating 731 pizzas in
their lifetime. With such high demand it
Pis no surprise that pizza makers are in the
market for state-of-the-art automation equipment to
optimise their production. Bakkavor for example
supplies pizza and other fresh food to a wide range
of leading retailers in the UK, including Tesco,
Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose.
The company’s pizza production is located in
two facilities, one being Bakkavor Pizza in Holbeach
St. Marks, Lincolnshire, just 6 miles from Control
Freaks which is based near Spalding. There, a large,
fully automated manufacturing line extending over
two floors turns raw materials into finished
products. The basic process mixes mainly flour and
water to make pizza dough which then continues to
be rolled, stretched, heat treated and proved. Once
the dough is ready, round pizza bases are produced.
Each single process builds on the steps before it,
therefore any issue upstream in the sequence not
only influences the end result but is also difficult to

April 2021 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA • p6