REPORT I COOP

A Double-pack
of Flexibility

Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

The Coop Production Hall in Schafisheim, Switzerland, installed two indu-

strial production lines from Rondo, which have been designed entirely for
flexibility in the production of the largest quantity of products.
by Stefan Schütter

T
he Coop Cooperative, the largest retail com-
pany in Switzerland, opened a central bread
and baked goods production facility in Scha-
fisheim in June 2016. Because the bakery and
confectionery areas of the facility will create more
than 500 different items, the focus of the technolo-
gy employed there is not so much on performance
as on flexibility. Among other options, a bread line
and a pizza line from Rondo will be employed in the
production hall for that reason. Coop chose to use
the ASTec design for drying for both lines, because
it provides the highest level of hygiene. Because the
baked goods have a variety of needs, the challenge
of designing the line configurations also include
finding an ideal balance between automation and
flexibility and not compromising on the quality of the
products. “This is high art. In this context, Rondo’s
experience with multi-function lines is one of their
strengths, because they can deliver productions li-
nes not only for industrial use but also for traditional
bakeries. The production line’s flexibility is often the
key economic benefit for such businesses”, explained
Markus Lüscher, the Deputy Operations Manager
and Production Manager for the Confectionery. In
addition, Rondo often discovers clever solutions that
are simple, safe for the process and inexpensive.

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 Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

[2]

[1] The Rondo pizza line is in a separate, low-pressure room so that wheat can-
not cross through the air to neighboring dough lines. [2] The ASTec design of the
three-roller extruder is distinguished by its open construction and easy acces-
sibility for cleaning. [3] Once the band of dough has achieved the desired thick-
ness, the excess flour will be removed from the top and bottom by two brushes.

[3]

[1]

The Flexible Pizza Line

This line will make circular and square pizza
crusts and roll them up. It will also create block of
pizza dough, so that Coop supermarket customers
can choose their own ingredients. Selecting the
manufacturing procedure for the pizza dough de-
termines which of these products will be produced
from the band of dough. In comparison with the
alternative using a dough separator, this approach
has several advantages for working and shaping
the dough into pizza crusts. One of the advantages
is the flexibility in choosing the size and shape of
the pizzas. The crusts can be large or small, round
or square or any shape desired. In addition, the
highly hydrogenated, pre-cooked dough masses
can be processed gently using a band of dough.
A serving of flaked ice is used to keep the pizza
dough cool, so that the pizza dough will not curl
during processing. A lever is added according to
Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018
taste. The dough mass will then cool for 16 to 20

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REPORT I COOP

hours. Currently, the industrial pizza line will
process 2 or 3 different types of dough for 3 to 4
hours daily and the line in Schafisheim currently
produces 2,000 to 2,4000 pizzas per hour. The line
can also operate even faster because the technolo-
gy has been designed to produce up to 3,500 dough
products or 1,500 kilograms of dough per hour.
Because the pizza line is in a low-pressure room
(so that wheat will not cross to the neighboring
dough lines through the air), there is a fair amount
of space available. A three-roller ASTec extruder
is at the head of the line with a serving measure-
ment system supplying the servings of dough. The
extruder produces a uniform dough line.
After the extruder, the band of dough will first go
through a satellite head to roll it out to a thickness
of up to two millimeters, followed by a cross-roller
and three sequentially positioned calipers that will
gently ensure the desired width and thickness. To
prevent the shaped dough mass from tearing when
it is spread, the band of dough will first be cut by
this Rondo line, then spread and only then will the
pizza crusts be cut into the desired shapes in the
cutting module, optionally using a cutting roller for
circles or a guillotine for squares and other shapes.
A bypass has also been positioned in front of the
spreader conveyor to create the 2.5 cm thick pizza
blocks. The leftover dough will then either be re-
turned to the kneading machine or a collection box
for re-working. “We chose this method because re-
turning the leftover dough to the extruder’s funnel
would require continuous adjustment of the line.”
Automated Rollout
“Rolling the thin, round or square pizza crusts on
paper was also a new challenge for Rondo. Wor-
king together, we have developed a good solution.
The precise production line settings and the ex-

Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018 Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

[4] [5]

[4] The dough band will be distributed and spread before the shapes are cut from the pizza crusts for reasons of quality. [5] The dough masses will only be cut out
afterwards to ensure a precisely circular shape. [6] Silicon paper whose non-adhesive surface will not stick to the thin dough serves as a support for the dough. [7] The
paper is drawn continuously from the large rolls to the conveyor where the pizza dough is.

[6] [7]

Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018 Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

[24] Rondo Special Edition 2018

ceptional consistency of the products are require-
ments for clean rollout.” Cutting the dough before
spreading it also ensures that the pizza crusts will
always have exactly the same shape, which is ano-
ther important requirement for automated rollout. [8]
Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018
If the tension on the dough changes, we increase
the length of the dough just a little when cutting
it. The conveyor belt will also run a little faster Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

than the separately driven cutting roller so that the

dough masses will take on a slightly oval shape.
Because they then shrink a little, this ensures that
the end customers get circular pizza crusts. “Cut-
ting the dough with the help of smoothly running,
easily maintained cutting rollers, such as this Ron-
do line, is the best solution from our point of view.
Using a guillotine to cut the band of dough always
causes some unrest in the line and often generates
unwanted vibrations.”
[9]
A conveyor will then transfer the shaped pizza crusts
to the two rolling stations. There, a roll of paper will
be drawn over the conveyor and the crusts pass over [8] The length of the paper will be measured generously so that the pizza crusts
it. A guillotine cuts the paper before and after each can be rolled out reliably and evenly. [9] The pizza crusts will be pressed lightly
while rolling them out loosely so that they will not unroll and go into the packa-
crust. Rolling out the pizza crusts on a single track ging. [10] The ASTec design of the MIDOS dough shaper uses a specialized roller
ensures that the paper will be cut precisely. For that system for gently processing soft to fixed dough masses and does it without
reason, the guillotine must have an extremely sharp processed flour and without oil. [11] The chunker pre-cuts the dough from the
edge to be able to cut the silicon-paper. Then, two reserve funnel into servings and then transfers horizontally it to the MIDOS,
which gently creates a continuous band of dough from it.
grippers will grab the paper and begin to roll it up
with the pizza crust. Because each piece of paper is
a bit longer than the dough, it forms a type of axle [10]
Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

that gives the rolling process additional stability.

Once the rollup process has been completed, the
grippers will return and the roll of paper will be
pressed down so that it cannot unroll. Rolling the
pizza crusts up ensures that the perfectly circular
shape will not change. Coop is ultimately known
for their high quality requirements.

A Versatile Bread Line

Rondo’s multi-functional industrial breadline will
be used for the automated production of a large [11]
number of seasonal articles and specialty baked
goods, such as bacon bars, braided hearts or Lent
rolls for Carnival, which are made from a wheat
dough with a high fat content. In addition, the line
will process various other wheat and mixed wheat
dough made of green, somewhat firmer dough bat-
ters up to pre-cooked soft dough. Currently, 12 to
15 various baked products cross the line, from small
whole grain rolls to braids weighing up to three
kilograms. The manufacturing of none of these
products is entirely automated. The employees still
have to do certain steps manually. “There is a large Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018
number of variations with regard to the shaping

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REPORT I COOP

Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018 Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

[12] [13]

[12] Both Rondo lines have been equipped with easy-to-use a touch screen control system that will display all of the parameters for the individual sections. [13]
The Rondo lines implement the ASTec Hygienic Design, so that the rounded corners and the cleaning intervals between the components can be viewed easily.

and sizes of the manufactured baked goods. For
that reason, automating all of the work steps is not
economically feasible”, according to Mr. Lüscher. At
Coop, the line will process roughly a tone of dough
per hour. Depending on the products, more dough
could be processed. For example, the multiple in-
dustrial dough system (MIDOS) dough shaper used
can process up to three tons.
While the bread line’s various accessories do pro-
vide many options, the manual work stations make
it easier to work baked goods with a traditional
appearance. “They don’t look as uniform as indu-
strially manufactured products. Many baked goods
from the Rondo line look very similar to traditional,
hand-made products.”
A Well-planned Configuration
The baking space above the bread line limits the
useful height and Rondo had to adjust the line’s
construction to accommodate this. To make ideal
use of the limited space and minimize the length

[14] Using the multi-functional bread line to produce a large number of seasonal articles and specialty baked goods, such as these bacon bars. [15] With its three depo-
siting positions, the removal conveyor at the end of the bread line provides the greatest possible flexibility.

[14] [15]

Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018 Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

[26] Rondo Special Edition 2018

of the line, an inline laminating module was used Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018

instead of the customary 90° angle to the finishing

equipment. Equipping bread line with a finishing
station is unusual, but it improves the state of the
dough and the volume of baked products. In addi-
tion, the individual modules are mounted on rollers
and can be easily between the support columns in
the hall when changing production.

A tip lever will fill the bread line’s serving funnel.

A chunker will form the dough into servings and [16]
transfer it horizontally to the MIDOS industrial
dough band shaper, which will then create a rela- [16] The dough for the bacon bars will be removed from the boards before the
tively narrow, continuous band of dough. To keep it oven, manually oriented before the conveyor oven and turned to the cutting sur-
face. [17] The central bread and baked goods production facility in Schafisheim
as uniform as possible, the extruder will be coated
opened in June 2016.
as evenly as possible with dough batches so that the
pressure in the dough funnel will always be as even [17]
as possible. The dough band will first go through a
generously proportioned satellite head, which will
very gently roll it out. This is followed by the option
to activate the inline laminating module that ope-
rates without any grease discharge and also fixes
the structure of the band of dough. The option of
activating a second satellite head, which will gent-
ly thin the folded dough bands, is unavoidable for
laminated bread dough. The next module consists
of cross rollers and calipers that will ensure the
Photo: Backtechnik Stefan Schütter 2018
uniform width and thickness of the dough band.

The cutting station with a spreader conveyor and

the guillotine allows the dough masses to be shaped THE COOP ASSOCIATION
in a flexible manner. The guillotine can optionally Thiersteinerallee 12 | 4002 Basel | Switzerland
be equipped with a cutting blade or a number of E-Mail: impressum@coop.ch
cutting forms. The seed dispenser and the manual Internet: www.coop.ch
work station allow even more variations for different
groups of products. CEO of Coop: Joos Sutter
Technical Manager
The leftover dough can be returned to one of three of the Bakeries: Reto Weber
different positions depending on the baked goods. Bakery Manager: Patrick Mürset
The first position behind the first satellite head Deputy Bakery Manager: Markus Lüscher
ensures that the dough band will have a defined Revenue for 2017: not available
edge before it is folded. Optionally, the leftover Bakery employees: 600
dough can be returned to positions after the cutting Annual consumption of flour: 40,000 t
roller or the guillotine. The conveyors will then Export: into Germany
move the re-worked product either to the MIDOS’ and Italy
funnel or the kneader. Internally owned sales
locations in the
“Because the creation of so many different pro- NWZZ region: 380, supplied with
ducts must be possible, the dual line system is bread and baked
goods from Scha
relatively expensive in comparison with a single
fisheim 1,200 sales
line. However, the specifications based on the list
locations supplied
of desired products represent a significant challen-
with pastries and
ge. The result is that we can now respond quickly
frozen products
to the market and even new baking ideas thanks Certificates: IFS, Bio, FairTrade,
to these two Rondo lines”, summarized Markus Kosher, Urdinkel
Lüscher satisfactorily.

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