The depanner, which handles all of the bakery's hearth breads and rolls, can be adjusted according to angle, as well as height, to avoid bending long items. Fug6re says using the depanner also gives screens and pans longer use because they are not subjected to the blast freezer's extreme t emperature.
Product passes on the conveyor for 10 minutes and enters the blast freezer, which is held at -30%C. It reduces product temperature to about -10%C in 60 minutes.
While loaves pass through the blast freezer, an automatic box former and box liner unit assemble cartons for packers. One employee monitors the machines while two employees hand pack the frozen loaves. Fug6re says Maison Cousin deliberately chose manual packing.
"We want to see the product for a final quality control check," he explains. "Also, we produce many different products in different package lots. We use the same size corrugated box for all orders, which eliminates down time to adjust equipment. This more than compensates for the additional cost of packing less-than-full boxes."
After the frozen French loaves pass through a metal detector, the employees pack them 12 to a box and include 12 paper bread bags. Packed boxes are closed and labeled automatically, positioned on pallets and placed in a holding freezer set at -18%C. Fug&re says that customers can inventory product for as long as three months at -18C.
More production lines planned
Gosselin says the company plans to expand the building, add a second bread and roll line by the end of the year and expects to have four lines, possibly including one for artisan bread. "Some companies look for new business, then expand their capacity," he observes. "Customers don't want to hear that. We're building our capacity so we can go after more business."
He says that since building the bakery, Maison Cousin is positioned to become a larger player in the North American bakery market. Major plans call for focusing on branded products in Canada, working with U.S. customers to develop signature products and developing a licensing program to market branded product in the United States.
Adds Doyon, "We plan to build this company into a $100 million (Canadian) business within five years. The strategy will include acquiring companies, introducing new products, increasing sales with existing customers and serving new accounts." Maison Cousin will consider acquisitions of frozen bakery foods firms in the Northeast United States and Quebec, he says.
"We could increase our U.S. market penetration quickly by acquiring a $15 million (U.S.) to $30 million operation that has a unique niche as we do' " Doyon says. "We want to become an innovative and leading supplier of French bread, artisan bread, muffins, pastries, pies and cakes."
Gosselin adds that new product development will underscore Maison Cousin's U.S. expansion. "We especially will look for opportunities to develop signature products with supermarket in-store operators and convenience store chains for their specific needs."
Having the capacity to expand into the U.S. market harkens back to the strategy of building the new Laval bakery to gain efficiency, maintain quality and still price product competitively.
"When offering our par-baked crusty bread in the United States, we will not compete to get everyone's business," Doyon says. "Ours is a premium product, made very efficiently. We will be seeking loyal buyers who want quality at a reasonable price."
