| Client: | Rudi's Bakery |
| Industry: | Bakery |
| Services: | Organic breads and baked goods |
| Location: | Boulder, Colorado |
The Client
Rudi’s story began in 1976 in Boulder, Colorado. Founders Sheldon Romer, Bob Stoffer and Jim Putorti established the bakery with a vision to create high-quality, preservative-free breads and baked goods that were both authentic and nutritious.
Early on, Rudi’s built a reputation for transparency and clean-label baking and, in 1981, began offering certified Kosher products. Over the years, the company expanded its range to include organic breads and became a recognized leader and innovator in the organic baking industry, modernizing its 50-year heritage to compete in an ever-evolving market.
Rudi’s commitment to quality, clean-label baking and allergen management has remained central to the business, particularly as the company expanded into gluten-free products in 2010. This expansion led to the establishment of a 10,000 sq ft bakery dedicated to its gluten-free product line, completely separate from organic production. In 2025, Rudi’s also set up a 4,000 sq ft specialty bakery to produce its Texas Toast and Sandos, a dedicated space for products made with peanut butter and dairy ingredients.
Today, Rudi’s is known for its high-quality frozen sandwich breads, including sourdough, wholegrain and multigrain varieties, as well as newer additions such as breakfast sandwiches, Texas Toast and Sandos. Its products are sold across Colorado and throughout the USA.
The Challenge
Rudi’s has been a customer of Schaumburg Specialities for many years – indeed, we had custom built several heavy-duty, stainless steel cooling racks for the company 11 years previously.
These racks were still going strong and the company’s production teams were very happy with them – but Rudi’s portfolio was expanding fast and it needed 15 more cooling racks to help meet consumer demand for its organic, gluten-free and specialty product ranges.
Cooling racks are an essential part of the way Rudi’s executes its famous recipes. The challenge – as it is for many bakeries – is to cool bread and baked goods from oven temperatures of around 250-300 degrees celsius to room temperature, ready for processing, packing and freezing, while maintaining the flavor, texture and quality that makes Rudi’s products so popular.
The effectiveness of cooling racks in carrying out this essential task depends heavily on their design. Rudi’s employees were happy with the design of the cooling racks they were already using, so Schaumburg Specialties’ design engineers produced drawings based on the existing racks, incorporating the specifications and requirements provided by Rudi’s production team.
The Solution
At Schaumburg Specialties, additional durability is built into the design of all our racks so our customers can be confident in the longevity of their investment. For the Rudi’s project, our design engineers and metal fabricators decided to use a heavier 1.5” tube then the 1” our team would normally use – this was to give the cooling racks extra robustness, strength and stability.
The stainless steel cooling racks we built for Rudi’s Bakery
The racks’ dimensions were 61” H x 71”L and they were constructed from American stainless steel. Stainless steel is the most sanitary metal on the market and perfect for helping Rudi’s continue to maintain its clean-label, allergen-free baking practices. In addition, we fabricated the racks with a top cover, which helps maintain sanitary conditions and uphold the quality of Rudi’s products during the cooling process.
The racks were sturdy and sanitary with a top cover
Another feature we added was a handle, so the large, heavy-duty racks were easily and comfortably maneuverable for Rudi’s frontline workers.
The racks featured a handle
Rudi’s team was so happy with the cooling racks we fabricated that they have put in an order for five more, with plans to order more in a few months’ time.
Another day, another successfully completed project for Schaumburg Specialties!
Get Started with Your Own Custom Project
We delivered awesome results for this customer and now we want to do the same for you!
If you have a custom build idea in mind or you have a specific production challenge that requires a tailormade solution, we’re here to help. To get started with your own project with Schaumburg Specialties, and to bring your design ideas to life, contact us so that we can get a clear understanding of your requirements. We’ll take it from there!