In the world of commercial baking, our client requires little introduction. Leidenheimer Baking Co. have been in the business since they were founded in New Orleans, all the way back in 1896.
Client: Leidenheimer Baking Co
Industry: Food Production
Location: New Orleans

The Client

 

The family-run business has been passed down the generations, and the fourth and fifth generations of the family still run the business today.

In the world of commercial baking, our client requires little introduction. Leidenheimer Baking Co. have been in the business since they were founded in New Orleans, all the way back in 1896. The family-run business has been passed down the generations, and the fourth and fifth generations of the family still run the business today.

Originally baking dense, brown breads from their native Germany, the company grew to specialise in baking New Orleans French bread, famous for its crisp crust. This iconic bread continues to make the family famous over 120 years later and is now known as the ‘po-boy’.

Now a household name, Leidenheimer Baking Co. serves thousands of customers through New Orleans and the Gulf South, with a huge local and national distribution network.

 

sandwich with beef and veg

The Challenge

 

Like many of America’s top bakeries, Leidenheimer Baking Co. have embraced automated production processes to serve even more hungry customers. Specifically, our client used a system called RoboTray – a highly popular tool that lifts baking trays off oven racks, placing them onto conveyor-style systems.

The customer came to us with a particular challenge: to design a unique series of racks that would synchronize and work perfectly with the RoboTray system. As America’s leading manufacturers of custom-built oven racks, RoboTray recommended us to the customer. Naturally, we were only too happy to help!

 

Our Solution

 

A key element of the unique design in this project was in calculating the level of space between each level of the rack. This was to ensure that the levels were within an acceptable tolerance for the RoboTray system so that machine sensors could detect various parts of the rack and work within it without causing any blockages or accidental impacts.

Aside from that, the racks we designed for the client included ramps, both in an upward and downward inclination. This was to ensure that the pan wouldn’t catch on a flat surface, causing a chaotic jam in the production line. Our metal fabricators navigated this challenge by including guide rails; keeping it in place and preventing it from becoming misaligned.

Another unique area of our design for this project was in our inclusion of cross bars to hold the sides together vertically. This is because automated systems can’t tolerate tie bars, which normally go along the middle of a rack.

Fundamentally, our line of custom-made racks for this customer had to be totally consistent in their dimensions so that they could move within a chute.

In total, we made over 100 racks for Leidenheimer Baking Co, helping them boost the productivity and efficiency at the heart of their business!

 

custom built oven rack solution for automated baking system

 

Get Started with Your Own Custom Project

 

We delivered awesome results for this customer, and now we want to do the same for you. To get started with your own project with Schaumburg Specialties, contact us so that we can get a clear understanding of your requirements. We’ll take it from there!