Pan handling operations can vary significantly between North America and other parts of the globe due to differences in market demands, regulations, labor availability and technological adoption.

“For example, North America shows a higher trend towards adopting automation driven by the need for high productivity, consistency and reduced labor costs in a competitive market,” noted Dan Alper, product marketing manager, AMF Workhorse, a brand of AMF Bakery Systems. “Depending on the region globally, the adoption of automation can be more limited, depending on the scale or throughput of the bakery and the economic context.”

He added that pan handling systems in other regions are often designed to meet local regulatory requirements, which can differ in scope and stringency from those in North America. This can lead to variations in the complexity and cost of pan handling systems.

There are also other differences that impact the way pan systems are designed, according to Geert Schellens, sales director, Verhoeven Bakery Equipment Family and specialist in NewCap industrial handling solutions.

“In North America, we use a lot of floor space, smaller baking pans and higher transport speeds to achieve a certain capacity,” he observed. “In the rest of the world, we see that floor space is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, and we often seek height. So more machine per square meter.” 

He pointed out that methods of transportation also differ greatly.

“With the frequently used transport techniques in North America, the philosophy is to never have to stop, which is almost impossible because they use much smaller baking forms. As a result, there is no time to stop,” Schellens explained. “In the rest of the world, they use larger baking molds (or pans), which makes everything run more quietly and gives them more time to perform a particular action in the process. This results in much less wear and tear on the machines and baking molds, but because of this, there is also much less stress on the production floor in case there is a minor disruption in the process.”

There are some common issues across the globe driving the automation of pan handling and other tasks.

“In the emerging markets, they are asking for more technology because they are having a hard time finding viable labor,” said Joakim Nordell, export sales manager, Middleby Bakery. “That started during the pandemic when bakers realized how vulnerable they are by not having the labor available each day.”

This article is an excerpt from the October 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Pan Coating & Handling, click here.