What do you do if you want to increase the capacity of your industrial spiral freezer, but are limited in terms of space? This was the dilemma facing baker Cidrines, a long-standing JBT customer who recently sought to upgrade its reliable, but aging 30 year old GYRoCOMPACT freezer to increase capacity within the restrictions of its existing facility.
Cidrines’ solution was to opt for a Frigoscandia GYRoCOMPACT M7, a popular model in a long line of successful self-stacking belt spiral freezers, chillers, and proofers that offers unparalleled performance and hygiene with compactness and low-energy consumption.
Supporting expansion
A family-owned bakery chain located in Puerto Rico, Cidrines was founded by brothers Manuel and Guillermo Cidre in 1978, selling their famous ‘Quesitos’ and ‘Pan Sobao’ breads in the provincial city of Arecibo. The success of the venture encouraged the brothers to open a second store in the capital, San Juan, in 1982, and by 1985 Cidrines had become the only bakery chain operating under a single name in the country.
Cidrines’ founders Manuel and Guillermo Cidre
By 1990, with the aim of centralizing its production, Cidrines expanded its existing 4,000 square foot manufacturing facility to 20,000 square foot, investing in machinery and technologies to support its expansion.
The Frigoscandia connection
Cidrines’ connection with JBT began in this era when it became the first company, outside North America, to install an industrial-scale spiral freezer in the form of the Frigoscandia GYRoCOMPACT M76, an older version of the best-selling Frigoscandia range which are now commonplace across the global food industry.
However, in keeping with their increase in production, the company also eventually required a spiral freezer capable of coping with the greater capacity.
JBT’s sales manager for South Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Uriel Manzano, takes up the story: “Cidrines wanted to increase capacity and decided to buy a new machine. They carried out an analysis because they have a restriction on space in their facility, and in the end no other supplier could give the capacity they were looking for in the space they had available.”
Making a difference
Cidrines opted for a GYRoCOMPACT M7, which offers the same belt-width to accommodate the company’s products, but at the same time enables them to process 1,000 lb/hr more bread
“The company decided to stick with a GYRoCOMPACT because of the confidence that the JBT Frigoscandia brand brings together with the greater efficiency and productivity offered by the upgraded freezer, as well as its ability to save on space,” explains Manzano.
However, the advantages of the M7 don’t end there. “The M7 takes up less space, uses less energy, less water consumption, and allows the customers to increase continuous production,” adds Manzano.
