30

/ Baking & Snack / May 2013

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
www.bakingandsnack.com

OPERATIONS
Liscios Italian Bakery

Foodservices hot new trend favoring sandwich cuisine takes Liscios Italian Bakery into growing markets for its Philly bread and signature rolls.
Ask any Philadelphian: Nothing quite matches the thin, crispy crust and tender, soft crumb of a true hoagie roll. This sandwich style, especially the Philly cheesesteak, is as much a regional staple as the po-boy in New Orleans. hoagie Now, it is attracting menu attention outside the zone, and that spells opportunity for Liscios Italian Bakery, Glassboro, NJ. The bakery specializes in hoagie rolls, called Philly bread by many customers. For nearly 20 years, sandwich shops in the Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York region have made their menu favorites with Liscios bread and rolls. Today, however, the bakery also ships products as far away as Connecticut, Indiana, Texas and Oregon. Cheesesteak and hoagie shops find our breads better for their sandwiches, explained Charles (Chad) Vilotti, Liscios co-owner and vice-president, and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches are gaining interest in other areas of the country. Weve been able to grow with some of the very best operators in the business. Several of the bakerys key accounts are now national in scope. For example, one has 90 stores with four more about to open in Florida. Such fare is big business. Menu trends throughout America favor sandwiches all kinds of sandwiches with a category incidence of 77% among all operators, according to the Foodservice Research Institute. These experts describe dynamic 14% growth of sandwich cuisine over 10 years as a historic gain and way ahead of every other menu category. Sandwiches show great diversity. While grilled cheese sits atop the list with a 3.6% www.bakingandsnack.com

by Laurie Gorton

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
menu share, the Philly cheesesteak comes in at No. 7, right after the corned beef reuben. The mom-and-pops are still good partners for us, but were changing the way we operate to be a larger producer in a more productive plant, Mr. Vilotti said. Steps in this direction not only include the option of on-site freezing but also the adoption of British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Safe Quality Food (SQF) criteria and third-party inspections. Continuing local demand and nascent national interest in the bakerys products have stretched its sales nearly 300% in six years. The increased product volume and enhanced food safety efforts that accompany such business push the bakery to operate better and more efficiently.

Expanding product platforms

Emblazoned on each delivery truck, Liscios company motto states, It all starts with the bread. It certainly did for co-owners James Liscio and Chad Vilotti. Both come from a baking background, but when they first met, they sat on opposite sides of the desk. Mr. Liscio started baking in high school, taking a job with a small mom-and-pop bakery-deli. During college, he worked in another bake shop before opening his own bakery in 1994, a retail location that quickly earned a wholesale following for its Italian bread specialties. Mr. Vilottis great-grandfather opened one of the first Italian bakeries in South Philadelphia, and his grandfather developed a bakery ingredient distribution company while at the family bakery. Mr. Vilotti started working in that business while in college and later ran

May 2013 / Baking & Snack / 31

LISCIOS ITALIAN BAKERY

six miles of the wholesale bakery, and all include deli sandwich operations. We treat our retail shops like any other account, explained Chad Vilotti, the bakerys vice-president, but they do give us an immediate sense of what to expect from new product introductions. Such feedback also comes from Liscios management team. We look at the product each day, and of course, we eat it, too! Mr. Vilotti observed. Liscios newest location, adjacent to the wholesale bakery, houses the companys pastry production unit. Laura Casaletto, general manager of the retail business, described an active specialty operation employing four bakers and four decorators. We do cakes of all sorts, birthday to weddings and more, she said.

Make-Up Systems

32

/ Baking & Snack / May 2013

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
INNOBAKETION
CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL BAKER

company finds itself venturing into better burger territory, the latest development in sandwich cuisine. And the results are tremendous. Burger rolls really blossomed, said Mr. Liscio, the bakerys president. This is hoagie country, and burgers have not been a big thing in this area. But they are now. And theyre only getLiscios Italian Bakery, Glassboro, NJ, specializes ting bigger as upscale in supplying sandwich shops and foodservice hamburgers go national. operations, but it also has in-store supermarket Attentive to customer and retail bakery accounts. And three of these needs, bakery managers retail shops carry the Liscios name. All are within it for 20 years. After selling the ingredient company in 2000, he joined Mr. Liscio, adding his business management experience to his partners production expertise. Hoagies account for the majority of Liscios business, but lately the

Immediate feedback

accepted a challenge from a local operator of a quick-service restaurant specializing in gourmet hamburgers. He wanted to set his signature burger apart from others in the market, Mr. Vilotti said. The customer asked the bakery to develop a rustic, pan-baked bun that would be crustier than the usual soft hamburger bun. Mr. Liscio worked out the formulation and production details, and soon the customer had his new bun. Sales of the signature sandwich went through the roof.

The bakery opted for an automatic peel board unloader to feed its newest tunnel oven.

Do-Flex Divider

Excellent Scaling Accuracy, 1% Accuracy with Virtually No Operator Adjustments Required Available as New Divider or a Retrot Kit for AMF HBD Dividers New Vector Auger System is 40% More Efcient than old Twin Screw Augers, Less Work on Dough means More Control Over Grain Structure Very Low Pressure Dividing (less than 1 degree temperature rise) Easy to Maintain and Clean, No Tools Required for 100% Sanitation Inspection Capable of Running a Wide Range of Doughs from Stiff Roll Dough to Slack English Mufn and Ciabatta Dough Eliminates Shearing
For more information, see Page 121

WWW.AMFBAKERY.COM
AMF is a Markel Bakery Group Company www.bakingandsnack.com

Turning s n i a r g e l o wh

into hearty sales

The bowl on this double-spiral mixer rises to bring ingredients into contact with mixing blades. Liscios recently added three of these larger-capacity systems to bring up output.

Spreading business reach

Located just about a half-hour outside Philadelphia, Liscios occu pies a 10-acre site on New Jerseys busy Route 47. Since moving to Glassboro in 2004, the company added 10,000 sq ft of retarder space in 2007, bringing the building up to 50,000 sq ft. By 2011, it was filled with additional production equipment to handle rising demand. We laid out the bakery to grow, Mr. Vilotti said. We took on technology to fit the needs of these products and allow our business to grow more aggressively. Recent capital equipment additions include upgraded doublespiral mixers supplying each production line, a new roll makeup www.bakingandsnack.com

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
line, increased retarding capacity and efficient push-through proofers, two additional tunnel ovens and two more ambient-temperature spiral coolers. A new power plant was also installed. During the same period, the company acquired properties next to and behind the existing plant. Liscios built a new bakery-deli on one lot and relocated its 5,000-sq-ft pastry operation to the back shop there. It adapted the 6,000-sq-ft building on the other lot to warehouse bagged and boxed ingredients and provide administrative offices. The company plans to connect the wholesale plant and warehouse soon. Another essential step for Liscios was implementation of BRC and SQF food safety programs,
2012 Cargill Incorporated.

turn it take to ucts s e o d t Wha prod ins into whole gra crave? ers consum rizon

ke Ho dients, li e spring ve ingre ti hit a w v o t n c In ele what WheatS rovides p It Millings r. u o t fl xture, a e te h r w e whole r: a soft fe re p . rs te With e ilder tas consum e rand m lo expertis o r c u r o te ligh rcesand nique u u o s d e n r a t a Cargills ole whe ion, ional wh in nutrit in tradit hole-gra w ales. h s it y w nts p heart ingredie u develo yo lp e h we can

rm nsfo u tra it o y p s 6. l s. Vi n he -450 e ca r ty sale 00-742 w how to hea all 1-8 c in over Disc grains .com or e l g o n i l h l i w zonM Hori

For more information, see Page 121

May 2013 / Baking & Snack / 33

LISCIOS ITALIAN BAKERY

Were not the only game in town, so we have to play it better with quality and consistency.
Chad Vilotti, Liscios Italian Bakery

When it comes to our pure natural sweeteners, you wont nd better quality, service or technical expertise. If youre looking for a way to add a touch of sweetness and promote browning in your gluten free, non-GMO, natural or kosher formulations, Briess can help. Find out more at briess.com/sorghum
625 S Irish Rd | Chilton, WI 53014 | 920.849.7711

Ask us about our new contract packaging options: briess.com/packaging

For more information, see Page 121

34

/ Baking & Snack / May 2013

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
briess.com/sorghum
2013 Briess Industries, Inc.

mportant to attracting high-volume i customers, including leading supermarket chains. In doing these programs, we knew they would make us a better company and allow us to entertain those types of clients, Mr. Vilotti said. I knew from my previous distribution business the value of participating in programs such as those that AIB International offers. When we moved here, we decided we would run the cleanest, most efficient operation possible, and we get constant requests for third-party audits. Work with these formal food safety programs began in earnest three years ago. Efforts included onsite training for all staff members. The company became SQFcertified in 2012 by AIB and received a Superior rating on that groups most recent inspection. Two employees currently hold HACCP certification, and separately, the company supports an in-house employee safety committee. We continue to climb the ladder on audits, Mr. Vilotti reported.

BRIESS. Your source for White Sorghum and Tapioca Syrups, and Malt Extracts all MADE IN THE USA.

Automating traditional arts

Hoagie sandwiches demand a special sort of bread. Its subtle flavor, paper-like crispy crust and soft interior crumb wouldnt be possible without retardation of the dough, according to Mr. Liscio. Accommodating such a long process presents challenges. But weve tried to maintain the integrity of the process, he said. The bakery works hard to sustain traditional results while operating an automated process. We dont skip steps, and we strive to keep doing things as when we started, Mr. Vilotti explained. Now with a staff of 210, the bakery begins its day at 4 a.m., when bakers arrive to start up lines. Items made up the day before are just reaching the end of their retard period. Proofing, baking, cooling and www.bakingandsnack.com

A be prepared attitude

Mother Nature certainly knows how to challenge businesses on the Eastern Seaboard. Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and several major winter storms recently blew through the region, spreading wide the damage. We did close one day for both Advance planning paid off for Irene and Sandy but only once for Liscios Italian Bakery when a snowstorm a few years ago, said Hurricane Sandy visited the East Chad Vilotti, vice-president, Liscios Coast on Halloween in 2012. NASA Italian Bakery, Glassboro, NJ. The main hurricane concern would have been our roof, but weve had emergency electrical power here from the start. The company recently replaced its first generator with a larger 700-kw system. We could power half of Glassboro with it, joked James Liscio, the bakerys president. The company also inventories replacement motors for key equipment. Weve only had one episode that required emergency electrical power since we moved here in 2004, Mr. Liscio continued. We lost about three hours of production then. But that experience was enough, and having back-up capacity satisfies our need to cover what if situations.

www.bakingandsnack.com

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
2012 Cargill Incorporated.

order makeup take place simultaneously with mixing and makeup of the next days products. Distribution activities begin at 8 p.m. Liscios targeted the goal of consistent quality product starting on day one. To drive out variability, every aspect of a baking business has to become more efficient, more effective, Mr. Vilotti said. Automation contributes to that consistency by steering away from routine manual tasks, but its not all about manpower reduction, according to Mr. Liscio. Theres always the potential for labor savings, he said, but we redeploy individuals to better use their skills. Operators keep careful watch over products in progress and monitor machinery closely. Mr. Vilotti added, In this business, the human element is a needed aspect to production, and the personal touch is important.

Mr. Liscio and Mr. Vilotti rely on vendor support from their primary equipment and ingredient suppliers to guide them through the technology maze. We frequently host other bakers from all over the country interested in evaluating our process and our processing and baking equipment, Mr. Liscio said.

Turning product

Making, baking rolls

The bakerys original Pfening bulk flour system delivers flour to four mixers, although operators scale minor ingredients from scratch. The system routes batched flour from the outdoor 85,000-lb silo through a metal detector and into a stainlesssteel sifter before it reaches four stainless-steel, 500-lb scale hoppers above the mixers. To date, Liscios has been able to keep up with rising production demand by boosting the frequency of flour deliveries. However, in case

ideas into profits

e to es it tak What do roduct ideas -p turn new e? nu e v e r into

answer: now the ng , we k ion experts, li il M n o At Horiz ology and nutrit umer hn f cons food-tec ledge o ke ul know that ma ts n ie insightf d re lgent g u d in in d n trends a ealthier or more d h ad products And when you th! e mix, or bo pabilities to th ca ipe. ning rec Cargills the win t o g e youv

rm nsfo u tra o y p 6. l it n he -450 e ca ofits. Vis 00-742 w how into pr all 1-8 c over Disc ct ideas .com or u g d n i o l r l i p zonM Hori

For more information, see Page 121

May 2013 / Baking & Snack / 35

LISCIOS ITALIAN BAKERY

This is hoagie country.

James Liscio, Liscios Italian Bakery

sk i r g n i n r u T

into n o i t c i d e r p

Liscios supplies the Philadelphia Phillies ball park with rolls and merchandises the relationship with delivery truck graphics. of emergency, it stocks a supply of bagged flour equal to a full load. Our middle name is backup, Mr. Liscio said with a laugh. The bakery now uses four Gemini/W&P dual-spiral-arm, high-speed mixers. Each can handle dough loads up to 500 lb per batch. Mix times range from six to 10 minutes, and the finished dough leaves the bowl through a bottom discharge port into a waiting dough trough. The bakerys automated bread and roll makeup lines have the ability to produce many different products from 1.5-oz rolls up to 15-oz stick bread. These include two Gemini/ KB variety roll lines for moulded, round and Kaiser rolls and one Craft Master low-stress combination bread and roll moulding line. Each employs a trough lift to unload dough, thus eliminating the need to manually feed dough into the 700-lb dough reservoirs above the Gemini TWL dividers. The newest line makes stamped Kaiser rolls and moulded rolls weighing 1.5 to 7.5 oz. The automatic loader on each line can deposit round and moulded dough pieces directly onto peel boards supplied by an integrated board feeder. www.bakingandsnack.com

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
Operators place boards filled with dough pieces into mobile racks and wheel them into the refrigerated 38F retarding room. To fill the next days production schedule, operators move racks to the two roll-through rack proofers. All racks feature a top plate. These act as lids to prevent condensation or dust falling onto the dough pieces, Mr. Liscio explained. The company embraced this recommendation made during an AIB inspection. The bakery is now equipped with three tunnel ovens supplied by Gemini Bakery Equipment. The first two are manually loaded, but the newest 77-ft tunnel oven installed in 2011 operates with an automatic peel board oven loading system. That way, the oven is always full, which aids efficiency and enables a more consistent bake, Mr. Liscio observed. Baked rolls and buns slide down a transfer plate as they leave the oven and move onto a conveyor taking them to three G&F ambient- temperature spiral cooling systems. The partners are considering adding an automatic oven loader to one of the two smaller tunnel ovens;
2012 Cargill Incorporated.

o tur n it take t s e o dictable d t Wha into pre s t e k r a m ies? volatile por tunit p o s s e g busin e Pricin

anc Perform portion Millings anage a m s rt Horizon e p x e nd a r u re O . su program at futures expo u e o h y w lp r e u of yo that h es. insights purchas provide er flour th s, we o u r d u o in y h rces be manage u o s re a be t the rgills tomers With Ca our cus lp e h strive to e. over tim market

rm nsfo u tra iness. o y s lp n he your bu e ca w w bility for r call o h icta mo over Disc to pred illing.co in M k n s o i z r 06. Hori Visit -742-45 0 0 8 1-

For more information, see Page 121

May 2013 / Baking & Snack / 37

LISCIOS ITALIAN BAKERY

Outstanding Mixing Characteristics

Discover the North Dakota Difference

Standard Patent Flour: Dakota Champion
The standard of excellence for the baking industry, Dakota Champion ours are suitable for a wide variety of breads, rolls and specialty products.

Call 1-800-538-7721 to discover the difference. Call 1-800-538-7721 to discover the difference. www.ndmill.com www.ndmill.com

38

/ Baking & Snack / May 2013 see Page 121 For more information,

ISOC 22000 E R T I/ FPAS I E D220 CERTIFIED

ISO 22000

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
Packing, shipping products

Chad Vilotti (left), Liscios Italian Bakery vice-president, and James Liscio, president, invested capital in processing equipment and food safety programs to better serve the bakerys growing roster of clients. however, floor space is too tight and production rates too low to justify one on the companys original 60-ft tunnel oven. Liscios kept a few of its original single-rack ovens to handle low-volume items.

Finished products depart Liscios loaded loosely into white corrugated boxes. Such boxes are standard for fresh local distribution of hoagie rolls and Italian breads because they maintain the breads crisp crust texture. Most bakers in this region use brown boxes, Mr. Liscio explained, but we use only white ones printed with our name. This helps differentiate us. The corrugated boxes return to the bakery where they are dumped to remove any debris and thoroughly inspected before reuse. As the company expanded distribution into other markets, it began to offer different packaging styles. In Delaware, for example, customers want their products in sealed plastic bags. Liscios added a Cavanna packaging and bagging line to accommodate such requests. The next step will be to automatically pack hamburger buns and other rolls, Mr. Vilotti said. Liscios assembles its product for distribution in a www.bakingandsnack.com

Turning ility b a n i a t s su

goals into s n o i t u l o s

The bakerys newest makeup line offers both Kaiser stamping and soft bun capacity. dedicated part of the main building, placing orders into a bank of locked cages assigned to individual drivers. Supermarkets represent another flourishing part of the bakerys market. Liscios now serves more than 90 area stores using direct store delivery (DSD) methods. Like the sandwich shop business, fresh DSD to supermarkets involves loose rolls. With a good number of national accounts, the company is being pulled into the frozen side to grow along with its customers. It recently acquired a liquid nitrogen flash freezer. Currently in storage, the freezer will be installed on the next build-out.

Everyday consistency

Mr. Liscio and Mr. Vilotti credit their bakerys success to its ability to produce consistent product day in and day out. Customers want consistency, Mr. Vilotti said. Samples are all fine and well, but the everyday product has to be the same every day. They acknowledged the role that their staff plays in supporting such performance. Our www.bakingandsnack.com

SO P SL RO AN PE D RT PU Y LI OF SH IN G
mployees are the backbone of e our system, Mr. Liscio said. The entire team is dedicated to producing a great product, and they know the importance of this to our customers. Mr. Vilotti added, Machines can only do so much. Its the people who run them that make the difference. Looking ahead, the partners expect further DSD expansion. Our category fresh Italian bread and rolls is not yet saturated, Mr. Vilotti observed. We also have a future in products distributed outside the region. Thats based on our customers wanting Philly bread for their operations. The future may bring more competition, but Liscios is ready for it. We have the variety of product enabled by use of machine and manual methods variety that many of our competitors lack, Mr. Vilotti said. Were not the only game in town, so we have to play it better with quality and consistency. Mr. Liscio confirmed this commitment. Consistency is a product issue and a service issue, but consistency is our strength, he said.

tur n take to it s e o d into What y goals it il b a in susta sults? ilding re ram brand-bu r prog

EcoFlou nts Millings vative ingredie Horizon inno d : e ll rv a e it s s -pre include identity ural om our agricult e made fr g d -e g in e Earth tt th u t c c wheat, at respe th s at meet ie th g d plans technolo re o il a -t rtified tom . And fo and cus lour s goals s e in E s , u s coF your b pabilitie a c s l il rg with Ca r. s delive solution

n s ca gram . Visit o r p s dly tion 506. -frien solu r eco als into 0-742-4 u o 0 o how form g all 1-8 c s over Disc you tran .com or g help onMillin z Hori

For more information, see Page 121

2012 Cargill Incorporated.

May 2013 / Baking & Snack / 39