KING’S HAWAIIAN DOUBLES PRODUCTION

Background

The distinctive sweetness of King’s Hawaiian bread has made it an American favorite and fueled the growth of the company. Robert Taira created the recipe for the iconic round loaves 50 years ago in Hawaii. Taira’s business – King’s Bakery in Honolulu – became a destination for tourists who often shipped bread back to the mainland as gifts for friends and family. As the appetite for the King’s bread grew, Taira moved his family to Southern California and built a 30,000-square-foot facility. The bread’s popularity continued to expand, and so did the family’s operation. In the 1990s, King’s Hawaiian added 40,000 square feet to its California bakery, and in 2004, the company built a 150,000-square-foot automated baking facility and corporate headquarters nearby. By 2010, King’s Hawaiian had reached capacity once again. Its California factory and bakery were operating 24/7, and consumer demand was spreading across the country. The company had also expanded its product line beyond the signature round loaves to baking dinner rolls, sub rolls and sandwich buns. With rising gas prices and other transportation costs weighing on the bakery’s budget, King’s Hawaiian decided to build a new facility in the Eastern United States. This way, the company could get its growing family of products to store shelves more quickly and cost-eff ectively.

Challenge

• Create a common infrastructure for machine builders for fi rst centralized data-collection system on a greenfi eld site

Solutions

Integrated Architecture System

• Scalable control across all machines in facility with Logix control platform

• EtherNet/IP network provides seamless, real-time communications structure and single design environment with consistent tools

• FactoryTalk software suite provides graphically rich, role-based production data; remote access to real-time and historical time-series data from all equipment and data sources in the plant; and intuitive production dashboards that provide a comprehensive picture of the factors contributing to operational performance

System Design and Delivery

• Bachelor Controls Inc., a Solution Partner within the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ program, designed and delivered the solution

Results

Met Implementation Timeline Goals 

• Designed and delivered an integrated plant within a tight timeline one week ahead of schedule

 

Doubled Production and Increased Capacity

• Added capability to produce additional 180,000 pounds of bread per day, doubling production