How Highland Bakery Improved Production Flow with Automated Lid Handling.

In an industrial bakery, efficient production depends on how well each stage connects to the next. Moving bread through the line is one part of that process. Returning lids to where they are needed—at the right time and in the right sequence—is another.

For Highland Bakery, growing production demands made manual lid handling an increasingly important challenge. Working with Rexfab, Highland introduced an integrated bread-handling and automated lid-return system that reduced routine manual intervention, improved equipment coordination, and laid the foundation for future growth.

The challenge: keeping lids and bread moving together.

Highland needed a more efficient way to handle flat and round-top lids between depanning and relidding operations. Manual handling required operator attention and created potential bottlenecks that could affect production flow.

The project also had to account for the bakery’s existing equipment. Highland needed a solution that would connect with its operation, maintain continuous product movement, and provide flexibility as production requirements evolved.

Meeting those needs required a coordinated approach to bread handling, lid return, and line controls.

An integrated solution built around Highland’s operation.

Rexfab designed and supplied a complete system connecting oven discharge, bread depanning, and automated lid return.

The installation brought together oven discharge and metering conveyors, a Rexfab IVD-36C bread depanner, and integration of a third-party delidder. Automated return conveyors, servo-controlled routing, and Rexfab lid stacking and unstacking equipment managed the movement of lids back toward the relidder.

Integrated controls coordinated these stages, helping synchronize equipment and reduce the need for operators to move lids manually.

For Highland, the value came from how these components worked together: bread could continue through production while lids followed a controlled return path.

Flexibility for everyday production.

Bakery lines must accommodate variations in production as well as maintenance activities. Highland’s system was designed with that operational reality in mind.

Metering conveyors helped regulate movement between stages, while accumulation zones provided space to manage changes in flow. Lid stacking, unstacking, and recirculation capabilities gave the line additional flexibility to handle production variations.

Bypass functionality and manual rack-off and recovery stations provided further options when operator intervention was needed.

Together, these features improved line resilience and supported more consistent operation as conditions changed.

Engineering beyond the equipment.

Successful integration required attention to the details of Highland’s production environment.

Rexfab’s work extended from concept development and layout design through controls integration, fabrication, testing, commissioning, and operator training. Throughout the project, the team paid particular attention to lid geometry, stacking performance, sanitation requirements, and future operational flexibility.

This process helped align the equipment with the bakery’s day-to-day needs, from reliable lid handling to practical operation and maintenance.

The results: less manual handling, more consistent flow.

The completed system significantly reduced manual lid handling and improved synchronization between equipment. Highland gained a more consistent production flow, enhanced operator safety, and greater flexibility during production variations and maintenance activities.

Key benefits included:

• Reduced manual labor requirements through automated lid handling and return.
• Coordinated movement of flat and round-top lids within an integrated system.
• Improved operational consistency through synchronized conveyors and controls.
• Greater production flexibility with accumulation, recirculation, and bypass capabilities.
• A scalable foundation for future production growth and automation expansion.

By automating a traditionally labor-intensive process, Highland made lid management a more reliable and controlled part of its production line.

Supporting the next stage of growth.

Highland’s project demonstrates how a focused automation investment can improve the connections throughout a bakery line. Coordinating bread flow and lid return reduced routine operator intervention while helping existing equipment work together more effectively.

Rexfab combined bakery automation expertise, customized engineering, and controls integration to deliver a solution tailored to Highland’s operation—with the flexibility to support what comes next.

Looking to improve lid handling or production flow in your bakery? Talk to Rexfab about a solution designed around your equipment, products, and operational needs.