INTRODUCTION

Industrial robots are automated moving devices that can be deployed universally and that
have multiple axes, the motion paths, sequences and angles of which can be freely programmed
(i.e. without mechanical intervention) and controlled by sensors. Robots can be fitted with
grippers, tools or other manufacturing equipment, enabling them to manipulate objects and carry
out production tasks. Their flexibility, stemming from their freely programmable movements,
means they can be used for all kinds of different tasks. It is precisely this flexibility that makes the
robot particularly well suited to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in the food
industry that carry out many different tasks and make frequent changes to batches and products.

Traditionally, the automotive and automotive supplier industry as well as industry in

general have led the way when it comes to using robots on a large scale to perform tasks of varying
complexity. But for a long time now, robots have also been playing a key role in the food and
beverage industry. Robots are being used mainly for heavy work such as palletization and for other
tasks related to packaging and repackaging. Companies that did deploy robots in production used
them for cheese smearing, for work in cheese maturing rooms, for depositing and traying functions
and for loading of bread into ovens.

Gardenia Bakeries is one of the leading bread manufacturers in the Philippines which
showcases its world-class bread manufacturing facility that is fully automated and untouched by
human hands that produces hundred thousands of loaves of bread and snack items each day. The
P1-billion facility, located at Laguna International Industrial Park in Biñan, Laguna, can produce
up to 6,000 loaves per hour or a total of 150,000 loaves per day, equivalent to a 50 percent increase
on its current production capacity This plant uses an improved concept in the ingredient handling
and makeup systems, use of robotics in handling baking pans using the automatic lidder that
automatically lids the pan to give the bread its uniform rectangular shape and a unique technology
on the depanning process using the automatic delidder and depanner where the bread, hot from the
oven, is removed by a vacuum suction before being conveyed to the bread cooler. The facility also
includes a tumbler where all four sides of the loaf are checked, while a tornado cleaner ensures
that all baking pans are very clean and free of crumbs.
 The facility also features advanced equipment that adheres to globally-accepted baking
industry standards. Its advanced dough making and proofing system ensures the right structure and
consistency in the texture of breads. It uses one of the world’s most technologically-advanced and
environment-friendly large-scale ovens that can utilize compressed natural gas as an alternative to
LPG. Environment-friendly liquefied petroleum gas will continue to be used by the new oven
baking system, which will eventually take in compressed natural gas once it is made available in
the industrial market.
 HISTORY

In 1978, Gardenia first started as a small in-store bakery at Bukit Timah Plaza producing
variety bread, with the help of experienced American baker, Horatio 'Sye' Slocumm, an employee
of International Executive Service Corps, who had 35 years’ experience in the bakery business.
Gardenia was born successfully after 45 years of hardship. Production was growing rapidly and
plans were underway for a larger commercial bakery by the year of 1981. A commercial bakery
was finally started in March 1983 at Pandan Loop, producing 2000 loaves per hour. Originally
based on the concept of a central bakery supplying a variety of products mainly to retail bakeries,
this changed to a single-minded concentration on producing a white sandwich loaf distributed to
all retail outlets including supermarkets and sundry shops. Launched against entrenched
competition; but with a superior product (softer-textured, tastier-flavored and enriched bread),
modern distinctive packaging and good marketing (effective advertising, merchandising and
distribution), Gardenia bread gradually gained popularity. Its merits of being baked fresh, using
the finest ingredients and delivered fresh made it the most popular brand of packaged bread in
Singapore within two years.

In August 1986, Gardenia expanded its operations by building a modern bakery that
utilized the latest processing techniques. In 1987, Gardenia ventured into Thailand. The first
Gardenia bakery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was commissioned in 1991 a second bakery in 1994
and a third bakery in 1997. A second bakery in Singapore was set up in June 1993, with a
production capacity of 8,000 loaves an hour. To keep up with a growing demand and modern
baking technology, substantial funds were ploughed into building this new state-of-the-art bakery.
Costing S$18.5 million, this new Gardenia bakery in Singapore increased manufacturing capacity
by 2.5 times without compromising on quality. Equipped with new computer-generated
equipment, this highly automated plant ranks among the most technologically advanced in the
region. In 1996, Gardenia expanded with new bakeries in China and India.

Gardenia started operating in the Philippines in 1997, QAF Limited through Gardenia
international (Singapore) Pte Ltd established Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines), Inc. and started
construction of its bakery plant in the Laguna international Park (LIIP) in Binan, Laguna. In 2011,
Gardenia Bakeries Philippines opened a new manufacturing plant in Cebu with a daily capacity of
50,000 loaves in order to serve the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

By the year 1999, Gardenia invested in a fourth bakery in Johore Bahru, Malaysia. In 2001,
the acquired Bonjour, that has since become the No. 2 brand in Singapore for packaged loaf bread
after Gardenia. They also set up a fifth bakery in Bukit Kemuning, Malaysia in this year. Despite
a competitive environment, Gardenia has remained the market leader till today. This speaks
volumes for the many painstaking efforts that have been invested to ensure that its products are
constantly a cut above the rest.