Faced With The Loss Of A Vital Supply Contract, A Small Company Innovates And Profits
By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online
Interbake has designed a new cake-filling machine that turned a precarious situation into increased sales and an expanded customer base
Interbake, a family-run company that has been selling bakery and food processing equipment for 25 years, recently developed its own cake-filling machine. The filling machine is called the Triple D Depositor and is designed for food manufacturers needing to easily stuff cakes and savories with fillings ranging from creams and jams to fruit-fillings and liquids.
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Earlier this year, the company lost its contract to import depositing machines from a Canadian manufacturer. Instead of finding another supplier, Interbake decided to design its own filling machine. Interbake managing director, David Dunne, explains, “We knew that we had the expertise and know-how to build a machine that would perform even better than the one we had been importing from Canada, and realized that our own machine had great potential if we could get it to market.” Interbake found just such an opportunity when the Triple D Depositor was displayed at the FoodEx exhibition in March.
“To make sure we didn't lose any existing or potential new business,” Dunne elaborates, “we had to go through all the design, production, testing, and patent processes in a very short period of time. That’s where the Manufacturing Advisory Service really stepped in to help us. They came in and understood immediately what the priorities and timescales were and worked with us to make it happen and to fund the bespoke tooling that we needed to build the new machine.”
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The filling machine has become a massive hit, and with the cost of invention at a mere $120,000, Interbake has safeguarded jobs and revenue for years to come. Dunne says the company has since made a purchase of 9,000 square feet of floor space to grow its production and workforce.
When faced with the potentially devastating loss of contract with its supplier, Interbake reacted by opting to design and manufacture its own replacement, a testament to the innovative and inventive nature of the manufacturing industry. The creation of the new filling machine not only bailed Interbake out of an impending crisis, it ultimately helped generate more customers and increased profits.