Krispy Kreme weighs up the benefits

Newcastle, UK – Krispy Kreme has installed new checkweighers to help maintain its daily production at its Newcastle Hotlight store, which produces 16 different varieties of doughnuts.

The 6kg and 45kg ZQ375 checkweighers, from Avery Weigh-Tronix, are used to weigh ingredients prior to baking. Empty containers are placed on the scales and then filled with the ingredients for the batter or the fillings.

The equipment met Krispy Kreme’s requirements for being reliable, robust and easy to clean. In particular, the scale’s IP69k rated enclosure, which allows the checkweighers to be thoroughly cleaned without fear of water or particle ingress.

The scales have a smooth, polished surface finish, curved corners and an easy to remove cover. The design minimizes the growth of micro-organisms on the scale and limits food trap areas where bacteria can thrive.

“As a business it’s important that we get the ingredient mix correct to ensure quality,” said Ollie Kane, service manager for Krispy Kreme. “The scales are constantly used as we produce fresh doughnuts daily for all of our outlets. Over the course of a week we will produce 1.3 million doughnuts nationally.”

The aesthetic design of the scale is also important, because said Kane, the company sometimes open up the production area so that the public can see what is happening.

With reliability another key factor for Krispy Kreme, the new checkweigher has a torsion base that is designed to absorb shock loads and has a 500% overload protection.

“We are committed to providing fresh doughnuts daily so any equipment that we have must be reliable and durable,” the service manager concluded. “In our fast moving world we cannot afford to let our customers down, available fresh product is part of our brand promise.”