Polotsk bakery has invested about 2.5 million rubles in modernization over the past three years
90 years of history and time-tested recipes from hereditary bakers. This foundation of experience and folk traditions is a good basis for a strong economic foundation of bakery production. And if you add modern technologies and a cohesive work team to this, then market success is guaranteed. In the last three years alone, the Polotsk branch of OJSC "Vitebskhleboprom" has invested about 2.5 million rubles in production development. As a result, since the beginning of the year, the growth rate of output in current prices has been 113.5 percent.
— The largest purchase is a complex mechanized line for the production of bakery products, — says Yuri Georgievich. — We installed it two years ago. The new oven has not only significantly improved the quality of products but also made it possible to expand their range. The baking speed has increased, and therefore the overall productivity. The cost of the line is considerable — over 2 million rubles. We wouldn't have managed without a loan. There are many new things in other departments as well. For example, a modern air-screw compressor has ensured the energy efficiency of the process and improved quality — due to purified air working directly with flour.
…The clock shows almost the end of our usual working day. But in the workshops of the Polotsk bakery, which operates around the clock, it is the peak of pressing matters. The aroma of freshly baked bread, yeast, cinnamon, and something else incredibly delicious is dizzying to the unaccustomed. Here, from the conveyor belt, one after another, practically like an avalanche, fall ruddy "bohans." You just want to break off a crispy crust…
Shift supervisor Liliya Kostetskaya allows us to taste the fresh pastries. Delicious!
— This is our signature bread, — explains the specialist, — The recipe is over 20 years old. City guests take it as a souvenir-treat and carry it hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. You see the monument to Prince Vseslav the Sorcerer on the packaging? It stands in Polotsk at the intersection of Oktyabrskaya and Evfrosinya Polotsk. To use the image on the label, we had to obtain official permission from the sculptor. But now it's our signature, like a business card of the city's historical chronicle.
There isn't much time for conversations. All night long, leaveners, dough makers, and bakers will be busy so that cars can be loaded by three o'clock in the morning. Each van carries at least 15 items, and up to 60.
— First, we send orders to closed institutions – hospitals, kindergartens, and schools. Then, we ship to retail chains, — say the factory workers. — The schedule is very tight. So, new equipment is excellent support. In just a couple of years, we managed to modernize the entire cycle – from raw material preparation to finished product output. Now, we plan to modernize the yeast department.
Here, from the conveyor belt, neat, narrow strips of cut dough descend directly to the trays. Factory workers place them side by side, four at a time. In a little while, popular "saika" buns will come out of the oven.
Specialists from the production laboratory also work almost around the clock. Process engineer Svetlana Kuznetsova and microbiologist Tatyana Iotkova provide an update:
— We carefully check both incoming raw materials and products at all stages of their production. Together with technologists, we also develop new recipes. We analyze demand, discard some things, and implement others. This is a continuous process, and the enterprise's demand, and therefore financial stability, depends on its effectiveness. Currently, we are developing new types of hearth breads – with cranberries, dried carrots, and other ingredients. We are also continuing to expand the range of extruded products.
Crispbreads are a separate specialization of Polotsk bakers, a niche that with eachyear brings the factory workers ever-increasing popularity and profit. Currently, the enterprise produces 11 types of crispbreads and seven types of confectionery strips. Despite sanctions, partners from the Baltic countries continue to purchase these products in Polotsk and transport them for sale to the European market.
— Of course, the distance is considerable, overhead costs are significant, and the material and technical base at the locations requires serious investment, — notes Yuri Guboglo. — We have already done some things there, and we are planning others. The main thing is that we can now relieve the main production, and there is an opportunity to avoid duplication in the range of manufactured products. We are trying to ensure that by clearly distributing responsibilities among all participants of the unified production chain, we can minimize the disadvantages and achieve stable advantages.
Today, about 430 people work at the Polotsk bakery, which daily provides fresh products not only to the residents of Polotsk, Novopolotsk, but also to Miory, Verkhnedvinsk, Sharkovshchyna, and Shumilino districts, and also supplies goods to retail chains in Vitebsk and Minsk. Among them are many representatives of family dynasties, hereditary bakers. For example, dough maker of the molding shop Tatyana Melnikova works alongside her sister, Natalia Novikova, an operator for bulk flour storage. There are also those who have replaced their parents at their workplace, who once brought them into the noble "bread" profession.
What has changedь with the tightening of sanctions? Specialists claim: nothing. Flour was and remains domestic. Buying dried fruits locally is also not a problem. There are no difficulties with other ingredients either. As for sales markets, life shows that borders have never stopped and will not stop those who have already fallen in love with the products of Belarusian manufacturers.
New Equipment to the Rescue
Together with the deputy director of the branch for technical issues, Yuri Guboglo, we discuss the latest acquisitions.— The largest purchase is a complex mechanized line for the production of bakery products, — says Yuri Georgievich. — We installed it two years ago. The new oven has not only significantly improved the quality of products but also made it possible to expand their range. The baking speed has increased, and therefore the overall productivity. The cost of the line is considerable — over 2 million rubles. We wouldn't have managed without a loan. There are many new things in other departments as well. For example, a modern air-screw compressor has ensured the energy efficiency of the process and improved quality — due to purified air working directly with flour.
…The clock shows almost the end of our usual working day. But in the workshops of the Polotsk bakery, which operates around the clock, it is the peak of pressing matters. The aroma of freshly baked bread, yeast, cinnamon, and something else incredibly delicious is dizzying to the unaccustomed. Here, from the conveyor belt, one after another, practically like an avalanche, fall ruddy "bohans." You just want to break off a crispy crust…
Shift supervisor Liliya Kostetskaya allows us to taste the fresh pastries. Delicious!
— This is our signature bread, — explains the specialist, — The recipe is over 20 years old. City guests take it as a souvenir-treat and carry it hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. You see the monument to Prince Vseslav the Sorcerer on the packaging? It stands in Polotsk at the intersection of Oktyabrskaya and Evfrosinya Polotsk. To use the image on the label, we had to obtain official permission from the sculptor. But now it's our signature, like a business card of the city's historical chronicle.
There isn't much time for conversations. All night long, leaveners, dough makers, and bakers will be busy so that cars can be loaded by three o'clock in the morning. Each van carries at least 15 items, and up to 60.
— First, we send orders to closed institutions – hospitals, kindergartens, and schools. Then, we ship to retail chains, — say the factory workers. — The schedule is very tight. So, new equipment is excellent support. In just a couple of years, we managed to modernize the entire cycle – from raw material preparation to finished product output. Now, we plan to modernize the yeast department.
Everything Under Control
New compressors, refrigerators, and freezers, dough rolling machines, dough mixers, and dough dividers for bakery products, dosing syringes, and much more – all are utilized with maximum efficiency…Here, from the conveyor belt, neat, narrow strips of cut dough descend directly to the trays. Factory workers place them side by side, four at a time. In a little while, popular "saika" buns will come out of the oven.
Specialists from the production laboratory also work almost around the clock. Process engineer Svetlana Kuznetsova and microbiologist Tatyana Iotkova provide an update:
— We carefully check both incoming raw materials and products at all stages of their production. Together with technologists, we also develop new recipes. We analyze demand, discard some things, and implement others. This is a continuous process, and the enterprise's demand, and therefore financial stability, depends on its effectiveness. Currently, we are developing new types of hearth breads – with cranberries, dried carrots, and other ingredients. We are also continuing to expand the range of extruded products.
Crispbreads are a separate specialization of Polotsk bakers, a niche that with eachyear brings the factory workers ever-increasing popularity and profit. Currently, the enterprise produces 11 types of crispbreads and seven types of confectionery strips. Despite sanctions, partners from the Baltic countries continue to purchase these products in Polotsk and transport them for sale to the European market.
Bread Economy
Every day, the Polotsk bakery ships about 20 tons of bakery products and approximately one ton of confectionery items to customers. It also produces over two tons of crispbreads and strips.Since the beginning of the year, compared to the corresponding period last year, 35 tons more products have been produced here. Revenue has increased by almost 2.6 million rubles.Excellent performance. Especially considering that two more sites – small bakeries and the service area of former consumer cooperatives in Verkhnedvinsk and Miory – have been attached to the Polotsk bakery branch.
— Of course, the distance is considerable, overhead costs are significant, and the material and technical base at the locations requires serious investment, — notes Yuri Guboglo. — We have already done some things there, and we are planning others. The main thing is that we can now relieve the main production, and there is an opportunity to avoid duplication in the range of manufactured products. We are trying to ensure that by clearly distributing responsibilities among all participants of the unified production chain, we can minimize the disadvantages and achieve stable advantages.
Today, about 430 people work at the Polotsk bakery, which daily provides fresh products not only to the residents of Polotsk, Novopolotsk, but also to Miory, Verkhnedvinsk, Sharkovshchyna, and Shumilino districts, and also supplies goods to retail chains in Vitebsk and Minsk. Among them are many representatives of family dynasties, hereditary bakers. For example, dough maker of the molding shop Tatyana Melnikova works alongside her sister, Natalia Novikova, an operator for bulk flour storage. There are also those who have replaced their parents at their workplace, who once brought them into the noble "bread" profession.
What has changedь with the tightening of sanctions? Specialists claim: nothing. Flour was and remains domestic. Buying dried fruits locally is also not a problem. There are no difficulties with other ingredients either. As for sales markets, life shows that borders have never stopped and will not stop those who have already fallen in love with the products of Belarusian manufacturers.