Shearer’s Foods has adapted its manufacturing to deliver tasty snacks
In the vast realm of snacks, Shearer’s Foods (Shearer’s) stands out as an award-winning private brand and co-manufacturer, creating delicious salty snacks, cookies, and crackers in North America. Whether salty or sweet, the company takes pride in making some of the finest snacks in the industry. Pablo Cussatti, Chief Supply Chain Officer, elaborates on Shearer’s diverse product range and manufacturing processes.
“A private equity-owned company under CD&R in the US, Shearer’s is the largest private label co-manufacturer for salty snacks in North America. Specializing in a wide range of products, we produce potato chips, tortilla chips, and extruded snacks. Our capabilities extend to various types of oils, allowing us to create everything from regular potato chips to others made with avocado oil. Additionally, we offer protein-enhanced versions of our snacks, and beyond salty snacks, we manufacture popcorn, crackers, and cookies, including wire-cut cookies, cream-filled cookies, saltine crackers and wafer cookies with cream filling,” he opens.
Last year was a record-breaking year for Shearer’s in various ways, and the company is committed to building on this growth. “Volume, revenue, and gross sales reached record highs last year, and we have been consistently growing over the past five years. As we lay out the foundation for further growth, we are in the midst of transforming our Dayton facility into an exclusive multipack location. Traditionally, salty snacks and potato chips are sold in larger bags, but the market is increasingly shifting toward single-serve options. This transition has complicated our ability to meet that demand and serve the market, as our facilities have historically been configured for larger bag products. To address this, we are collaborating with our growers to sort potatoes and using smaller ones specifically for manufacturing in our multipack facility. This factory is set up with the capacity to run small bag products and will be equipped with highly automated systems to package these small bags directly into larger boxes. We believe there is an underserved segment within our category, and we are now enhancing our capabilities to serve that market effectively,” Pablo elaborates.
Enhancing efficiencies
As evidenced by the opening of the multipack location, automation has played a central role in Shearer’s investment strategy over the past few years and is helping to promote safety within the company’s operations. “Since the pandemic, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in automation capabilities across all plants,” Pablo says. “During that time, attracting labor for unskilled work in our facilities became harder, which represented a significant opportunity for improving employee safety, as that work often involves a lot of manual labor. For example, the processes of bagging and boxing products involve many manual operations and repetitive tasks that can lead to safety issues and injuries.
“To counter these issues and foster a safer work environment, we have automated a lot of our backend operations on our production lines, and we have collaborated with our customers to standardize our packaging. This not only enhances the quality and service we provide our customers but also lowers our costs over time. With that being said, it is important to note that these automation efforts were not solely focused on productivity but were essential for us to serve our customers during a period when labor availability was a significant challenge,” Pablo adds.
At the Dayton multipack facility, Shearer’s is also implementing a new ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics, which will improve efficiency and collaboration across operations. Similarly, the company is introducing a workforce connectivity software called Redzone to automate its quality processes and empower its employees to collect data on the floor regarding the root cause of problems, enabling employees to recognize and escalate issues quickly within the organization. Supervisors and management can utilize Redzone not only to identify opportunities for improvement but also to automate the company’s operating model, known as SHOP. By swiftly identifying and addressing issues, Shearer’s ensures that the concerns raised by operators are tackled effectively.
Consistent quality
Recently, Shearer’s has implemented systems like SHOP, its main operating model, and MVP, which stands for Maximizing Value through Productivity. Pablo describes the benefits these systems provide and their practical applications: “Our main operating model, SHOP, defines how we run our manufacturing operations. It represents our lean approach to manufacturing, guiding our operations every hour of every day in the manufacturing plant. Furthermore, it contributes to maintaining consistency across our organization. SHOP establishes the framework for our success and drives continuous improvement, starting with coaching on the floor. Every supervisor engages with employees three times per shift to discuss safety, ensure they have the necessary tools to work safely, and help them identify and address factors that could result in safety hazards.
“SHOP also encourages our teams to maintain consistent quality, ensuring that the products we create are ones they would be willing to serve to their own families. If a product does not meet our personal standards, we either halt production of said item or shut down the lines. Additionally, SHOP validates whether our performance aligns with expectations, and in cases where it does not, we can proactively find ways to meet those standards. The connection between supervisors and operators is central to SHOP, fostering an environment of commitment and involvement among our employees,” he enlightens.
On the other hand, MVP focuses on harnessing productivity within the SHOP process. It provides countless opportunities for gathering promising ideas to enhance the business in terms of safety, quality, and sustainability, while also reducing electricity and water consumption. Moreover, MVP allows Shearer’s to reduce costs by making its production lines more efficient and eliminating waste within its operations. To develop MVP, Shearer’s has partnered with a consulting group, A&M, which helped the company create a database to capture those ideas. On a monthly basis, the Shearer’s team review this database against its forecasts and costs to determine whether each project is going to provide the company with an improved cost structure as well as aligning with its safety, quality and service expectations.
By embracing automation and implementing frameworks like SHOP and MVP, Shearer’s ensures the quality of its products remains consistent while prioritizing employee safety and operational effectiveness. Thanks to this proactive approach, along with its innovative thinking and commitment to both quality and efficiency, the company is well-positioned for a promising future.