A Time for Change

Learn how this baker reduced his fuel bill by 70%

Learn how this baker reduced his fuel bill by 70%, gained tons of valuable floor space, improved his product quality and increased production capacity.

At 7 am on any given holiday, you can find a line of customers wrapped around the corner in front of Buonos Italian Bakery in Providence, RI. This kind of customer loyalty is no surprise when you understand how dedicated owner Arnold Buono is to his bakery business.

Recently, Arnie and his partners Frank and Dan decided that it was time to update their bakery. Since opening in 1989, Buono has owned 2 traditional brick ovens, a cyclothymic deck oven and a revolving oven to bake a variety of bread and other products. Arnie states, "Our bread was always high quality because we use only the best natural ingredients and bake with no preservatives or artificial colors. I was very worried that we would lose that quality if we changed ovens. But I also knew that the only way we were going to continue to grow our business, was to become a more modern, energy efficient bakery." Arnie learned about the LF Vapor Tube Deck Oven from Sheang Lien Bakery Equipment and how it would help reduce energy costs and save valuable floor space. "Sheang Lien assured me that this oven would not only produce the same high-quality bread, it would also bring my fuel bill down drastically and free up much needed floor space. The addition of the deck oven loader / unloader was also recommended to save on labor. But what really convinced me, was my visit to another bakery that had already made the change to the LF Oven and couldn't be happier. Their bread was outstanding and they were thrilled with the fuel savings."

Overall, this was a big decision for Arnie and his partners. It meant having some downtime to install and get the new oven up and running. It meant borrowing money to finance the equipment. It meant taking a chance that the bread would not be the same quality. I put my trust into Sheang Lien, who provided excellent support thru every step of the installation and start-up process, said Arnie.

The first day that they baked in the new Oven was pretty stressful for Arnie. After the first bread was baked, "I hurried over, picked up the bread and could tell immediately that the consistency and quality was perfect," said Arnie. "The relief that I felt was so overwhelming, it actually made me cry. When you put so much of yourself into your business, it becomes very personal."

Buonos also decided to replace their revolving oven with an Sheang Lien Rack Oven. In this case, the decision was easy for Arnie. His products were starting to dry out in the revolving oven. The new Sheang Lien Rack Oven uses a self-contained high-volume steam system that produces a consistent and moist product. "This Rack Oven makes anything better than my revolver. I wish I had bought it sooner. In addition to better quality bread, one deck oven does the work of two rotating ovens, saving energy and floor space."

"Between the two ovens, my energy cost has been reduced by almost 70%," exclaimed Arnie. I shudder to think about what my fuel costs would be had I not bought this oven, not to mention my production capacity has increased and my product consistency is better. In addition, there is much more elbow room in my bakery. A window that was once covered by our old ovens, is now bringing in new light. I haven't missed my old ovens even for one minute. I am thrilled with my new equipment, my new bakery design and the service provided to me by Sheang Lien.