AIM Glide Helps Franz Bakery Overcome Slat Switch Struggles

Customer Objectives 

Franz Bakery is a leading commercial bakery with multiple bakeries across the Western United States. Their plant in Eugene, Oregon, faced recurring operational issues on its bread production line. The plant had long used a traditional metal slat switch to infeed loaves to the slicing and bagging areas. Buildup of crumbs and organic oils, combined with difficulty cleaning the entire unit, led to frequent breakdowns—at least 2–3 per year on average. 

With each breakdown, the bakery’s entire three-person maintenance team would spend 4–5 hours disassembling, cleaning, repairing, and rebuilding the slat switch. All production on the line would stop during this time, leading to unscheduled downtime, added transport and production expenses, and potential sales and delivery problems. The slat switch also presented safety concerns due to its loudness and potential catchpoints.

Intralox Execution 

After discussing these challenges with our team, Franz–Eugene was excited to learn about a new equipment solution that could help overcome them: the Intralox Active Integrated Motion (AIM) Glide Switch. 

Traditional metal slat switches are difficult to clean and maintain; AIM Glide equipment offers easy, comprehensive cleaning and maintenance to help eliminate unscheduled downtime. The AIM Glide Switch is also significantly quieter than a traditional slat switch and has fewer catchpoints and moving parts. 

Intralox’s dedicated Franz Account Team—including account managers, engineers, and industry-specialized customer and technical support representatives—worked closely with Franz–Eugene throughout the procurement process. Supported on-site by an Intralox Application Engineer, Franz–Eugene installed the AIM Glide Switch in less than six hours within one day. Intralox also provided a custom 3D-printed cleaning tool to aid in daily upkeep.

Results 

Since its installation in October 2023, the AIM Glide Switch has delivered zero unscheduled downtime for Franz–Eugene. Unplanned maintenance in the area has dropped dramatically, and the reductions in noise level, catchpoints, and moving parts have greatly increased operational safety. Plant personnel are especially pleased with the AIM Glide’s easy, snap-in construction, which enables tool-free disassembly and allows them to clean the unit quickly and consistently. 

Based on total cost of ownership, Franz expects to achieve payback on the unit in less than one year. The company hopes to eventually convert the slat switches at all their plants to AIM Glide.