Publix plant in for the long run: retailer's largest dairy plant, in Lakeland, Fla., does things differently

Dairy Foods,  Sept, 2007  by David Phillips

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Publix Super Markets Inc., Lakeland, Fla., is the dominant grocery chain in the Southeast, the largest employee-owned grocery chain in the country and one of the most respected grocery retailers in the nation.

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So it should come as no surprise that its food manufacturing division strives for the same level of quality that's reflected in the company slogan "Publix, Where Shopping is a Pleasure."

That said, some of the things that Publix does at its largest dairy facility in Lakeland, are indeed surprising. This is not just a quality plant, but also a plant that pushes the envelope a bit. This has been especially evident since January 2006 when the Lakeland plant instituted a system for extended production runs of fresh milk.

"We've been approved by the state of Florida for an extended run," says the plant's General Mgr. Vincent Paolillo. "We do three production runs a week. We start on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and run about 37-38 hours with a 10-hour cleanup in between so we can get from startup to startup in about 48 hours."

The long runs have improved both productivity and product quality, and changed the entire culture of how the milk operation is run, Paolillo says.

But milk is not the only focus at the facility, which was built in 1980. The plant is also home to Publix's main ice cream operation; it houses the manufacture of yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, dips, juices, drinks and water. There is also a line that's dedicated to filling 2-liter bottles of soft drinks.

Most recently, the plant's chemical room was completely transformed, and Lakeland also took the lead in adopting a new leak-resistant, tamper-evident cap for all milk and related fluid products. The new cap is now used at all three of the company's dairy facilities for all such products.

"Our Lakeland plant is the largest of our dairy facilities and it's really a great example of what our dairy operations are all about," says Jay Jaskiewicz, dir. of dairy manufacturing at Publix.

Long runs equal long shelflife

Operating fresh milk runs of 36 hours or longer is not standard procedure for most dairies, in fact it is quite the exception to the standard runs of 14 to 20 hours. There is nothing unusual about Lakeland's process equipment or its pasteurization regimen. What is different is the sanitation processes and the attention to detail and thoroughness therein.

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"The whole culture had a shift from one that was production-oriented to one that is sanitation-oriented. You can't run a business like this with a weak sanitation program", Paolillo says. "We increased our run time, but what we had to do to accommodate that is to make sure we put the emphasis on sanitation and preventive maintenance.

"It's not only increased our capacity but it's helped our shelflife because now we really concentrate for 10 full hours on sanitation. It also provides us more opportunities if maintenance and repair are needed."

In most dairy plants, crews might only have four hours to do sanitation, and if they are scheduled to shut down but haven't yet met production goals, the tendency is to keep running. Sanitation can get squeezed in an effort to get started again.

But at the Lakeland plant, when the time for shutdown is reached, the run is completed and the switches are thrown.

To be able to do that, and meet a fluctuating demand for a perishable product, the Lakeland plant must work closely with the distribution centers that it supplies and ultimately with the stores. To some extent, it helps that everyone involved works for the same company, Paolillo says.

"It requires really good communication, and as soon as a store places an order, that information is made available to the plant and we can start figuring out our plan accordingly. It forces the management of each area to work together and be more efficient to make sure all the goals are met," Paolillo says.

To get approval for the extended production runs, Publix had to work with the Florida Department of Agriculture, Dairy Division, under the auspices of FDA .

"The State of Florida recognizes the PMOs, and to get an exception, you have to offer documentation that proves that your shelf life is not going to be affected, Paolillo says. "We did trials and we were granted the extension to run up to 44 hours."

With the final run completed on Saturday, Lakeland uses Sundays for preventive maintenance operations.

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Where working is a pleasure

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When Dairy Foods visited the Lakeland plant recently, Plant Engineer Steve Collins and Production Mgr. Greg Rudolph facilitated our tour. Both are dairy plant veterans, having worked for other major dairy processors, and both say they've found a real home with Publix.

"Publix is very serious when it says that its associates are its greatest resource," Paolillo says. "Because of that, we have managers who have been here 20 or 30 years, and I think that says a lot about Publix--there is a tremendous amount of commitment."