BIÑAN, LAGUNA? Who says the number 6 brings bad luck?

For the Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. (GBPI), the number is seen to bring fortune.

The company recently unveiled its newest production facility dubbed the ?6k Plant? here.

The manufacturing facility, covering two hectares of GBPI?s main plant in Laguna, is capable of producing 6,000 loaves of bread an hour or nearly 150,000 loaves a day.

The facility is expected to double the company?s revenue and, with expanded production capacity, it also hopes to extend its reach throughout Luzon, said Simplicio Umali Jr., GBPI president and general manager.

The entire facility costs P600 million and is composed of bread-making machines imported from Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and the United States.

?With the opening of this plant, we took the bread-manufacturing process in the Philippines a notch higher. Using the latest high technology equipment to make bread practically untouched by human hands, we are now more than capable to continue providing safe and best quality products,? said Umali.

GBPI started commercial production of bread products in January 1998, with a 2,000-loaf-per-hour capacity plant.

Three years later, the firm revolutionized production by using a fully automated manufacturing facility that produced 4,000 loaves an hour.

?Every stage in the bread manufacturing process is computer-controlled,? described Umali.

According to Ninoh Jallores of GBPI?s research and development, production process involves mixing the ingredients, molding, proofing (or making the dough rise), baking, de-panning, and cooling down the newly baked bread before packing.

The new facility utilizes an advanced dough-making and proofing system to keep the right texture of bread, a large-scale tunnel oven to ensure the bread is evenly baked, and three high-speed automated packaging lines that facilitate production ?untouched by human hands.?

?This will really be a big help to us,? Jallores said of the 6k plant, which allows the process to be completed in just four to six hours.

GBPI, a subsidiary of the food conglomerate Q AF Group based in Singapore, sells a billion loaves of bread, buns and snack cakes a year.

It has captured more than half of the market shares of Singapore and Malaysia.

In the Philippines, GBPI is said to be the leading bread manufacturing company, with sales reaching P2 billion in 2008. Its market share in Metro Manila is reported to have exceeded 60 percent.

The company has also expanded its distribution network to Iloilo City, Bacolod, the Bicol region, Leyte and Samar.