Are you getting raw pork bellies, curing and smoking? I'm no bacon expert, except maybe for eating it, but I would think the curing process is the most important part. I did work in a bacon plant as a QA tech in college.
They cured the bellies with an injected solution. They sat for some period of time (similar to brining but in mass production). Then they went through the smoke house (which contained no smoke) where they were covered in liquid smoke, then continued through an "oven". IIRC, it was probably 90-110 degrees and very humid. Then they were frozen before sliced.
Not sure if that helps.