WASHINGTON — The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE)—the largest and most comprehensive event in the Western Hemisphere for the grain-based food industry—together with Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, will recognize its 2022 BEST in Baking award winners during the triennial trade show, Sept. 17-21 in Las Vegas.
Introduced in 2010, the BEST in Baking program recognizes suppliers and bakers who are leading the way and tackling some of the industry’s most paramount topics. This year categories have expanded to address two increasingly important issues for the baking industry—automation & robotics and plant efficiency—making it the largest program to date.
| • NEW! Automation & Robotics • NEW! Plant Efficiency • Product Innovation | • Sanitation • Sustainability • Workforce Development |
The coveted BEST in Baking designation brings with it a bevy of benefits including features in the pre-show issue of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, and industry-wide recognition in press releases, videos, the IBIE website and mobile app. Winners and honorable mentions will be presented with their awards during the Baking Expo™ at the RBA Bakers Center’s Presentation Stage, where winners will have the opportunity to share about their achievements with the attendees. The awards presentation ceremonies will take place as follows:
- Product Innovation + Sustainability: Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
- Automation / Robotics + Plant Efficiency: Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
- Sanitation + Workforce Development: Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.
2022 INDUSTRY HONORS INCLUDE:
1. SUSTAINABILITY
Equipment, ingredients, packaging, technology, or another process that improves efficiency, reduces energy use, reduces environmental impact, and/or otherwise brings notable sustainability to the baking industry.
*Recognizing Suppliers Only.
Ingredients:
- Avena Foods Ltd. – Oat and Pulse Regenerative Agriculture Innovation Project | Booth: 7127
- Cargill – PalmWise | Booth: 5453
- CIRANDA, Inc. – Organic, Non-GMO and Fair Trade | Booth: 7339
- Corbion – Ultra Fresh Portfolio | Booth: 2945/5847
- Dragsbæk – Naturli’ Foods Vegan Block | Booth: 6574
- IFF – Enovera 3001 Bakery Enzyme | Booth: 2809
- Sugaright (CSC Sugar) – Clean Label, Natural, Non-GMO | Booth: 7705
Equipment:
- [TOP HONORS] AMF Bakery Systems – Sustainable Oven Service | Booth: 3801, 3435, 3601, 3625, 3825
- Air Management Technologies, Inc. – EPI-Vision System | Booth: 4239
- AMF Bakery Systems – MB-VITA Tunnel Oven by AMF Den Boer | Booth: 3801, 3435, 3601, 3625, 3825
- Babb Group – The BABBCO CleanBake Tunnel Ovens | Booth: 1645
- Bakon USA Food Equipment – Multiwasher by Somengil | Booth: 901
- Bundy Baking Solutions – American Pan ePAN Bread Pans | Booth: 2625
- Heuft Thermo-Oel GmbH & Co. KG – Hybrid Heat Exchanger | Booth: 1267
- Middleby Bakery Group, Auto-Bake Serpentine – F3 Fossil Fuel Free Convection Oven, Baker Thermal Solutions Rapid Bake Oven, Stewart Systems Viper “Oil-Free” Oven Chain, and Sveba Dahlen Artista Deli Modular Stone Tunnel Oven | Booth: 3201
- Middleby Food Processing – Continuous Vacuum Cooling | Booth: 3201, 2817, 3101
- Sugden Ltd. – Line Efficiencies | Booth: 4613
- T&T Consulting & Engineering – New Generation Indirect Fired Tunnel Oven | Booth: 572
Packaging:
- IMA Ilapak – Delta VacMap | Booth: 3253
- Inline Plastics – Reborn | Booth: 6036
- LeMatic – Airless Band Seals for Bulk Packing, AutoiNet Portal, and Motorized Cut Knife | Booth: 2601
Logistics:
- FlexiBake – ERP, MetriX DSD, MetriX OOP, MetriX Lite | Booth: 6546
2. SANITATION
A sanitation strategy is of utmost importance to bakery facilities in the wake of contamination, recalls and other public events. This category recognizes bakers and suppliers that are developing or utilizing innovative sanitation equipment, infrastructure materials like floors and walls, products, technology, or software that improve sanitation procedures, streamline facility maintenance, improve food safety, reduce environmental impact, or otherwise brings a notable level of innovation to the baking industry.
*Recognizing Supplies and Bakers.
Supplier:
- [TOP HONORS] Middleby Food Processing – Vyv Antimicrobial LED Lighting | Booth: 3201, 2817, 3101
- AMF Bakery Systems – ADD-S Bread Make-up System by AMF Flex and SFA Artisan Bread Line by AMF Tromp | Booth: 3801, 3435, 3601, 3625, 3825
- Babb Group – The BABBCO CleanBake IR Oven | Booth: 1645
- Burford Corp., a Middleby Company – Flush-In-Place System | Booth: 3101
- CFS, an Intralox Company – Sesame Allergen Management and FoodSafe Conveyor Program | Booth: 3453
- ChemxWorks – DECARBONATOR | Booth: 1064
- Dough Tech – AM315 Sanitary Bread Moulder | Booth: 6018/6119
- Eaglestone, Inc. – Sanitary Conveyors| Booth: 5713
- Flexco – FGP Food Grade Primary Cleaner with External Spring and Novitool Amigo Splice Press | Booth: 5609
- FPS Food Process Solutions Corp. – Ambient Spiral | Booth: 4647
- Goodway Technologies – Dry Steam Cleaning & Sanitation Accessories| Booth: 437
- HaF Equipment – Moovinator | Booth: 7305
- Nexcor Food Safety Technologies – KLEANZ Swab Connect | Booth: 4164/6927
3. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Despite a booming economy, bakery manufacturing positions are going unfilled and skilled workers are becoming hard to come by. This category will honor bakers and suppliers who are developing programs that foster sustainable development and ongoing growth of the baking industry workforce.
*Recognizing Supplies and Bakers.
Supplier:
- [TOP HONORS] Puratos, Puratos Bakery School – Pennsauken NJ School District | Booth: 3644
- Burford Corp., a Middleby Company – Creative Recruiting | Booth: 3101
- IFF, Training Industry – Customers, and Academia | Booth: 2809
Retail Bakery:
- [TOP HONORS] Dawn Foods – Women’s Leadership Development Program | Booth: 1601
4. PRODUCT INNOVATION
From snack bars to cronuts, the baking industry is constantly bringing new, innovative products to market. Bakeries that have implemented notable improvements related to ingredient sourcing, product development, packaging, and/or distribution to drive growth of a specific bakery product or product line and the bakery’s overall business.
*Recognizing Bakers Only.
Wholesale | High-Volume Bakery:
- [TOP HONORS] Grupo Bimbo – Sustainably Baked Supán & OroWeat 100% Whole Grain Organic Bread, including Net Zero Carbon Mobility and Regenerative Agriculture
Wholesale | Intermediate-Volume Bakery:
- [TOP HONORS] Lenny & Larry’s – The Complete KickStart Breakfast Bars
- Flax4Life – Industrial Compostable Plant-Based Packaging for its Retail Muffins, Brownies, and Cookies
Retail Bakery:
- [TOP HONORS] Nick Vina Artisan Bakery – Healthier Choice Bread
- Sweet Life Specialty Foods – Heart Cakes
- Victoria’s Sugar Shack – Vintage Traveling Bakery Truck
5. PLANT EFFICIENCY – NEW FOR 2022
Equipment, ingredients, packaging, technology, or another process not related to automation or robotics that improves operational efficiency.
*Recognizing Bakers and Suppliers.
Supplier:
- [TOP HONORS] Bundy Baking Solutions – Synova AccuTech Pan Greaser | Booth: 2625
- Intralox – S560 Tight Transfer | Booth: 3453
- Harvest Food Solutions – Business Central for Bakeries | Booth: 957
- Magnetic Products, Inc. – Intell-I-Mag | Booth: 7058
- MECATHERM – M-Care Digital Solutions | Booth: 2131
- Nexcor Food Safety Technologies – CAMS-PM Maintenance Management | Booth: 4164/6927
- ORBIS Corp. – XpressBulk Merchandising Tray | Booth: 2065
- Wherefour Inc. – Wherefour ERP/MRP | Booth: 5818
Wholesale | High-Volume Bakery:
- [TOP HONORS] Grupo Bimbo – GBConnected Monitoring System
- Grupo Bimbo, Renewable Energy Storage System
6. AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS – NEW FOR 2022
Equipment or other technology that automates a manual process, improving throughput and reducing labor requirements.
*Recognizing Suppliers Only.
Suppliers:
- [TOP HONORS] Apex Motion Control – Baker-Bot | Booth: 612
- ABI – Vision System Platform | Booth: 2131
- AMF Bakery Systems – Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) and Smart Topping Applicator by AMF Tromp | Booth: 3801, 3435, 3601, 3625, 3825
- AMF Bakery Systems and Intralox – EZ Diverter by AMF Convay | Booth: 3801, 3435, 3601, 3625, 3825
- AXIS Automation LLC – AXIS Platinum Series LD Depositor | Booth: 3777
- BeeHex – Cake Writer | Booth: 6334
- Benchmark – InFlight AC | Booth: 4244
- Cimcorp Automation – MultiPick Gantry Robot Solution and AGV Delivery | Booth: 7527
- Hayon Manufacturing Corp. – Model 6700 and 6400 Series Select-A-Spray | Booth: 3467
- Haystack Data Solutions – Data Science for Food
- KPM Analytics – In-Line & Over-Line Vision Inspection Technologies | Booth: 635
- LeMatic – Pattern Former | Booth: 2601
- Print on Foods – Flexprint IL 500
- Rexfab – Pan Stacker-Unstacker | Booth: 1355
- Stäubli Robotics – TX2 Six-Axis Robots | Booth: 7255
Judges were selected based on their expertise in sustainability and baking best practices and tasked with evaluating entries based on a number of criteria, including impact on the environment, community and workforce. Judges included:
- Douglas J. Peckenpaugh, Group Editorial Director, BNP Media
- Jeff Dearduff, Consultant, JED Coaching & Consulting
- Josh Skow, CEO, Roaring Fork Capital
- Mike Pierce, President, The Austin Group
“What started as an initiative towards sustainability has grown to encompass so much more,” said Dennis Gunnell, IBIE 2022, Chair. “We’re proud of the progress our industry is making and we’re thrilled we can recognize their efforts on the global stage of IBIE.”
“We are honored to partner with IBIE on this important program spotlighting innovation across key areas of baking, including sustainability, efficiency, safety, and more,” said Douglas J. Peckenpaugh, Group Publisher, BNP Media. “The 2022 response to the BEST in Baking Program has been phenomenal, which is a testament to the good work underway across our industry.”
For more information, or to register for IBIE 2022, visit www.BakingExpo.com.
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ABOUT IBIE
The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) is the most significant event in the Western Hemisphere, bringing together all segments of the grain-based foods industry. Held in Las Vegas every three years, IBIE gathers the baking community to fuel the next generation of bakers, promote economic growth, educate and advance the future of baking together. The expo offers the complete range of equipment, supply and ingredient solutions and showcases the newest baking technology. Owned by the American Bakers Association (ABA) and the Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds (BEMA), with support from the Retail Bakers of America (RBA), all proceeds from this non-profit event are invested back into the industry. IBIE 2022 will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sept. 18-21, 2022, with a full day of education on Sept. 17.
