After more than a year of planning and months of lining up exhibitor space, the sponsors for the 2010 International Baking Industry Exposition officially opened registration for the show.

Unlike with previous expositions, the 2010 IBIE, which runs from Sept. 26-29, will feature a broader array of education sessions and other events for both large and small bakers and their suppliers. To accomplish this goal, the IBIE Committee has reached out and partnered with other baking associations to make the 2010 show the “must-attend” event this fall, says Chuck Wellard, vice president, finance and administration for the American Bakers Association and IBIE secretary/treasurer.

This year’s show is being touted as “Where the Baking Industry Unites,” and “it couldn’t have been more apropos,” Wellard says. Currently, he adds, the IBIE Committee is tracking for a minimum of 15,000 attendees, but it’s possible that attendance could be much higher because the IBIE show now has programs and events geared at attracting a broad range of bakers from all parts of the industry.

For instance, in addition to the ABA and BEMA, which represents suppliers in the industry, the Retail Bakers of America is a title sponsor of IBIE 2010. RBA will provide hands-on baking demonstrations and a cake decorating contest and potentially bring in a host of new, small bakery owners as attendees to this year’s show, says Karen Soyster, ABA’s vice president of membership services.

Additionally, in conjunction with IBIE, the Tortilla Industry Association will hold its annual two-day Technical Seminar on Sept. 25-26. Registrants to the TIA Seminar also will be able to attend the IBIE for free, which is another value-added benefit, Soyster says.

Moreover, she adds, there will be a host of seminars, many of them conducted by the American Institute of Baking. The management topics include managing growth, reaching out to the next generation, social media and trends in the industry. Education seminars include an emphasis on food safety, sanitation design, formulation control, technology and formulation and increasing the shelf life of products. There will also be educational sessions conducted in Spanish, Soyster says.

At IBIE 2010, North and South American teams also will vie for a spot in the 2012 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Cup of Baking) competition in Paris, France.

IBIE, The Bread Bakers Guild of America and Europain will host the Louis Lesaffre Cup, a regional competition that will feature eight teams from North and South America. The competition requires teams of three to produce a specific number of baked goods in categories such as baguette, specialty and ethnic breads, Viennoiserie, artistic design and savory selection, within a set amount of time.

Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Commerce selected IBIE 2010 to be a part of its International Buyer Program, which recruits qualified foreign buyers, sales representatives and business partners in more than 80 countries to participate in U.S. tradeshows each year.

The International Trade Center, managed by the U.S. Commercial Service staff, will provide counseling on exporting, opportunities to meet international delegations and a setting to explore and pursue export markets in which to sell products and services globally.

IBIE and the International Buyer Program also will collaborate on an educational program designed to assist IBIE exhibitors in navigating the global marketplace.

Allen Shiver, ABA’s new chairman, notes that IBIE provides bakers with an opportunity not only to see new technology and equipment, but also to be exposed to companies that may be new to the industry.

Shiver, president of Flowers Foods, adds that the Thomasville, Ga.-based company has strongly supported IBIE because of the education and exposure it provides to top executives and mid-level managers, including plant managers, engineers, and others.

“We always get a good return on our investment for the time we spend at IBIE,” Shiver says.

Go to www.IBIE2010.com for more information.