Dave Drehobl and Rick Drehobl

Dave Drehobl and Rick Drehobl
Co-presidents
The Georgia Nut Co.
Skokie, Ill.

Brothers Rick and Dave Drehobl grew up helping their grandmother with her nut roasting and packing company located on the northwest side of Chicago. Working after school and over summer vacations gave them an up-close and personal view of running a business. Later as they were starting their careers, the Drehobls began to take the company in a new direction-candy manufacturing.
The Georgia Nut Co. was founded in 1945 by Rick and Dave’s grandmother, Rose Musso, and today it has grown to be one of the largest family-owned panning and enrobing operations in the United States. The company operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility committed to the highest level of food safety and quality systems.
Georgia Nut manufactures a full line of chocolate panned, sugar-panned, hot-panned, enrobed, brittle, and nut products. Georgia Nut is also only one of four domestic firms that extrudes malt balls centers… their signature Milk Chocolate Malted Milk Balls enjoy somewhat of a cult following due to the thick chocolate coating.

Georgia Nut services a diverse customer base from re-baggers and bulk candy distributors to international CPG companies.

From humble beginnings, Georgia Nut is still driven today by the same principals of quality products, attentive customer service and a commitment to ethics in business dealings. With the fourth generation now starting to enter the business, the company continues its focus on developing solid business partnerships and new product innovation.
The Drehobls have remained committed to the confectionery industry, and have opened their doors to numerous industry tours and technical seminars conducted by National Confectioners Association (NCA), American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT), PMCA, and Retail Confectioners International. Rick has served on the NCA board of directors and has been on the Peanut and Tree Nut Processors board of directors for more 15 years. Both are members of the Candy Production Club of Chicago.

We’ve introduced and installed technology for some of the largest US confectionaries – where they’ve literally switched their reactivation heat source from fossil fuels, to existing sustainable hot water.

Join global expert Dr. Soo-Yeun Lee of Washington State University and Chef Aaron Andrews of Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America (AHN) as they share how umami and specifically, monosodium glutamate (MSG), can reduce sodium in bread and other baked goods.