The American Society of Baking (ASB) will hold BakingTech 2016—the “Best Week in Baking”—Feb. 28 to March 1 at the Hilton Chicago in Chicago. According to ASB chairman Ramon Rivera, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, PA, no other industry meeting has as many baker and allied attendees, networking opportunities or technical sessions that provide industry best practices attendees can put to work as soon as they get home.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Growth Through Innovation.” Industry keynote speakers William Toler, president and CEO of Hostess Brands LLC, Kansas City, MO, and Kat Cole, group president of FOCUS Brands Inc., Atlanta, and former president of Cinnabon Inc., will talk about innovations in production, marketing and distribution that led to growth in their market segments.

Technical sessions will focus on ingredient innovations that are being driven by legislation and the move toward clean label and away from partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs). Following up last year’s panel on GMOs will be a discussion of the current state of traditional and GMO wheat breeding programs.

Attendees will also be able to experience virtual welding, spray painting and carpentry. Virtual Reality opens the door to a new way of training, as well as to new ways to save time and increase effectiveness.

For more information about BakingTech 2016, visit www.asbe.org/bakingtech2016.