At its first in-person gathering in three years, this year’s International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) offered attendees something to celebrate with the 2022 BEST in Baking Awards. Presented in partnership with Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, the recognition program applauds bakeries and suppliers that have put forth solutions to elevate plant efficiency, improve bakery formulas, advance operations, and support continued baking industry growth.
BEST in Baking launched 12 years ago, originally intended to honor suppliers that demonstrated a commitment to sustainability, a focus that the 2022 program carried on.
“The 2022 IBIE BEST in Baking Awards provided wonderful perspective on the innovations driving the baking industry toward increased sustainability—both environmental and overall corporate sustainability,” says Douglas Peckenpaugh, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery group publisher.
The program underscores IBIE’s commitment to shining a spotlight on industry leaders, as well as its mission to support the growth of talented suppliers and bakers worldwide, by recognizing achievements in sustainability and other key areas.
“Operational areas like plant efficiency, environmentally friendly ingredient sourcing, sanitation, and workforce development all factor into how we view sustainability today,” says Peckenpaugh. “The companies represented across the 2022 IBIE BEST in Baking Awards are leading with sustainability, integrally and strategically linked to market-leading innovations—a group that includes some of the largest bakery companies in the world, including those honored in our BEST in Baking Product Innovation Awards.”
The BEST in Baking awards were judged by a panel of experts, including:
- Jeff Dearduff, president, JED Coaching & Consulting
- Mike Pierce, president and CEO, The Austin Co.
- Josh Skow, CEO, Roaring Fork Capital
Top honorees and qualifiers alike were recognized during ceremonies at IBIE, Sept. 18–21, 2022 in Las Vegas; all nominees were showcased in the BEST in Baking Lounge, situated in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Grand Concourse, at digital signage throughout IBIE, and at the booths of winning and qualifying companies.
Automation/Robotics
Top Honors: Apex Motion Control, Baker-Bot
Qualifiers:
- ABI, Vision System Platform
- AMF Bakery Systems, Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) and Smart Topping Applicator by AMF Tromp
- AMF Bakery Systems and Intralox, EZ Diverter by AMF Convay
- AXIS Automation LLC, AXIS Platinum Series LD Depositor
- BeeHex, Cake Writer
- Benchmark, InFlight AC
- Cimcorp Automation, MultiPick Gantry Robot Solution and AGV Delivery
- Hayon Manufacturing Corp., Model 6700 and 6400 Series Select-A-Spray
- Haystack Data Solutions, Data Science for Food
- KPM Analytics, In-Line & Over-Line Vision Inspection Technologies
- LeMatic, Pattern Former
- Print on Foods, Flexprint IL 500
- Rexfab, Pan Stacker-Unstacker
- Stäubli Robotics, TX2 Six-Axis Robots
Plant Efficiency, Supplier Category
Top Honors: Bundy Baking Solutions, Synova AccuTech Pan Greaser
Qualifiers:
- Harvest Food Solutions, Business Central for Bakeries
- Magnetic Products, Inc., Intell-I-Mag
- MECATHERM, M-Care Digital Solutions
- Nexcor Food Safety Technologies, CAMS-PM Maintenance Management
- ORBIS Corp., XpressBulk Merchandising Tray
- Wherefour Inc., Wherefour ERP/MRP
Plant Efficiency, Wholesale Bakery: High-Volume Category
Top Honors: Grupo Bimbo, GBConnected Monitoring System
Qualifier: Grupo Bimbo, Renewable Energy Storage System
Sustainability, Equipment Category
Top Honors: AMF Bakery Systems, Sustainable Oven Service
Qualifiers:
- Air Management Technologies, Inc., EPI-Vision System
- AMF Bakery Systems, MB-VITA Tunnel Oven by AMF Den Boer
- Avena Foods Ltd., Oat and Pulse Regenerative Agriculture Innovation Project
- The Babb Group, BABBCO CleanBake Tunnel Ovens
- Bakon USA Food Equipment, Multiwasher by Somengil
- Bundy Baking Solutions, American Pan ePAN Bread Pans
- Cargill, PalmWise
- CIRANDA, Inc., Organic, Non-GMO and Fair Trade
- Corbion, Ultra Fresh Portfolio
- Dragsbæk, Naturli’ Foods Vegan Block
- FlexiBake, ERP, MetriX DSD, MetriX OOP, MetriX Lite
- Heuft Thermo-Oel GmbH & Co. KG - Hybrid Heat Exchanger
- IFF, Enovera 3001 Bakery Enzyme)
- IMA Ilapak, Delta VacMap
- Inline Plastics, Reborn
- LeMatic, Airless Band Seals for Bulk Packing, AutoiNet Portal, and Motorized Cut Knife
- 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
- Middleby Food Processing, Continuous Vacuum Cooling
- Sugaright (CSC Sugar), Clean Label, Natural, Non-GMO
- Sugden Ltd., Line Efficiencies
- T&T Consulting & Engineering, New Generation Indirect Fired Tunnel Oven
Sanitation
Top Honors: Middleby Food Processing, Vyv Antimicrobial LED Lighting
- Qualifiers:
- AMF Bakery Systems, ADD-S Bread Make-up System by AMF Flex and SFA Artisan Bread Line by AMF Tromp
- Babb Group, The, BABBCO CleanBake IR Oven
- Burford Corp., a Middleby Company, Flush-In-Place System
- CFS, an Intralox Company, Sesame Allergen Management and FoodSafe Conveyor Program
- ChemxWorks, DECARBONATOR
- Dough Tech, AM315 Sanitary Bread Moulder
- Eaglestone, Inc., Sanitary Conveyors
- Flexco, FGP Food Grade Primary Cleaner with External Spring and Novitool Amigo Splice Press
- FPS Food Process Solutions Corp., Ambient Spiral
- Goodway Technologies, Dry Steam Cleaning & Sanitation Accessories
- HaF Equipment, Moovinator
- Nexcor Food Safety Technologies, KLEANZ Swab Connect
Workforce Development, Supplier Category
Top Honors: Puratos, Puratos Bakery School, Pennsauken NJ School District
Qualifiers:
- Burford Corp., a Middleby Company, Creative Recruiting
- IFF, Training Industry, Customers, and Academia
Workforce Development, Bakery Category
Top Honors: Dawn Foods, Women’s Leadership Development Program
Product Innovation, Wholesale Bakery: High-Volume Category
Top Honors: Grupo Bimbo, Sustainably Baked Supán & OroWeat 100% Whole Grain Organic Bread, including Net Zero Carbon Mobility and Regenerative Agriculture
Product Innovation, Wholesale Bakery: Intermediate Category
Top Honors: Lenny & Larry’s, The Complete KickStart Breakfast Bars
Qualifier: Flax4Life, Industrial Compostable Plant-Based Packaging for its Retail Muffins, Brownies, and Cookies
Product Innovation, Retail Bakery Category
Top Honors: Nick Vina Artisan Bakery, Healthier Choice Bread
Qualifiers:
- Sweet Life Specialty Foods, Heart Cakes
- Victoria’s Sugar Shack, Vintage Traveling Bakery Truck
