Bühler has a new structure: Focus on Consumer Foods

+Bühler entered the global food market on 1 January 2019 with a newly-created segment: Consumer Foods. The group says the creation of the new business segment is a milestone in the Bühler Group’s over 150-year history. The group has operated two business areas in recent years: Advanced Materials and Grains & Food. As a result of taking over the Austrian Haas Group, Bühler is now repositioning itself and has formed a new business focusing on Consumer Foods and Confectionery, which includes integrated solutions to produce wafers, cookies, baked goods, chocolates, pralines, filled products, nuts, coffee and more. Bühler’s CEO Stefan Scheiber explains “This move allows us to create significant value for our customers and to position ourselves clearly as a leading company in the growing consumer foods market.”

Bühler has managed Haas as a separate company since the 2018 takeover. The new organization, which combines all the technologies and solutions in the Consumer Foods area into a single segment, represents a logical next step to serve all customers through a single contact point. The new segment is managed by Germar Wacker, previously the CEO of Haas, who also becomes a member of the Bühler Group’s group management as a result of the realignment. According to Germar Wacker: “With this strong new mainstay in the process technologies field to manufacture consumer foods, we offer our customers specialist knowledge together with research and development to fulfill their needs.” +++

++ New FRITSCH CEO started on January 1, 2019

Teresa J Ruder has been named Group Marketing Manager of Middleby Bakery Group (MBG). In this role, she will be responsible for the growth strategy of the MBG brands through joint marketing and advertising campaigns, bakery trade shows, websites and social media. Teresa Ruder has worked in Sales & Marketing at Burford Corp for 19 years, also working as Parts Manager and Logistics Manager. She has served on the Board of ASB and then as an Officer on the Board. “Most recently Teresa has managed the IBA tradeshow in Germany. With her thorough knowledge of trade shows, customers and the industry and her proven record of managing a large variety of projects, Teresa will be the right candidate to strengthen our marketing and bring the Middleby Bakery Group brands closer together.” said Mark Salman, President of the Middleby Food Processing and Packaging Group. +++

As of January 1, 2019, Fritsch Holding AG, one of the leading German manufacturers of bakery machines and lines, is headed by Alexander Schmitz as the new CEO. He is succeeding Kirsten Lange, who had been temporarily leading the group since July 2018. She will now resume her position on the Supervisory Board as planned. In Alexander Schmitz, FRITSCH has hired a proven expert with more than 20 years of leadership experience in mechanical engineering. Since 1998, the mechanical engineer has been with Bosch. During that time, he held responsibilities in the areas of process and packaging technology and automotive. For the past four years Schmitz lived in the USA, where he headed Bosch Packaging Technology,

Inc. in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Before that, the 50 year old has gained extensive international experience during further international assignments in Spain and Switzerland and he fluently speaks English, French, and Spanish.

“We are delighted to have Alexander Schmitz on board the FRITSCH Group”, says Klaus Fritsch, principal shareholder and chairman of the Supervisory Board of the FRITSCH Group. “We also thank Kirsten Lange very much for having temporarily assumed the responsibility of leading the company until the end of 2018. She accomplished a lot in a short time,” Klaus Fritsch stresses. +++

++ Reading Bakery Systems Names Andrew Rosenthal as Project Manager

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of snack production systems, has hired Andrew Rosenthal as a project manager. In his new role, Rosenthal will manage delivery of projects, control project scopes, budgets and schedules. He reports to Tremaine Hartranft, director of engineering for RBS. Rosenthal holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. Before joining RBS, he worked at Reading Truck Body as a Project Manager and at Vermeer Corporation as a Design Engineer. +++

++ Reading Bakery Systems Names Luis Montoya as Sales Manager for the Latin American Region

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of baking and process systems, has announced the appointment of Luis Montoya as Sales Manager for the Latin American Region, effective immediately. Reporting to Vice President of Sales, Shawn Moye, Montoya will be responsible for direct sales efforts and project support with existing and future RBS customers in Mexico, Central and South America. Montoya joins RBS with over 12 years of sales, management and engineering experience. Prior to joining RBS, he worked for Rockwell Automation, Point Verde Columbia, and Melexa, S.A. “Luis’s extensive sales and engineering background, particularly with regard to Latin American customers, is an excellent fit for this position,” said Moye. “We are excited to have him join our sales team.”

++ Harald Suchanka new Managing Director Sales at Handtmann

Harald Suchanka (43) has taken over the position of Managing Director Sales at Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GmbH. Together with Karl Keller, he thus manages the fortunes

KOENIG - YOUR PARTNER FOR TURN KEY PROJECTS

WE PLAN AND REALISE TAILOR-MADE SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR ENTIRE BAKERY of the company. Suchanka's last position was as Managing Director at the Multivac subsidiary TVI Development and Production. At Handtmann, he is now responsible for Strategic Sales and Sales Organisation and, in addition to Handtmann Maschinenvertrieb GmbH & Co. KG for the German market as well as the subsidiaries in Brazil, China, England, France, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Russia and the USA. Karl Keller will retain responsibility for development, production, purchasing and IT. +++

++ Integrated Bakery and Dubet are strengthening their operations in Romania

Integrated Bakery and Dubet have been handling bakery projects in Romania and surrounding countries from The Netherlands. Growth and transformation of the bakery sector in Romania are the key reasons for entering into a partnership with Liviu Negreanu and further expand the business in Romania. Liviu Negreanu will represent both companies locally from his office in Bucharest. Liviu Negreanu has been active in the bakery industry for more than 40 years. He worked in different fields such as bakery design, maintenance and commissioning. With the accumulated experience, he worked for the last 25 years as representative for many bakery equipment suppliers from all over Europe. “In Romania there are so far no suppliers who are offering integrated bakery solutions and services. Semi-industrial bakery solutions requires knowledge of available solutions from different (unkown) suppliers and ‘out of the box’ engineering. These are two of our most distinguishing values’, says Dewanand Mahadew, CCO of Integrated Bakery and Dubet. ‘For clients with a smaller budget, Dubet and Integrated Bakery can integrate second hand equipment or a combination of new and second hand’, continues Dewanand. +++

++ Fortuna joins the König Group

The König Group in Austria will continue the businesses of the bakery machine manufacturer Fortuna from early January 2019 onwards. The latter company, headquartered in Bad Staffelstein/Germany, declared insolvency in October 2018. Fortuna develops and fabricates machines to produce bread rolls, and employs a workforce of 90, including 10 trainees. The newly created Fortuna Maschinen GmbH is now part of the König Group. Justifying the decision to take this strategic step, König’s CEO Wolfgang Staufer says: “Fortuna’s know-how is enormous, and we want to preserve and enlarge this unique wealth of experience for the market. It also expands our product portfolio for artisan businesses.” Fortuna Maschinen GmbH acquires assets, brands and patents in the form of an asset deal, and also takes over the employees. He adds that the König and Fortuna brands will be positioned in the market independently of one another. The primary aim is intensive support for international customers, to complete existing orders and acquire new ones, and to guarantee high-quality customer service. The König Group, which operates worldwide and is based in Graz, Austria, now employs around 700 staff. +++

++ MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection undergoes a reorganisation

MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection is among the leading manufacturers of innovative labelling, marking and inspection solutions. The company has been part of the MULTIVAC Group since 1993. As part of a strategic realignment, there was a change of personnel in the company management in January. Volker Gerloff has withdrawn from the company management; the operational responsibility for the business has been taken over by Dr. Hendrik Frank (Engineering & Technology), Karsten Strothmann (Sales) and Julia Timpe (Administration). +++

++ ProSweets Cologne achieves new visitor record

Over 21,000 trade visitors (an increase of 5 % compared to 2018) from over 100 countries attended ProSweets Cologne, the international trade fair for suppliers to the confectionery and snack industry. From 27 to 30 January 2019, 343 suppliers (plus 5 % compared to 2018) from 34 countries presented new solutions and further developments for recipes, production and packaging of confectionery and snacks. The range of exhibitors was broad, both nationally and internationally, and covered the entire spectrum of suppliers. "ProSweets Cologne is the central international business platform for suppliers to the confectionery industry. With new finishing technologies, innovative and sustainable packaging solutions and new developments in digital networking in production, the sector is showing that it has its finger on the pulse," explains Anne Schumacher, Vice President Nutrition and Nutrition Technology at Koelnmesse. "The trade's interest in the trade fair has also risen significantly. As a result, the value chain is growing even closer together." +++

++ RBK Group opens a branch in Germany

The Dutch RBK Group has founded a branch in Germany, RBK Automation GmbH, based in Kleve. Sales management is undertaken by Paul Nass, the former CEO of CSB-System Benelux BV. The RBK Group specializes in ERP/MES and OEE software solutions together with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and refrigeration plant control modules for the food sector. +++