Baking & Snack - June 2024 - 10

Vandemoortele acquires
majority stake in Banneton
Vandemoortele, Ghent, Belgium, a family-owned European
food company that manufactures and sells baked foods across
the United States and 12 European countries, acquired a majority
stake in Swedesboro, NJ-based Banneton Bakery. Founded
in 2008, Banneton makes and sells freezer-to-oven croissants,
Danish and pastries throughout the United States.
Victor and Alex Litinetsky, founders of Banneton, will continue
investing in capital and lead day-to-day management of the
company. Banneton also is owned by Encore Consumer Capital,
a private equity investment firm focused on food and beverage
companies that owns more than 38 other companies in the consumer
products sector.
" Banneton Bakery's operations and offerings highly complement
our own business in North America, with a shared focus
on quality and on authentic European-style pastry products, " said
Yvon Guerin, chief executive officer of Vandemoortele.
Vandemoortele said the transaction will close as soon as all
conditions have been satisfied, including required regulatory
clearances in the United States.
" Our advanced manufacturing process and infrastructure and
our very strong value proposition to customers are a perfect match
for Vandemoortele's premier bakery expertise, brand recognition
and global presence, " said Victor Litinetsky, Banneton's president.
- Zachary Sosland, Milling & Baking News
Corbion completes sale
of emulsifier business
Los Angeles-based Kingswood Capital Management LP completed
the acquisition of Corbion's emulsifier business for a cash
price of $362 million and is changing the name of the business to
Patco. Amsterdam-based Corbion expects net cash proceeds of
$275 million after tax and transaction costs.
The transaction includes two manufacturing plants in the
United States. The emulsifier business has customers, both in the
food and nonfood business, primarily across North America.
Patco will provide emulsifiers for end markets in food products,
polymer additives, pet food and pharmaceuticals. John Miller will
continue to lead the company as chief executive officer.
" Kingswood is excited to take this emulsifiers business forward
and build on its heritage by providing exceptional service, " said
Alex Wolf, managing partner at Kingswood Capital Management.
The acquisition initially was announced in January. At the time
Corbion said the divestment will allow it to focus more on fermentation-based
technologies.
- Jeff Gelski, Food Business News
10 Baking & Snack June 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
M. Rella Dwyer, Baking Hall
of Fame inductee, dies
Margaret Rella Dwyer, a longtime member of the W.E. Long Co.,
a pioneer in the baking industry and Baking Hall of Fame inductee,
died on March 29. She was 87.
After receiving a degree in home economics
Dwyer
from Mundelein College, Chicago, Dwyer began
her career in 1958 with the W.E. Long Co., where
she was promoted over the years, heading the
cooperative's research laboratory and eventually
becoming corporate secretary and senior vice
president for food technical services.
For more than 20 years, Dwyer was active in several organizations,
including the American Bakers Association (ABA), where
she headed the Food Technical Regulatory Affairs Committee
(FTRAC).
As the ABA FTRAC chair, she helped bring the industry together
to defend the baking industry's positions on a litany of
legislative and regulatory policies involving food safety, nutrition
and biotechnology.
In the 1990s, Dwyer was instrumental in guiding the baking
industry through landmark legislation and regulations that transformed
nutrition labeling on packaging into what it is today.
She also was involved in the American Society of Baking
(ASB) and was an integral member of the organization's Scientific
Advisory Committee. She also served on the board of the Wheat
Quality Council. Throughout her career, she was an outspoken
voice on key issues that affected the day-to-day operations of
commercial bakeries. She retired in 2002.
" I was not afraid to speak up when I thought something was
wrong, " Dwyer told Milling & Baking News in a 2010 profile about
her induction into the Baking Hall of Fame. " I spoke up, and I
wasn't afraid to argue about certain things. "
Dwyer was also a founding member of the Society of Bakery
Women, serving as the organization's first president and helping
set a precedent for women in the field of baking science and senior
management.
Through the years, Dwyer said she finally saw women become
accepted in the industry after years of often being the only woman
at various industry meetings. In Milling & Baking News, she recalled
how she was probably one of 30 women among thousands
of people attending ASB conferences early in her career.
That lack of diversity led to the advent of the Society of Bakery
Women to provide a networking platform for women in the industry
and support for young professionals starting their careers.
Moreover, Dwyer was a longtime chair of the ASB Scientific
Advisory Committee, a session chair and often a featured speaker
who provided the latest technical updates at various association
meetings. In the AACC International (now known as the Cereal
and Grains Association), Dwyer served as the chair of the Milling
and Baking Division from which she received multiple awards.
ABA
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