Baking&Snack - February 2011 - 14

NEWSFRONT
NEWS | TECHNOLOGY

ASB announces four 2011 Baking Hall of Fame inductees
The American Society of Baking (ASB) announced four 2011 inductees to the Baking Hall of Fame. Out of 40 candidates, the inductees are James Apple, Butter-Krust Baking Co., Sunbury, PA; E.E. Kelley, ButterKrust Bakery, Lakeland, FL; Ken Klosterman, Klosterman Baking Co., Cincinnati, OH; and Alexander Weber, Caravan Products Co., Totowa, NJ. Established in October 2006 at AIB International, Manhattan, KS, the Baking Hall of Fame honors the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals who have had a profound impact on the baking industry. Dedicated in appreciation to all who contribute countless time and energy in the creative pursuit of baking, the hall is intended to serve as a source of inspiration and innovation. The four inductees will be honored March 7 during the opening ceremony of BakingTech, ASB’s annual conference.

Section 179 deduction program extended and expanded
On Dec. 17, President Barack Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment

NEWS IN BRIEF
On Jan. 13 of this year, Reimelt Corp., Odessa, FL, changed its name to Zeppelin Systems USA, Inc.,
after officially becoming a member of the Zeppelin Group Jan. 1, 2009.

Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Tax Relief Act of 2010).
Among other outcomes, the act extends the Section 179 equipment deduction and expands bonus depreciation through the 2011 tax year. “Section 179 is a section of the IRS tax code that allows a business to immediately write off the cost of equipment and software in the tax year the business acquires it,” said Mark French, president of Crest Capital, a national equipment finance lender headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Mr. French is a founding contributor of Section179.org, a nonprofit website offering small businesses information and advice in dealing with the Section 179 deduction. “It’s not limited to small businesses, but it impacts small businesses more because of the limits.” After the Jobs Act of 2010 passed in September, those limits increased to $500,000 of qualified capital expenditures, and the benefits of Section 179 were extended through the 2011 tax year. “Originally, Section 179 targeted small business by allowing 100% write-off of equipment cost under $500,000, but Congress also incen-

tivized larger businesses by allowing a 50% write-off (referred to as “bonus depreciation”) on equipment costs above the half-milliondollar limit,” Mr. French said. “With the recent passage of the Tax Relief Act of 2010, bonus depreciation was increased to 100% of equipment cost to give big business the identical incentive small business has to add equipment and get the economy moving.” Only new equipment qualifies for the bonus depreciation, while both new and used equipment qualify for the Section 179 deduction. Businesses can also take the deduction on leased or financed equipment, which creates a positive cash flow for the first 17 months after the purchase, according to Mr. French. “[Section 179 is] something that should be more attractive to the bakery industry than it is, and I think it’s because of lack of industry awareness of the deduction in general,” Mr. French said. “We see it in other industries like machine tools; any kind of industrial, high-equipment-intensive industry has more knowledge of this section than bakery.” For more information on Section 179, sign up for Baking & Snack’s Operations Update weekly e-newsletter at www.bakingbusiness.com.

Snyder’s of Hanover, Inc.’s shareholders approved an agreement to merge with Charlotte, NC-based Lance, Inc. The new company is now known
as Snyder’s-Lance.

Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, IL, acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Alimenta, Inc., from
Alimenta S.A. ADM now controls 100% of Golden Peanut Co.. The company also endowed $10 million to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

National Honey Board launches sweet new websites
The National Honey Board has launched two new websites for the dairy and confectionery industries to complement its existing online presence in the baking and snack industries and promote honey’s usage throughout the food industry. Along with www.bakingwithhoney.com and www.snackingwithhoney.com, the two new sites — www.candywithhoney.com and www.dairywithhoney.com — provide an interactive experience for visitors seeking new product ideas and information about honey and its benefits.

DeMet’s Candy Co., Stamford, CT, completed its acquisition of TrueNorth nut snack brand from Frito-Lay
North America, Plano, TX.

Reading Bakery Systems is expanding its main facility in Robesonia, PA, adding approximately 20,000 sq ft of space to the facility.

Vac-U-Max, Belleville, NJ, completed its move into a new 71,000-sq-ft test and demonstration facility.
www.bakingbusiness.com

BAKING & SNACK / February 2011

http://www.Section179.org http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.bakingwithhoney.com http://www.snackingwithhoney.com http://www.candywithhoney.com http://www.dairywithhoney.com

Baking&Snack - February 2011

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