Baking&Snack - June 2012 - 15

IN BRIEF
Bimbo unloads brands to regional bakers
Grupo Bimbo received a green light from the US Department of Justice to divest some of its brands to Pan-O-Gold Baking Co., St. Cloud, MN, and Schmidt Baking Co., Baltimore, MD. Bimbo reported in May that it would sell the Earthgrains and Healthy Choice brands in Omaha, NE, to Pan-O-Gold and the Holsum and Milano brands in Harrisburg and Scranton, PA, to Schmidt, a division of H&S Bakery, Inc., Baltimore. The approvals were part of an agreement between the government and Bimbo in connection with the Mexico City, Mexico-based baking company’s acquisition of the North American Fresh Bakery business of Sara Lee Corp. last year. Bimbo still has several more brands to divest, including the Sara Lee and Earthgrains brands in California; Earthgrains and Bimbo Bakeries USA’s Mrs Baird’s brand in the Kansas City, MO, area; and Sara Lee’s Earthgrains brand in the Oklahoma City, OK, region. As of press time, Bimbo said these divestitures were pending. English Bay Batter, Inc., Englewood, CO, is building a refrigerated dough plant in Columbus, OH, set to open October 2012 and start production in January 2013. General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, acquired the ready-to-cook spice mix produced by Parampara Foods, Maharashtra, India. AACC International redesigned its website, www.aaccnet.org, to aggregate cereal grain science knowledge. DSM, Heerlen, The Netherlands, acquired Ocean Nutrition Canada, Halifax, NS, from Clearwater Fine Foods and funds managed by Richardson Capital in an all-cash transaction for approximately $531 million. Shareholders of Kraft Foods, Inc., Northfield, IL, approved Mondelez International as the name of the new global snacks company. The name change will be effective at the time of the company’s planned spin-off of its North American grocery business. Grain Processing Corp., Muscatine, IA, opened a solutions center in its Technical Development Center at the head office. Magnetic Products, Inc., Highland, MI, redesigned www.mpimagnet.com, its website, to improve online purchasing and include online chat with the customer service department. Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, AR, named Intralox LLC, Harahan, LA, its “Supplier of the Year” for the fifth consecutive year. World Food Processing, Oskaloosa, IA, acquired a soy protein isolate manufacturing facility in Turtle Lake, WI, from Kerry Ingredients and Flavors, Beloit, WI.

Canada Bread suffers volume declines
Industrywide declines in North America bakery volumes caught up with Canada Bread, Toronto, ON, the latest company to fall victim to the troubling trend. The volume declines hurt the company’s financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. “Despite [the decline], we benefitted from our position in key categories, innovation and the strength of our brands,” noted Richard Lan, president and CEO. “We are addressing the challenges and improving profitability through increased marketing, consumer outreach and cost reduction.” During the quarter, Canada Bread closed two bakeries in the Greater Toronto area as it continues to consolidate production into its new fresh bakery in Hamilton, ON. The company will close a third Toronto bakery in early 2013.

TNA to give away diamond for 30th anniversary
To celebrate the company’s 30-year anniversary, TNA, Sydney, Australia, launched a competition. The winner gets a diamond valued at $5,000. The competition consists of several monthly contests, quizzes and puzzles, through which participants gather points. Participants can earn bonus points and other prizes throughout the year. “We want to do something memorable, durable and open to as many people in the packaging sector as possible,” said Shayne De la Force, TNA’s group marketing manager. The competition is open to all customers, TNA employees and families of employees. The contest will run through October. Participants can sign up for the contest at the company’s website, www.tnasolutions.com.

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June 2012 / Baking & Snack / 15

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Baking&Snack - June 2012

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