Baking&Snack - April 2017 - 12

A tale of 600 plants

You don't see my byline very often on this page. I prefer the role of technical explainer-in-chief over that of
industry firebrand. And I'm proud of the thought, energy and independence my colleagues always bring to
this column.
Today is different. These comments mark my last regular contribution to Baking & Snack because I plan to retire at the end of April. I've had your ears and eyes for the
past 34 years, and counting an earlier job in the same field
of coverage, it's been 42 years altogether that I reported
about the baking industry.
Paul Lattan, our publisher, asked me recently how
many bakeries and snack food plants I visited over the
years. The best I could do was guess at more than 600 in
the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
All those plant visits, including a few to flour mills
and many to allied suppliers' facilities, supported
at least 2,000 articles in excess of 500 monthly
magazine issues. And that doesn't count Baking
Science & Technology, 4th ed., a textbook I rewrote that encompassed two volumes, nearly
1,600 pages and almost 700,000 words.
Participation in AACC International, AIB
International, American Bakers Association,
American Society of Baking, Institute of Food
Technologists and Society of Bakery Women,
plus other groups, enriched my knowledge of this
industry and its people. Every contact I made helped
me better understand what it means to be you, to be the
person charged with engineering a bakery or snack food

plant; with shepherding new products to market; and
with safely and profitably operating a business.
Many enduring friendships resulted from all the plant
visits and travel, plus the countless meetings and the
collaboration with contributing editors. I even met my
late husband that way.
Dan Malovany, our editorial director, challenged me
to describe my legacy. After much thought, I believe it to
be the example of persistence. Without that, and maybe
more than a little stubbornness, I and this magazine
would not have weathered the competitive tempests, the
economic setbacks and all the times I heard the answer
"no" to my questions about plant visits or interviews.
Today, you hold in your hands a 156-page, freestanding, perfect-bound magazine; my first issue
of Baking Equipment ran just 50 pages and existed
only as an every-other-month supplement inside
Milling & Baking News. For more than a decade, the magazine had only one editor on staff: me. But I persisted. So
did my publishers and salesmen, all strongly backed by
the management here at Sosland Publishing Co. As the
years continued, the magazine added editors and support
staff. I am glad that Baking & Snack became the team effort it is today. Helping to get it there is also my legacy.
Looking back, I would not have wanted my career, my
calling, to be any different. My time with you, the readers,
has been very rewarding. For all your help, guidance and,
most of all, friendship, I thank you.
- Laurie Gorton, Executive Editor
lgorton@sosland.com and, soon, lgorton@kc.rr.com

EDITORIAL
Editorial Director
Dan Malovany
Executive Editor
Laurie Gorton
Editor
Joanie Spencer
Senior Editor
Charlotte Atchley
Managing Editor
Nico Roesler
Digital Media Associate Editor
Matt Hamer
Associate Editor
Anna Wiber
Contributing Editors:
Donna Berry
David Busken
Len Heflich
Jim Kline
Lynn Petrak
Joe Stout

PUBLISHING
Publisher
Paul Lattan
Associate Publisher
Steve Berne
Audience Development Director Michael Barbee
Audience Development Specialist
Molly Brown
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Assistant Manager
Erica Reyes
Digital Systems Analyst
Marj Potts
Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Promotions Manager
Jim White

DESIGN
Design Services Manager
Sadowna Conarroe
Design Services Assistant Manager Ryan Alcantara
Graphic Designer
Brian Peterman
Senior Design Consultant
Becky White
Graphic Designer
Nick Martens

BAKING & SNACK is distributed free-of-charge to qualified readers with managerial responsibilities in the baking
and snack food industries. SUBSCRIPTIONS: To apply, log on to www.bakingbusiness.com and select Magazine
Subscriptions. For non-qualified readers, US and Canadian subscriptions are accepted at $36 per year. Foreign
subscriptions (from outside the territory of the US and its possessions and Canada) are accepted at $72 per year.
BAKING & SNACK assumes no responsibility for the validity of claims in items reported. ©2016 Sosland Publishing Co.,
a division of Sosland Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without
written permission is prohibited. Printed in USA

12 Baking & Snack April 2017 / www.bakingandsnack.com

CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
Charles S. Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial Officer
Staci Greco
Director of Publishing
G. Michael Gude
Director of Operations
Meyer Sosland
Editorial and Midwest Sales Office
4801 Main St., Suite 650, Kansas City, MO 64112
Phone: (816) 756-1000; Fax: (816) 756-0494
E-mail: BakingSnack@sosland.com
Internet: www.bakingandsnack.com

http://www.bakingandsnack.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking&Snack - April 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking&Snack - April 2017