Milling & Baking News - April 11, 2006 - 13

B U S I N E S S

C.H. Guenther & Son exploring
sale of White Lily flour business
SAN ANTONIO - C.H. Guenther &
Son Inc., a manufacturer of the Pioneer
brand of baking and gravy mixes, the
White Lily brand of flours and baking mixes, and the White Wings brand
of tortillas and flours, said it is exploring the possible sale of its White
Lily flour business.
C.H. Guenther acquired The White
Lily Foods Co., Knoxville, Tenn., in January 1995. White Lily operates a flour mill
in Knoxville with a daily capacity of 7,000
cwts of soft wheat flour. The facility has
300,000 bus of grain storage capacity and

is located on Norfolk Southern railroad.
While the mill's principal product is branded
family flour, the company
also produces corn meal, a
range of mixes and a small
quantity of bakery flour.
The company's products
are marketed primarily in the Southeastern states. White Lily flour remains
popular in many of the regions in
which it is marketed.
Steve Phillips, vice-president of human resources for C.H. Guenther, said

I.B.C. asks bankruptcy court for more time
KANSAS CITY - Interstate Bakeries Corp.
on March 23 asked the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the Western District of Missouri for
more time to draft its reorganization plan.
A year and a half after filing for Chapter 11
protection from its creditors, I.B.C. said it still
is trying to get a handle on its wide-ranging
business and renegotiate hundreds of contracts
covering its union-represented members.
"The debtors' cases remain among the
largest pending before any bankruptcy
court in the United States," said the company, which operates 45 bakeries, 800 dis-

tribution centers and has 27,000 employees.
"The sheer size and complexity of the debtors' cases alone justifies an extension of the
exclusive periods."
In stating its case for extending the
deadline, I.B.C. said it has been engaged
in "an exhaustive review" of each of its
10 profit centers on an individual basis.
In addition, the company said it needed
more time to assess the overall net impact the company's launch of Wonder
Made with Whole Grain White, Wonder
Kids and Wonder White Bread Fans 100%

ADM acquires assets of Lysac; purchase
will help to develop bio-based products
DECATUR, ILL. - Archer Daniels Midland
Co. has acquired substantially all of the assets of Groupe Lysac, Inc., including a portfolio of intellectual property and technological assets to create biodegradable products
from natural and renewable resources. ADM
said it plans to incorporate Lysac's assets
into ADM to develop bio-based products.
"Bio-based absorbent polymers are cost

effective, and they can be used in conjunction with traditional absorbents to extend
or partially replace the petroleum-based
product," said G. Allen Andreas, chairman, chief executive officer and president
of ADM. "ADM is committed to using biobased resources to manufacture products,
like PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers) and now absorbent polymers, that

Canada Bread acquires Harvestime Limited
bakery in England
TORONTO - Canada Bread Co. Ltd. has acquired the assets and business of Harvestime Limited bakery in Walsall, England. Harvestime produces par-baked bread, rolls
and specialty bakery products.
Harvestime, which employs approximately 250 people at the bakery, also makes ciabatta bread at the facility, primarily for retail customers in the United Kingdom.
"The U.K. and European specialty bakery market is a high growth opportunity for Canada Bread," said Richard Lan, president and chief executive officer. "The acquisition of the
Walsall bakery immediately provides us with a stronger presence in the retail bakery market
and broadens our base in bagel manufacturing to other specialty par-baked products."
Canada Bread said the acquisition makes Maple Leaf Bakery a "broad-based U.K.
bakery company, diversifying its operations from predominantly bagel production to
being a multi-category producer." MBN

14 / Milling & Baking News, April 11, 2006

the decision to sell White Lily - which
is the only division of C.H. Guenther being sold - was reached after the company underwent an extensive review of
its strategic plan last year.
Mr. Phillips noted that
although White Lily has
performed well for C.H.
Guenther, the company
determined it may operate more effectively with
a company that has a
broader portfolio of consumer brands.
Mr. Phillips said C.H. Guenther is not
exiting the consumer brands business,
and if no buyer is found for White Lily,
C.H. Guenther will continue to operate
the Knoxville facility. MBN

Whole Grain has had on its bottom line.
The current deadline for Interstate
Bakeries to file a plan for emerging from
bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court is May 18, with July 17 the date by
which the company's creditors must approve the plan.
In its motion, the company requested
pushing back the deadline to file a plan to
Sept. 22 and set the deadline for getting the
plan accepted to Nov. 21.
Under bankruptcy law, if the company
misses the deadline or can't get a reorganization plan approved, other parties may
recommend their own plans. MBN

are traditionally made from petroleum."
Lysac's absorbent polymers, called Safe and
Natural Absorbent Polymers (SNAPs), are
made primarily from starch and may be used in
new generations of industrial applications and
consumer products, like disposable diapers.
In March, ADM said it would build the
first commercial plant to produce PHA biodegradable plastics in Clinton, Iowa. PHA
biodegradable plastics have a wide variety
of applications in products currently made
from petrochemical plastics, including coated paper, film and molded goods. MBN

AIPC retains Keen
Realty to lead sale of
Kenosha pasta plant
GREAT NECK, N.Y. - American Italian
Pasta Co., Kansas City, has retained Keen
Realty, L.L.C. and Apex Commercial, Inc. to
assist in the market and sale of its 108,000square-foot pasta facility in Kenosha, Wis.
Built in 1999, the Kenosha plant is located
on more than 11 acres and includes a warehouse, plant, offices and a semolina tower.
The site also includes a flour transfer system
that connects to an adjacent mill. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - April 11, 2006

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