Milling & Baking News - June 1, 2010 - 30

Purchasing Executives 

outside resources to help the company
manage risk.
For Mr. Lewis, the decision to become more deeply involved in flour
buying developed gradually over
his career and reflected changes in
the marketplace. He takes a "Buck
Stops Here" attitude toward the responsibility.
"I've kept my hand in flour buying,
because you are never right," he said.
"You're either too long or not long
enough, and this keeps the heat on
me rather than on Carol. Commodity
markets have been particularly tough.
"Early in my career, I never paid
attention to the flour market until
the Russian Wheat Deal. The price
changes proportionately were comparable to what happened two years
ago. The baking industry was not
prepared. From then on we needed
to look at the cost of flour.
"We at Lewis had worked with Western Star (Milling) and then ADM as
our flour supplier. We certainly didn't
pay attention to components or even
know what they were. As volatility
got worse, we decided we needed to
get in deeper. In the mid-1990s, Craig

Hamlin, who had been president of
ADM Milling, approached us about
our options, including buying on a forward basis. If we thought feed was too
low, we could hold back, or basis too
low, we could hold back."
Asked how well component buying has worked for the company, Mr.
Lewis described a mixed bag.
"Sometimes you feel real good and
sometimes it's just the opposite," he said.
"You always think you can do better."
Currently, ADM and ConAgra
Milling are Lewis Brothers' flour
suppliers. The companies operate
mills in the geographic area of the
Lewis Brothers plants.
Over the past four years, the company has shifted from a hard winterspring blend to a 100% hard winter
flour as its principal bread flour.
"When spring wheat markets went
wild, and there was a big run-up in
price, we found we could make a
few formulation adjustments and
convert over to 100% hard winter,"
Mr. Lewis said. "We're looking for a
good quality flour, that we can bake
a good product from. If we have an
issue, we want our suppliers to react

to the issue. With anyone, issues will
come up from time to time."
Reflecting on her career, Ms. Stratman said purchasing suits her personality well.
"Every day is different," she said.
"You never know what you are going to walk into. I purchase packaging and small equipment, too, and I
never know which hat I'll be required
to wear. I enjoy working with most
everyone in the industry."
Ms. Stratman's good fortune drew
attention her way in 2009, when she
hit a hole-in-one while participating
in the annual MWATBI Golf Tournament sponsored by the Allied
Trades of the Baking Industry.
"It's good to be lucky," she said.
"I do not play golf very often, maybe half a dozen times a year. It was
a fluke. I couldn't stop laughing.
When I told my son, he didn't see
the humor. He told me, 'You did
something Dad and I probably will
never do, and we play all the time.
You shouldn't be laughing.' They're
both very competitive, so now my
son and husband are both absolutely determined to hit a hole-in-one."

Keith Cook

n accident of fate?
Really, it was just a plain, vanilla accident.
Keith Cook's journey into ingredient
purchasing began with a fluke mistake
that led him first to the wrong job and,
ultimately, to a cross-continental move
into the baking industry.
A native of Victoria, a city on the
southern tip of Victoria Island in
British Columbia, Mr. Cook was only
14 years old when he applied for
work as a dishwasher to earn some
pocket money.
"I went to a cattle call for a new
restaurant opening in Victoria, and
applied for the job," he said. "I was
hired but not as a dishwasher. They
accidentally hired me as a line cook.
My resume had been misfiled because
of my last name."
Mr. Cook chose not to correct the
restaurant's error.
"They figured, this guy is pretty
short, but let's hire him," he said. "So I
was cooking pizzas."
Mr. Cook enjoyed the work and after high school decided to enter culinary college in Victoria. From there,
it was back to the restaurant industry

where he joined the Spectra Group of
Great Restaurants, Inc., a Canadian
company that operates several restaurant chains, as a cook. After several
promotions to the position of chef and
opening chef (responsible for opening restaurants in new locations), Mr.
Cook was offered the chance to work
with the company's purchasing group
in 2001.
"I had responsibilities in category
management," he said. "The first two
years, I was responsible for dairy, seafood, coffee and energy (natural gas
and electricity)."
When Cara Operations Ltd., another restaurant group, bought part of the
Spectra Group, Mr. Cook joined Cara
in a business analyst role for about a
year and a half.
In addition to the new position, Mr.
Cook credits switching to Cara as the
key to meeting his future wife.
"I had the opportunity to stay with
Spectra or move to Cara," he said. "No
one was offering more money, but
a mentor of mine from Spectra was
making the move to Cara. Also, Cara
offered a corporate retreat in Cancun, Mexico. It all sounded good to

Director of purchasing and
information services
Tom Cat Bakery
Long Island City, N.Y.

30 / June 1, 2010 Milling & Baking News

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