Milling & Baking News - October 30, 2012 - 9

Powerful impact from three events
Continued from Page 7

exchange’s location, at the threshold to Kansas, the state that produces more of this wheat than any other, helped make the city a center of flour milling and the focal point of an industry where the ability to react to fast-moving markets often made companies successful or not. It was appreciation for the value and importance of this location that prompted the founders of this magazine to put its offices in the same building as the Board of Trade occupied. That practice continues to this day. Now, as the exchange’s operations are about to be transformed, the same is likely for locating companies and offices aligned with the Board of Trade. All of these dramatic changes are not just triggered by this transaction but also symbolized by it in specific actions that will likely follow. Most fundamental to the change is that hard red winter wheat futures trading could not have ended up, if such an event was certain, in better hands than the CME provides. Technology at work in other ﬁelds While computer-driven electronics may be identified as the underlying cause of this fundamental shift in the hard red winter wheat market, it is instructive to note that the same technological revolution accounts for the announcement that Newsweek, a weekly magazine with an 80-year history, will be halting its print-on-paper edition at yearend in favor of publishing solely on the web. Described as “transitioning to an all-digital format in early 2013,” this action will result in a new publication name, Newsweek Global, and a new approach as the magazine seeks to maintain its relevance in the Internet era. Established in 1933 to be a reputable source of news and interpretation, the magazine to the present has lost half of its peak reader numbers and has been incurring large financial losses. Blaming “enormous disruptive innovation,” the company’s management is emphasizing how important it is to move quickly forward in reaction to change. The publishers of Milling & Baking News are experiencing many similar forces. The array of food-related magazines this company publishes, centered on grain-based foods, has done well in maintaining both readership and advertising revenues. This happy outcome has been facilitated by focusing on fresh and informative news accompanied by helpful commentary. The consistent goal across these pages is to reflect the expertise and province of this company’s

editorial and management staff. At the same time, websites are offered and are constantly being updated to assure that readers preferring these approaches may comfortably continue to rely on familiar and committed sources. Indeed, the aim has been to keep ahead of the technology and thus to assure that the wide-ranging pool of information required for companies and their executives to prosper in grain-based foods is available in whatever way is preferred. Losing industry leader from past If everyone currently associated with grain-based foods was taken aback by the transaction involving the major wheat futures markets, it is also likely that news of the death of George S. Pillsbury prompted similar regrets and lamentations. Mr. Pillsbury, who died at the age of 91, bore a family name that probably is as well known for its flour milling antecedents as any other name in an industry that has been built by families like his. It is not overreaching to believe that when Mr. Pillsbury engaged in his numerous public service activities, which won him high praise, anyone hearing or reading his name would have immediately related him to flour and flour milling. That may be said about no one else. Mr. Pillsbury left active management of his family’s milling company at the age of 51, but his decades in leadership at the Pillsbury Co. were memorable to fellow staff members as well as for his peers in the industry. A leader in the Minneapolis community as well as nationally, Mr. Pillsbury enjoyed a life of commitment to public service. He was in the Minnesota state senate for a dozen years where he devoted his energy to education and governmental reform. Yet, he maintained contact with his associates in milling and just a few weeks before his death, he hosted a lunch for former Pillsbury Co. associates where good cheer ruled. Linking these three seemingly quite different events provides a path for assuring that grain-based foods, while facing “disruptive innovation” on numerous fronts, never may overlook the proud history that made the industry fundamental to the nation’s and world’s supply of nutritious food. Yes, change will definitely occur due to technology and also reflecting the normal course of existence. That’s why it is important to remember what happened before to create the present-day environment and the bright promise the future holds. Preparing for that new future is tough. It also ought to be rewarding. MBN

Flowers eliminates jobs in Florida
LAKELAND, FLA. — ButterKrust Bakery recently laid off 32 workers, or about 15% of its workforce, according to TheLedger.com. ButterKrust is owned by Thomasville, Ga.-based Flowers Foods, Inc. Doug Wimberly, president of the Lakeland bakery, told TheLedger.com that the decision was made to move some volume out to the other plants. “This is a deal where we have to
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

stay competitive in the marketplace,” Mr. Wimberly said. “All of our decisions are based on what’s most efficient for our system.” He said ButterKrust has been affected by economic pressures and rising ingredient costs. Health care costs also are a concern, he said. “Our hope is the economy will improve and volume will adjust and we’ll be able to bring these people

back aboard,” Mr. Wimberly said. “It was a really difficult decision for us to make.” ButterKrust was established in Lakeland in 1916 and acquired by Flowers Foods in 2008. At the time ButterKrust had annual sales of approximately $70 million and employed 368 people, according to a news release. ButterKrust makes white and wheat bread and buns at the Lakeland facility under the Nature’s Own, Country Hearth and Sunbeam brands. MBN
Milling & Baking News October 30, 2012 / 9

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Milling & Baking News - October 30, 2012

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