Milling & Baking News - August 27, 2019 - 19

Industry Activities

AIB International ending several
projects at Kansas headquarters
MANHATTAN, KAS. - AIB International is discontinuing several services,
including a baking residence course that
is nearly 100 years old, in its Manhattan
headquarters. The closings come as online learning becomes more popular and
AIB International's client companies seek
customized programs at their work sites.
"We've been listening to the industry,
and what we're finding is a real simple answer: 'Come to our facility and configure the
training that's going to address my specific
needs,'" said Andre Biane, president and
chief executive officer of AIB International.
"In other words, generic training and curriculum is kind of falling by the wayside."
Expanded offerings
AIB International is expanding its offerings in private training, online learning, on-site consulting and food labeling services, he said. AIB International
in 2018 delivered 394 in-person training
courses in 43 countries.
The 16-week Baking Science and Technology residence course in Manhattan
typically was offered twice a year, Mr.
Biane said. A total of 194 classes have
been completed. Along with the B.S.&T.
residence course, AIB International is
discontinuing a food safety residence
course and some research and development services, including pilot plant testing and analytic lab services, Mr. Biane
said. Some food labeling and regulatory
programs will remain.
The dropped programs were conducted
at a facility in Manhattan that was built in
the late 1970s. AIB International will discontinue the use of that facility. The closure of the baking labs and pilot plant will
free up about 72,000 square feet.
"We are looking at a number of options
for the older building, including the possibility of selling it if we can find a potential buyer," Mr. Biane said.
AIB International in Manhattan also
houses the American Society of Baking's
Hall of Fame and a baking library. AIB International is working with the A.S.B. to
assess new locations for the Baking Hall of
Fame and is working with other interested
parties on the location of the baking library.
AIB International opened a facility in
2016 that added 12,000 square feet of office space. Staff from food safety services, the certification body, customer service, client development and marketing
moved into the new building.
"That is where the vast majority of
our Manhattan-based employees work,"
Mr. Biane said.
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

AIB International is expanding in other
areas.
Apprenticeship course coming
Later this year AIB International will
launch a bakery apprenticeship course.
The new course will allow clients to

choose from an assortment of topics, configure them to specific needs and choose
a time frame. The bakery apprenticeship
course will feature online learning as well
as hands-on application and post-training consulting.
"The bakery apprenticeship program will

equipment," Mr. Biane said. "We may find
a facility that's set up for croissants, which
would be good for a sweet goods-type of
training. We may find another facility that's
better suited for bread, or artisan bread."
AIB International will have a presence
at the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas Sept. 7-11 for those
wanting to know more about the changes.
100 years of service
AIB International was founded as the
American Institute of Baking in Chicago
in 1919 to help the baking industry deal
with the rationed supply of wheat and the
growth of automation. Groundbreaking
for a new $820,000 building in Chicago
was held in September 1949. The building contained general offices, a library, a
consumer education department, a sanitation department, accounting offices,
testing laboratories, a school of baking,
bread and cake shops, and an experimental bakery. The 40,000-square-foot facility
at East Ontario Street and McClurg Court

'The bakery apprenticeship program will satisfy the
desires for baking companies to train their people
and upscale their skills but can't afford to send
people to Manhattan for 16 weeks or longer.'
- Andre Biane, AIB International

satisfy the desires for baking companies to
train their people and upscale their skills but
can't afford to send people to Manhattan for
16 weeks or longer," Mr. Biane said.
Clients hiring AIB International experts to work on their sites also is gaining
traction, he said. The AIB International
employee may be an expert in food safety, sanitation, quality assurance management, integrated pest management, baking consulting or food labeling, depending on the need of the client.
"Those experts can spend a month
or longer at a facility and just immerse
themselves to help the organization improve," Mr. Biane said. "We've seen this
taken up by several clients, and it's proven to be very valuable."
A virtual inspector program involves
training simulation that allows users to
identify food safety issues throughout the
plant environment and document findings.
Need for adequate facilities
As AIB International moves away
from training in Manhattan to training
at client-preferred sites, it brings a need
for adequate facilities.
"We continue to try to find locations that
can provide adequate critical mass for training purposes, as well as the right kind of

replaced the old 27,000-square-foot facility at 1135 West Fullerton Ave.
The move to Manhattan came in 1977.
Food safety and baking training online
began in 2001. The name change to AIB
International, which better reflected its
global reach, came midway through the
first decade of the new century.
Over the past 25 years, audits and inspections have grown to become a larger
part of AIB's activities.
AIB International's staff includes experts
in the fields of baking production, experimental baking, cereal science, nutrition,
food safety and hygiene. In 2018, doubledigit growth in both Global Food Safety
Initiative certification audits and online
training helped offset a continued decline
in more traditional training formats. AIB
International has simplified its offerings
into four service categories: inspection and
consulting, certification, training, and research and development services.
The move to discontinue some services
in Manhattan and offer more services at client sites should allow clients to save money.
"It's less expensive for a plant to pay
for one (AIB International) trainer to
come in for three or four days than it is
for them to send five people off site for
four or five days," Mr. Biane said. MBN
Milling & Baking News

August 27, 2019 / 19

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Milling & Baking News - August 27, 2019

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