Leaders in Building Better Bakeries

The Austin Company had the great pleasure of sharing some of our bakery building experience in the September 2013 issue of Baking&Snack magazine. This issue was featured at the recent International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), where Austin also enjoyed being a vendor.

In Expanding for Greater Flexibility (p. 26-35), Mike Pierce, Austin’s President, provided insight on how bakeries are building cleaner environments, and how design and construction teams are being challenged to deliver facilities that meet changing standards through the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).  In addition, Mr. Pierce commented on the escalation of sustainable design features as more bakery projects are being submitted for LEED® certification. Finally, as baking companies are facing increased costs, Mr. Piece described recent facility trends to build more bakeries that may be smaller, but more flexible to adapt to future needs.

In Building Successful Projects (p. 57-59), Mr. Pierce was interviewed by Senior Editor, Shane Whitaker, in this Q&A: Construction Management article on how the design-build method promotes a team environment and provides for faster project schedules and fewer issues. Here, Mr. Pierce contends that the most important aspect of the project is that the baker is on a team with his or her selected design and construction professionals. Design-build fosters this collaborative approach and is a method in which the team is selected based on qualifications.

Educating the Industry (p. 151-156), covers the latest Baking Industry Forum’s (BIF) project on “The Five Ps of Training.” After conducting research, BIF presented their findings on the ROI of training at the BEMA annual meeting in June. The presentation was broken into five sections – the “Ps” of: problem, preparation, presentation, performance and preservation. As a member of BIF, Mr. Pierce helped to present the findings on “problem” at the BEMA annual meeting. The results of a BIF survey found that only 15% of the baking industry workforce is under age 35. Additional findings included a shortage of technical skills in the next five years, high turnover issues and lacking training processes, plague both bakers and suppliers. Recommendations and insight on the other “Ps” is included in the article.

We hope this information is helpful for you as you consider your next facility project. Learn more about Austin’s approach to the design-build method and our experience designing and constructing Baking & Snack facilities.