KANSAS CITY, MO — The American Society of Baking (ASB) will induct five industry leaders into the Baking Hall of Fame during special ceremonies at BakingTECH 2022, an in-person conference to be held March 1-3, 2022, at the Hilton Chicago.
The inductees and their respective companies are Tilmon “Tim” Brown, New Horizons Baking Co.; Yianny and George Caparos, Crown Bakeries; Kenneth Newsome, AMF Bakery Systems, Markel Food Group; and William Ungashick, Shick Esteve.
“Success in the baking industry depends upon knowledge, business acumen and supportive association with allied partners. These factors are well demonstrated by the individuals who will be inducted into the Baking Hall of Fame in 2022,” said Rowdy Brixey, chair of the ASB Baking Hall of Fame Evaluation Committee and president of Brixey Engineering, Inc.
Since its launch in 2006, the Baking Hall of Fame will have initiated 97 members as of 2022. They come from all areas of the baking industry, including from bakeries, allied equipment and ingredient suppliers, schools, service organizations, and publishers.
“The individuals we elect to the Baking Hall of Fame have earned the respect of their customers, suppliers, communities and industry,” Brixey said. “They inspire our future by their examples.”
“The individuals we elect to the Baking Hall of Fame have earned the respect of their customers, suppliers, communities and industry,” Brixey said. “They inspire our future by their examples.”
Tim Brown, New Horizons Baking Co.
An entrepreneur with deep corporate experience, Brown wrote a successful second act to his bakery career. During the first 35 years, he rose within Continental Baking Co. from route salesman to corporate VP and director of sales. He then invested his skills in Norwalk, OH-based New Horizons Baking Co. (NHBC). Over his next 26 years, he led NHBC from a $30 million business into the $100 million enterprise it is today with 455 employees across four facilities. Brown attributes his success to creating relationships with employees, vendors and customers, and treating them well. With this legacy and his continuing interactions with his community, Brown takes pride in practicing “servant leadership.”
Yianny and George Caparos, Crown Bakeries
Revolutionizing baking’s breakfast category, the Caparos brothers pioneered production techniques that enabled thaw-and-serve convenience for the customers of Gold Standard Baking Co. Now partners with of Nashville, TN-based Crown Bakeries, they created a business built on highly automated, fast-paced, low-cost manufacture of baked goods for the mass market — croissants, biscuits, English muffins, hamburger buns, bread, bagels, Danish, cinnamon rolls, pound cake, brownies and individually wrapped items. Their operating style is hands-on, having started in the family bakery business at an early age and learning side-by-side with master bakers. They participate at a high level in industry associations and strongly encourage bakery education.
Kenneth Newsome, AMF Bakery Systems, Markel Food Group
Newsome has built the world’s largest manufacturer of wholesale bread and bun baking equipment in just two decades. After a short period working for a leading consulting group, Newsome put together a team of local investors and acquired Richmond, VA-based AMF Bakery Systems in 1996. Other acquisitions followed, as did the company’s affiliation with Markel Corp. Under his leadership, the business grew to include international operations and is now the largest US/European bakery equipment manufacturing company operating in China. Newsome lives out the company’s corporate vision — “Better food. Better lives.” — through community activities including youth sports, and through service as an officer of several industry associations.
William Ungashick, Shick Esteve
By applying the physics of air handling to powdered ingredients, Ungashick helped guide the baking industry into use of modern material handling technologies. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, Ungashick first worked for Baker Perkins in sales before founding Shick Engineering in 1956, which is now known as Kansas City, MO-based Shick Esteve. At that time, flour was delivered in bags and dumped by hand into mixers at wholesale bakeries. One of his first inventions was a “baby bulk truck” that could deliver flour in 20,000-lb lots. Over the years, ingredient automation devised by Ungashick and his company encompassed bulk flour, oil, cream yeast and sugar, plus dry and liquid minor ingredients, enabling complete recipe management. Ungashick was named by his alma mater Notre Dame as 1971 Man of the Year for his commitment to his community, his faith and his fellow man.