MUNICH — Mergers and acquisitions have accelerated the evolution of the baking industry, and for some, it means what’s old is new again.
Take Coperion, for example. The name itself isn’t new to the industry; its roots date all the way back to the 19th century, when it originally began as Werner & Pfleiderer, one of the pioneers of industrialized bakery equipment. Over time, the company’s evolution brought it in and out of bakery and general food production, but in recent years has primarily functioned in plastics production. But it has now come full circle through a series of acquisitions by Hillenbrand, Coperion’s parent company.
“The strategic decision was made to strengthen Coperion’s capabilities,” said Bettina Koenig, global communications director for Coperion. “With Hillenbrand as our parent company, we were able to bring together food companies that are not only industry leaders but also technology leaders.”
Last year, Coperion launched its Food, Health and Nutrition division, that encompasses Bakon, Baker Perkins, Coperion K-Tron, Diosna, Gabler Engineering, Kemutec, Peerless, Shaffer, Shick Esteve, Unifiller and VMI. It represents a union of brands previously part of Linxis Group, which Hillenbrand acquired in 2022, and subsequent acquisitions, including Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials North America that followed.
Under this umbrella, it now offers global bakery solutions for every pre-oven step in the process.
The integration of these technologies allows Coperion brands to offer solutions for bakery customers in a more streamlined way. During the iba conference, which took place Oct. 22-26 in Munich, key leaders from Coperion sat down with Commercial Baking to dive into how the brands work together.