Your Baking Consultant
Ingredients of Success for Bakeries Around the World Corporate portrait
backaldrin, internationally recognised as the inventor of the Kornspitz grain roll, is the leading manufacturer of baking products in Austria and a leading company in Europe, with successful business operations in more than 90 countries worldwide. The company’s headquarters and the only production facility in Austria are located in Asten near Linz. The family-owned firm, founded in the year 1964, currently produces more than 400 different baking products and improvers, as well as premixes for bread, rolls and pastries. backaldrin products are exported throughout the world from the Asten production plant. In 2006, the company commenced manufacturing operations at a second factory, located in Jordan, which supplies baking products to the Arab Region. backaldrin employs more than 650 people around the world, achieving revenues of EUR 130 million in the 2009/10 financial year. The Kornspitz represents the flagship brand of the company, and is the most successful brand-name roll in Europe.
"Ideas. Brands. Success." is the slogan with which backaldrin has gained international acclaim for more than four decades. backaldrin’s owner Peter Augendopler explains what this motto precisely means: "We are a company of bakers for bakers, and work each and every day to develop new products and recipes on behalf of our customers. Of all the numerous ideas which we conceive every year, only the very best succeed in being matured and perfected until they reach bakeries across the globe". State-of-the-art technologies and analysis techniques support backaldrin’s employees in their product development efforts. For example, backaldrin developed a unique measuring system, which enables the volume of bread loaves to be determined by means of laser devices.
"Some products just have what it takes to be a sales hit, for example the Kornspitz", Augendopler says. However, it is not only the product itself which distinguishes a particular brand, but also the marketing efforts. For this reason, backaldrin also provides sales support to its customers. "The wheat can only be separated from the chaff, so to speak, when the consumer has the final say. We are here to serve our customers, from the very conception of an idea to the sale of the product in the bakeries. The simple fact of the matter is: if they are successful, so are we", according to Peter Augendopler, who was brought up in a family of bakers and trained as a baker himself.
The product line consisting of more than 400 products encompasses high-value wheat and baking products, special premixes for bread, rolls and pastries, bread spices, organic products as well as flavours and fillings. The company’s main customers are commercial and industrial bakers throughout the world. A variety of ingredients, such as water, different types of flour, yeast, salt and, if required, other natural ingredients such as fruit, dairy products, vegetable fat or eggs are added to backaldrin products in bakeries around the world before the baking process begins on location. "For us, quality is the best recipe", says Peter Augendopler. The focus on quality begins with the selection of the natural ingredients, which are primarily drawn from regional sources. A sophisticated monitoring and security system supports the entire production process. The quality of all incoming and outgoing products is analysed in backaldrin’s own laboratory.
The Kornspitz – the most successful brand-name roll in Europe
Time and again in the course of the company’s history, backaldrin has successfully demonstrated how good ideas have turned into successful brands. Each day, 4.5 million Kornspitz grain rolls, the flagship brand of the firm, are eaten in 61 different countries. "The Kornspitz ranks among the most well-known Austrian brands, and is the most successful brand-name roll in Europe", says Kornspitz inventor Peter Augendopler in summarising the success story of his roll. In 1984, the cult brand from backaldrin also introduced a new era in human nutrition. This export hit was known for its high proportion of dietary fibres, which became socially acceptable, and which were increasingly found in bread baskets and on breakfast tables. Other successful backaldrin brands, including wholemeal, wholegrain and multigrain products, include MeinKornbrot, DinkeliX -Dinkelvollkornbrot, Finnenbrot and Enerjoy. The most recent examples are PurPur Vollkornbrot (Purple Wholegrain Bread), Bagelino and Longfinger.
Bakers in 90 countries process backaldrin products
backaldrin established its first foreign subsidiary, located in Germany, just a few years after the company was founded in 1964. Today backaldrin products are used in more than 80 countries. Baking products and the broad-based assortment of backaldrin products are manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Asten near Linz, as well as in Jordan. The company’s second manufacturing facility, located in the Jordanian capital city Amman, commenced operations in 2006. The production plant supplies backaldrin products to the Middle East, the Arab Region as well as to African countries. "This factory enables us to be closer to market, and thus to adapt our products specifically tailored to the needs of our customers in these markets", Augendopler adds.
backaldrin is represented in 16 countries with its own subsidiaries. In addition to the production locations in Austria and Jordan, the company has also set up its own subsidiaries in Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine. backaldrin employs more than 650 people around the world. backaldrin has its own branch offices in Asten, Vienna, Munich, Amman, Kladno/Prague, Budapest and Moscow.
The baking products specialist backaldrin employs more than 600 people around the world. In the 2009/10 financial year, the company achieved revenues amounting to EUR 130 million. More than three-quarters of the products are exported.
High-tech meets craftsmanship in the House of Bread
In 2003, backaldrin constructed the "House of Bread" at its Asten location, to serve as a meeting place for the global baking community. About 7,000 bakers and other specialists from close-by and far away come each year to exchange views, know-how and experiences. The backaldrin Forum, a modern auditorium seating 112 people, hosts seminars and lectures as well as the company’s own products and innovations. The House of Bread is a modern research, development and communications centre, and, at the same time, it houses an historical collection on the art of baking. It brings together history and progress, high-tech and craftsmanship, offering centuries-old knowledge in a modern environment. 4,000 books can be marvelled at, including the second oldest baking book in the world, along with numerous exhibits focusing on the art of baking bread.
"As a company of bakers for bakers, it is our responsibility to promote an interest for bread and rolls, as well as in the baking profession. In the House of Bread, interested people can gain an insight into a handicraft which is hundreds of years old. But above all, it is a place for creativeness and innovation, where we are applying the most advanced methods to develop today’s ideas for tomorrow’s bread and rolls", Peter Augendopler concludes.