Key Business Outlooks For 2026: Evan Reyes, Global Director of Sales Sanitation Divisions, Goodway Technologies
The biggest operational lesson is that the best outcomes come from pairing equipment with on-site understanding of real facility constraints—access challenges, belt types, allergen changeovers, and production schedules. When solutions are matched to the actual operating environment, customers see faster adoption and stronger ROI, especially where cleaning can be integrated into the production schedule rather than treated as a separate event.
We asked the most important players in the European and American baking industry about their expectations for the year ahead. They talked about opportunities, changing consumer expectations, what type of support the industry needs, but also about the drawbacks of an unstable political climate and the challenges that come with labour shortage and energy prices increasing.
Evan Reyes, Global Director of Sales Sanitation Divisions, Goodway Technologies
How would you assess your company’s performance over the past year?
Over the past year, we’ve seen strong momentum driven by customer demand for more efficient, automated, lower-labor sanitation and maintenance approaches, particularly in food production environments where uptime and consistency are critical. Goodway Technologies’ focus has remained on delivering industrial cleaning and maintenance solutions that reduce downtime and simplify maintenance, with continued emphasis on tools used in food and beverage production as well as other industrial markets.
Just as importantly, 2025 reinforced what has defined Goodway for six decades: solving real-world maintenance challenges with innovation and strong customer support. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2026, we’re proud that the same “customer-first” mindset continues to guide our growth and performance.
What are your expectations for 2026, taking into account the evolving market dynamics?
For 2026, we expect bakery and biscuit manufacturers to continue prioritizing solutions that help them do more with less—especially amid persistent labor constraints and increasing pressure to improve sanitation outcomes while conserving resources. We anticipate ongoing interest in assisted or hands-free cleaning, particularly where it can reduce time-intensive manual work and deliver more repeatable results.
How do you foresee the global and regional bakery markets evolving, and what are your company’s top priorities for 2026?
Bakeries are continuing to optimize for efficiency, sustainability and food safety, while navigating cost and workforce availability. Sanitation is increasingly viewed as a necessity to maintain consistency and for risk reduction.
Our priorities are to help customers reduce sanitation time through automation and repeatable processes, such as conveyor and production line applications. We will continue to design solutions that make maintenance faster, safer and more effective—backed with strong support from our team.
What have been your primary growth drivers over the past year, and what is the most significant lesson you’ve learned in managing your operations?
Our primary growth drivers have centered on customers’ push for higher sanitation productivity, especially as teams get leaner and facilities seek solutions that reduce manual effort and improve cleaning consistency.
The biggest operational lesson is that the best outcomes come from pairing equipment with on-site understanding of real facility constraints—access challenges, belt types, allergen changeovers, and production schedules. When solutions are matched to the actual operating environment, customers see faster adoption and stronger ROI, especially where cleaning can be integrated into the production schedule rather than treated as a separate event.
As competition in the baking industry intensifies, what strategies are you employing to strengthen your market position? How do you balance operational investments with innovation and R&D?
As competition increases, bakeries are looking for partners who can help them win on uptime, efficiency, and compliance confidence. Goodway’s strategy is to keep innovating around those needs—especially with tools designed for food environments, including dry steam sanitation and automated conveyor belt cleaning systems that reduce labor and improve repeatability.
We are focused on helping our customers in the baking industry to reduce downtime and labor costs, while improving quality and food safety. We focus on research and development that equates into customer value and satisfaction, as well as consistent sanitation performance. Every dollar saved goes straight to the bottom line, and we are focused on showing how the ROI from our innovative sanitation equipment will provide an immediate and sustained competitive advantage. Innovation and R&D is paramount to our future success so we are investing responsibly in our long term success while also balancing short term needs.
What unexpected developments occurred in 2025, and how did they influence your business operations or strategies?
One notable development we saw in 2025 was the continued increase of price pressure and shrinking sanitation teams in many bakery operations—driving a heightened need for productivity-enhancing tools and more assisted cleaning approaches.
This reinforces our strategic focus on solutions that help customers maintain high food safety standards with fewer resources. For example, our dry steam belt cleaning solutions allows for continuously cleaning throughout production while keeping an entirely dry environment. These systems help to reduce labor costs downtime while also reducing the amount of water required for effective cleaning.
What are the most significant forces driving change in your business for 2026, and how is your company preparing to address them?
The biggest impacts we anticipate for the baking industry in 2026 continue to be increased price pressure which can force reductions within sanitation teams. We are committed to finding solutions that help our customers overcome these challenges and continue to maintain high standards when it comes to food safety.
We continually engage with our customers to gain feedback and listen to their challenges to help guide us in future product development.
Looking ahead to the next five years, what is your vision for the industry, and how is your company positioning itself to shape and contribute to its future growth?
Over the next five years, we expect the bakery industry to continue moving toward more automated, integrated sanitation and maintenance, with cleaning becoming increasingly built into existing operations. Goodway Technologies is focusing on a being a leader in providing innovative technologies that improve hygiene consistency and reduces the amount of resources needed, such as our automated conveyor belt cleaning system and dry steam cleaning solutions.
As we celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2026, it is a milestone and also a reminder that our role continues to be helping our customers with practical solutions that meet their needs and challenges, and exceeds their expectations.