Scott McCally, President, Middleby Brands, Middleby Bakery Group

Considering the market volatility, supply chain disruptions, energy costs, and workforce scarcity, what does this past year look like for your company when you draw the line?

  1. OPPORTUNITY.  These disruptions allowed us collectively at Middleby Bakery to demonstrate our dynamic ability across our global brands to share information and resources quickly to meet the dire needs of our customers.
  2. GROWTH.  We have become hypersensitive to customer needs, driving our latest innovations with clear focus and market guidance.  We have become better communicators throughout our organization.  We have built stronger supplier relationships.  We have developed our staff to support other brand’s technical support needs on a local/regional basis.

What are your expectations for next year, keeping in mind the legacy of 2022, but also the current challenges? 

PATIENCE and COMPETITIVENESS:  Money is expensive; however, demand remains strong.  Therefore, capital investment will be highly scrutinized.  My expectation is that the year will begin slower than the last few have, but as prices begin to adjust downward there will be an inrush of new business that could have a similar disruptive effect that we experienced as the pandemic was waning.

How do you estimate the market will evolve and what is your priority list for 2023? 

Our priorities are clear:

  1. AUTOMATION:  Continue to develop automation that will deliver “lights out” food manufacturing.  We have been pursuing this since pre-pandemic and are making significant investments in this space, the latest being Proxaut in Italy.
  2. SERVICE:  Blanket our customers with On Demand parts and service.  Uptime is everything in our business and we continue to develop the comprehensive capabilities of our regional Middleby Worldwide offices.  We are nearly two years into the development of our IIoT platform which will deliver improved OEE and 24 hr virtual support on all of our lines.  Our expert technicians will monitor performance of the line so our customers can focus on their customers.
  3. SOLUTIONS:  Full line solutions that are backed by the strength of Middleby experience, longevity, and financial integrity.  The preeminent partner to a successful business operation day in and day out for the next 100 plus years. 

Where did the growth opportunities come from and what is the most important lesson you have learned in recent times?

  1. Growth opportunities continue around increasing throughput in less space, and reducing operating costs especially around utilities, waste, and labor.
  2. Most important lesson is to over communicate with customers.  When you’re battling a fire you don’t need to tell your suppliers to bring more water they should just be there with the water because they see the smoke.

What do you consider to be the most valuable asset you have in 2023 as a company?

Our people.  Middleby Bakery is fortunate to be led by a large group of humble, hungry, and smart entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate for our customers.

As part of your growth strategy, how do you prioritize your investments versus your R&D efforts?

We invest in the customer that is our priority and our growth strategy.  They need service we invest in service; they need automation we invest in automation; they need simple we invest in simple.

What was unexpected in 2022 and how did it impact your business?

The war in Ukraine was an unexpected disruption that created significant challenges with Russian, and Eastern European partners and customers.

Which are the most important drivers of change for your business in 2023? How do you plan to prepare for them?

Fossil fuel-free baking is a key change coming to our industry.  Middleby has spent the last two decades investing and developing technologies that are able to now compete on a “cost of energy / unit produced” basis with traditional gas fired systems.

What would you like to see happening in 2023 for your stakeholders and business environment (in terms of policy, regulations, and market) in order for your business to thrive more?

  1. PEACE:  global geopolitical peace is necessary to operate in a stable and predictable manner.
  2. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT:  power storage, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicle technologies are all developments that our industry need to mature so that we are able to fully leverage their significant impact to sustainability, efficiency, and production output.

You might also like

Newsletter

Subscribe to our FREE NEWSLETTER and stay updated SUBSCRIBE