Tara Fischer, President, ECD
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?
ECD is an innovator of thermal measurement devices for the baking industry. Like all companies, our manufacturing pace was challenged by supply chain disruptions and the inability of suppliers to hire and retain qualified workers. Everything slowed, it seemed. Nevertheless, ECD was able to engineer and launch two new products in 2022 and successfully redesign a third. Sensor technology CakeOMETER™ was launched, BreadOMETER™ was reengineered, and we previewed our game-changing touchscreen M.O.L.E.™ EV6 thermal profiler at IBIE 2022.
What are your expectations for next year, keeping in mind the legacy of 2022, but also the current challenges?
Inflationary pressures will undoubtedly impact the baking sector next year. However, continued expansion is expected in the low single digits as product diversification continues and health-conscious consumers spur demand for gluten-free, low-carb, high-fiber varieties. To meet consumer preferences, key global bakery players are upgrading oven sets and equipment sophistication. The modernization of oven hardware and optimization of baked goods is ECD’s sweet spot, as the newly-launched M.O.L.E. EV6 thermal profiler, sensor tools, and OvenBALANCER™ verification system ensure baked goods are following ideal thermal transformation parameters and ovens are operating within spec. We anticipate a 2023 of solid growth consistent with overall market growth.
How do you estimate the market will evolve and what is your priority list for 2023?
ECD’s top priority for 2023 is to continue to offer superior products and support to our baking customers of all sizes – from large commercial bakeries to smaller artisanal operations – while introducing them to tools that can help drive efficiency and improved profitability. The exciting debut of M.O.L.E. EV6 and sharing the productivity improvements thermal profiling can deliver to bakery operators will be our focus for 2023.
What do you consider to be the most valuable asset you have in 2023 as a company?
ECD’s loyal customers, our internal team, and our partners are our most valuable assets, hands down.
As part of your growth strategy, how do you prioritize your investments versus your R&D efforts?
Investments and R&D efforts are explicitly linked, which was certainly the case for ECD in 2022. We invested heavily in new product development, hiring the right people in sales and engineering to bring new products to market, and modernizing our operation with digitized documentation systems to streamline business functions. Excellence and efficiency are the priorities!
What was unexpected in 2022 and how did it impact your business?
We certainly didn’t expect the supply chain challenges to be as deep and long as they were. But, ECD made lemonade out of lemons, found alternative solutions, developed new designs, and successfully launched two significant products for baking process control. Because of this, ECD is well-positioned as we head into 2023 with an evolutionary thermal profiling product offering that will enable bakers to improve efficiency, produce higher quality products, and realize better yields – all of which will help combat pricing and inflationary pressures.
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?
For ECD customers, we anticipate a relatively positive business environment and hope that regulatory policies across countries, while necessary for food safety, can be achieved using robust – yet simple and time-conserving – protocols. We are in the business of process control enabled through tools that are easy to use – including our FSMA Kill Step Calculator – and help our baking customers comply with confidence while not inhibiting productivity or profit. ECD’s technologies help baking operations thrive.