IREKS event shares history, trends, products

Brampton, Ont. – IREKS North America recently hosted its official opening with an appreciation of the company’s history, a look at baking industry trends and products, and a gala evening dinner.

Das Event, which was held at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Ont., on Oct. 27, featured two segments: a seminar and company introduction and an evening gala dinner with entertainment, IREKS said in a news release.

Maurice van Tongeren, president of IREKS North America Ltd., opened the afternoon by presenting a fast-forward through the decades of IREKS GmbH’s history. Video clips and picture slides showed the evolvement of the company from its first days of basic operation to a highly automated facility in Kulmbach, Germany, that manufactures and supplies bakery ingredients globally. More recently, in 2016, IREKS assumed the business of Lentia Enterprises.

Following the company introduction was a fun presentation outlining five global food trends and how they impact consumers and manufacturers. The trends – convenience, indulgence, wellness, “back to the roots” and “free from” – were presented through research and fun facts.

IREKS’ technical advisor, Jurri van den Broek, who had been preparing wonderful baked goods, and Rob MacGregor, territory sales representative at IREKS, provided the audience with product information and bread samples throughout the presentation. The presentation concluded with a fun video clip featuring Sylvester Stallone as a bread delivery driver.

The second part of the seminar was an introduction to Dreidoppel, an IREKS sister company based in Germany, which presented its line of flavouring pastes through samples to all attendees. The line is now also available through IREKS North America.

During a cocktail reception the company presented Aroma & Taste, a line of bakery malts and sourdoughs. A three-course dinner followed a cocktail reception.

“We want to send a shout out to all of our guests who made Das Event a great success and we want to thank each and every one for making us feel so welcomed to the Canadian bakery industry,” IREKS said in the release.