Our fantastic new 30,000 sq. ft. innovation center in Tucker, GA, offers the infrastructure to foster the kind of product innovation necessary for growth. HC Brill celebrates its launch.

The new center that opened in October, 2007 opposite Brill’s headquarters is part of the wider CSM goal to grow the business from new products. It also fits one of the key requirements of the Bakery InnoEngine initiative, which aims to create the right strategy, processes and procedures, find great people and offer an inspirational work environment that will impress and inspire our clients.

Form and function

The center offers a spacious reception area; modern and comfortable offices; a bakery lab with a variety of baking ovens, mixers and other baking equipment that provide a unique ability to adapt many forms of processing to a wide range of bakery foods; a pilot plant (the intermediate step between the lab and fully-fledged plant production); a demonstration space where we can show clients specific products, how they can be applied in the marketplace and how they fit with key trends; and a preparation kitchen where we can show our products in an applied or fully baked state for customer presentations or joint projects.

It will house the integrated research and development teams that were formerly spread over multiple locations. Our product development center people are responsible for swift customer response, using customer input to further develop existing products, in order to support and grow the business. The innovation center personnel work on new business development along with sales and marketing, finance and operations, applying company strategy and consumer insights. And, Brill’s regulatory, labeling and formula management people enable new product labeling and maintain raw material and product specifications. Great things are happening now that these three disciplines are working together so closely.

Recipe for success

The center offers opportunities for potential business growth and competitive advantage and differentiation. It will provide our customers with a continuous stream of new products and new product applications that will help them to grow, improving Brill’s business leadership in the channels we serve.

Solid product and innovation plans are in place, along with the right cross-functional project teams ready to deliver higher levels of product innovation to our customers. Brill’s new innovation teams are ready to deliver.