The 2016 Washington Manufacturing Awards: Legacy Award

When its time to make doughnuts or loaves of bread, or sheets of rolls it could well be a Belshaw Adamatic piece of equipment thats turning out the baked goods. From a 120,000-square-foot plant in Auburn, Belshaw Adamatic produces the ovens, fryers, conveyors and specialty equipment like jelly injectors used by wholesale and retail bakeries.

The firms two legacy companies Belshaw started in 1923, Adamatic in 1962 combined forces in 2007. Italys Ali Group North America is the parent.

It it takes work to maintain a legacy. A months-long strike in 2013 damaged morale and forced a leadership change. Frank Chandler was named president and CEO of Belshaw Adamatic in September 2013. The company has since strived to mend workplace relationships while also introducing a stream of new products, such as a convection oven, the BX Eco-touch, with energy saving features and steam injection that can be programmed for precise times in baking. The company energetically describes it as an oven that saves time, reduces errors, makes an awesome product, and is fun to use and depend on every day!

So far, more than 3,000 have been installed in quick-service restaurants, bakeries, cafes and supermarkets in the United States. They are the legacy of Thomas and Walter Belshaw, former builders of marine engines, who began producing patented manual and automated doughnut-making machines in Seattle 90 years ago. They sold thousands worldwide and, today, Belshaw Adamatic is the nations largest maker and distributor of doughnut-making equipment.