Dive Brief:

• The Middleby Corporation, a kitchen equipment and industrial food processing company, has acquired German company GBT GmbH Bakery Technology for an undisclosed amount, according to a Wednesday announcement. 
• The acquired company focuses on engineering and building baking and bread lines. Its products and services are expected to augment Middleby’s existing baking segment.
• Middleby continues to grow via M&A, having acquired more than a dozen companies in the past two years, according to its website. This comes as c-store foodservice continues to grow and evolve. 

Dive Insight:

While Middleby boasts innovations of its own — the more-than-century-old company says it introduced the conveyor oven for pizzas in the 1980s — M&A moves have helped the business expand across numerous departments recently. These include ventilation technology with its acquisition of Trade-Wind Manufacturing in August, water treatment and filtration with Terry Water Solutions in July and oil management with Filtration Automation Inc. in June.

With its latest acquisition, Middleby is adding a company that develops and installs baking and bread products like tunnel ovens, conveyor baking systems, dough dividers and proofers.

“GBT customizable equipment highly complements our existing bakery brands and allows us to strengthen our European presence in large scale baking,” said Tim FitzGerald, CEO of Middleby. “While we believe there are many synergies between the companies that will continue to increase, GBT will immediately benefit from our existing and well-established customer channels.”

Elgin, Illinois-based Middleby develops and manufactures solutions used in commercial foodservice, food processing and residential kitchens. Its well-known products in the convenience store space include rapid-cook and ventless ovens, gas and electric griddles, roller grills and open-air merchandisers.