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GRÜNSTADT, Germany — What’s a celebration without a cake?
Maj. Gen. Patricia McQuistion, the commanding general of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, recently toured the Army and Air Force Exchange Service bakery here and picked up a cake right where it was baked.
During General McQuistion’s tour of the AAFES plant, officially called the European Industrial Activity, she said AAFES is an important strategic partner and that it is great to meet the behind-the-scenes people who make things happen.
The tour included the cake shop where deft-and-sure handed staff decorated cakes with remarkable speed and poise.
“One of our specialties is the hand-decorated cakes we produce. For the Army’s birthday this year, we produced more than 60 cakes, all with different designs and decorations,” said Mathias Baum, the bakery manager at EIA.
Although the cake shop produced 53,584 cakes and 28,033 special cakes in 2009, it is only one segment of the bakery. It also produces bread, buns, tortillas, donuts, Danish pastries, cookies, pizza dough and crusts, which are then shipped throughout Europe and parts of Africa, said Uli Paschke, the general manager for AAFES Grünstadt.
“In Europe, our products reach almost every Soldier, family member and civilian employee through the AAFES shopettes, recreational facilities like bowling alleys, commissaries, military clubs, installation restaurants and snack bars. They are also served in Department of Defense Dependents Schools cafeterias and military dining facilities,” Mr. Paschke said.
What started out as a small bakery in the 1950s became the largest AAFES production plant world-wide. Also unique is that the products baked here in Germany are distributed in familiar American brand packaging. EIA is licensed to produce certain Pillsbury, Country Hearth, Wonder Bread, Northwest Grain Country and Milton’s products as well as Burger King buns.
“This is the only AAFES bakery in Europe where American goods are baked. We follow the companies’ recipes. Additionally, about 90 percent of the 161 ingredients used to bake the products are imported from the U.S. We store them in a 1,720-square-meter warehouse, 33 silos and six liquid tanks,” Mr. Baum said.
“The important thing is that everything is freshly baked. We have more than 200 different items and everything is fresh,” said Angelika Hausser, an account manager with EIA.
The quality assurance laboratory plays a vital role as well since the bakery must meet U.S. and German health regulations.
“We are certified by the American Institute of Baking and are frequently inspected by Army Veterinary Corps Soldiers. Additionally, inspectors representing the brand-name products visit the operation annually or more frequently to ensure that recipes are correct and followed and quality is constantly maintained,” said Maggie Knopf, the quality assurance specialist at EIA.
One of the largest employers in the area, EIA currently counts on 377 employees, approximately 90 percent of whom are German, to keep its operation running. The bakery alone is home to 90 bakers and 16 mechanics. Together they worked to produce 2.5 million loaves of bread and a total of 9 million baked goods in 2009.
