John Ziegler (sitting) with son Allen Ziegler (right) and Nick Lucatorta (back) at West Coast Bakery Supply Co. (Los Angeles, CA 1932)

 

1914 - Louis Karp opens a small business in Chicago, IL named Karps, offering ingredients to the bakery and confectionery industries.

 

1928 - John Ziegler opens West Coast Bakery Supply Co., providing bakery ingredients from Los Angeles, CA.

 

1940s - Karps and West Coast Bakery Supply Co. experience considerable growth and expand their facilities.

 

1950 - West Coast Bakery Supply Co. changes name to Westco Products.

 

1960s - Karps and Westco Products develop into market leaders in the baking industry, both having expanded their manufacturing bases and distribution centers.

 

1990s - CSM nv, a global entity based in the Netherlands, acquires Karps and Westco Products, as part of their North American growth strategy. Other companies acquired include: Cahokia Flour, Serio & Sons, Federal Bakers, Steel City Milling, Connelly Calhoun & Connelly, Kircos Flour, and Warren Flour, among several others. These companies were grouped to form BakeMark Ingredients West and BakeMark Ingredients East.

 

2005 - CSM nv merges BakeMark Ingredients West and BakeMark Ingredients East to form one entity, known as BakeMark USA. Based in Pico Rivera, CA, BakeMark USA has 18 distribution centers across the United States and five exclusive brands: Westco, Trigal Dorado, Produits Marguerite, BakeQwik, and BakeSense.

 

2010 - CSM, Bakery Supplies North America acquires Best Brands Corp., one of the largest premium bakery manufacturers in the U.S., effective March 19, 2010. The distribution business of Best Brands is intergrated with BakeMark.