Founded in 1954 as a confectionery-automation consulting firm, Woody Associates now designs and fabricates automatic decorating equipment for bakery and confectionery production. Its signature Woody Stringer, first built in George Woody’s Atlanta home in 1956, lays chocolate or icing in automated patterns and is custom designed around each customer’s production line. Based in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, the company notes that many of its machines have remained in service for more than 40 years.
BeeHex AutomationBeeHex Automation grew out of NASA and Department of Defense innovation contracts launched in 2016, bringing that engineering background to practical automation for food manufacturers. Based in Columbus, the company works with retail bakeries and industrial producers to make bakery production more consistent and less dependent on manual decorating.COLUMBUS, OH
Graybill MachinesSince Wilbur and Orpah Graybill founded the company in 1944, Graybill Machines has remained a Lititz, Pennsylvania manufacturer known for studying each customer’s process rather than forcing it into an off-the-shelf solution. Its in-house team designs, builds, and tests custom automation for food manufacturers, while also handling specialty projects that call for unusual engineering or fabrication. Eight decades on, the company continues to support equipment from its local shop through installation and service.LITITZ, PA
Gemini Bakery SolutionsFounded in 1972 by Mark Rosenberg, Gemini Bakery Solutions is a family-owned bakery equipment designer and manufacturer continuing a family history in the industry that dates to 1911. Based in Pennsylvania, it supplies custom and integrated equipment systems to commercial and industrial bakeries and describes itself as North America’s largest supplier of specialty bakery systems. The company also provides project lifecycle services and operates manufacturing facilities across Pennsylvania.PHILADELPHIA, PA
NCC Automated SystemsSince 1986, NCC Automated Systems has manufactured sanitary and non-sanitary conveyors while integrating complete automation systems for food processors, packaging companies, and OEM machine builders. The Souderton, Pennsylvania, company combines in-house mechanical and electrical design with U.S. manufacturing, offering turnkey systems or equipment on its own. Its decades-long work with customers such as The Hershey Company reflects a solutions-focused approach that goes beyond supplying machinery.SOUDERTON, PA