FOSTORIA, OHIO — The Mennel Milling Co. recently hired Jim Beauregard as director of R&D.

He has spent the last 30 years in the baking industry and research and development field.

In his new role, Mr. Beauregard oversees an established R&D program and growing team of R&D professionals based at the Fostoria Flour Mill on Mennel’s main campus in Fostoria. He is also responsible for the execution of the division’s innovation pillars, including milling engineering and bakery product development.

“Jim fills a critical role within the innovation department as the leader of the research and development program,” said Scott Obsorne, vice president of innovation. “R&D is a strategic platform within Mennel, and he steps into this role during an exciting time as we look to push the boundaries of milling and bakery science. We are already seeing the benefits of Jim’s tenured experience in the flour and baking industry and are hopeful that this will translate to even bigger innovative products, processes, capabilities and services.”

After just four months into serving as the division’s director, Mr. Beauregard is celebrating some early wins.

“Whether it’s taking a deeper dive into our supply chain structure or evaluating our milling systems to increase flour yields, we’ve tackled some significant projects with the operations team and the results have been extremely positive,” Mr. Beauregard said. “I was once a customer of Mennel’s and remember being impressed by the quality of their products and services as well as the technical support they offered.

“Now that I am here and have had a chance to work alongside folks at all levels of the organization, I can see that Mennel truly hires to their ideals and treats their employees well.”

Mr. Beauregard is focused on future expansion and growth.

“It’s an exciting time at Mennel as we are positioned to grow and evolve as an organization,” Mr. Beauregard said. “Of course, we will continue to help resolve service and processing issues if they arise. However, we are placing greater focus on product development. It’s a strategic move from ‘little R’ and ‘big D’ toward ‘big R’ and ‘big D.’”

Throughout his career in bakery R&D development, Mr. Beauregard has worked directly with dry mix products, wet goods, frozen dough, and consumer packaged products.

He received his bachelor’s degree in food systems management from Buffalo State College in Buffalo, NY.