Interview: Mustafa Yağmurlu

One of the most established brands in the bakery machinery sector, Royal Kaak continues its global journey that began in the Netherlands. The company’s CEO, Lodewijk van der Borg, shares how Royal Kaak carries the strength of tradition into the future with AI-supported production lines and digital solutions. Positioning the Turkish market as a strategic region for bread consumption and production potential, the company sees Asia as the key to growth in the coming years. With a broad product portfolio ranging from fully automated lines to robotic solutions, Royal Kaak is preparing to play a decisive role in the transformation of the bakery industry.

Royal Kaak CEO Lodewijk van der Borg

With a legacy of over 175 years, Royal Kaak stands as one of the most reputable names in the bakery industry—not only thanks to its historical roots, but also due to its ongoing investments in cutting-edge technology. In 2021, the company was awarded the “Royal” designation by the Dutch Royal Family, a title that crowns its success built on quality, trust, and continuity. Today, Royal Kaak offers a wide range of innovative systems worldwide—from fully automated production lines to AI-supported solutions—emerging as a strong player not only in Europe and the Americas but also in the rapidly growing Asian market.

In this issue, we met Royal Kaak CEO Lodewijk van der Borg to discuss the bakery sector. We talked about how the company balances its family business roots with advanced technology, its strategies for Türkiye and emerging markets, how it adapts to digital transformation, and the changes awaiting the bakery machinery industry in the coming years. In this exclusive interview with Mr. Lodewijk van der Borg, you’ll find an engaging conversation where tradition meets innovation and local blends with global.

With nearly two centuries of history, Royal Kaak stands as one of the most established names in the industry. Could you share the core values that have guided your company through this remarkable journey?

At Royal Kaak, our core values of respect, adaptability, and involvement have been the guiding principles. Respect for our customers, employees, and partners is paramount, and it drives us to maintain high standards in everything we do. Adaptability allows us to stay ahead in a rapidly changing industry, embracing new technologies and innovations. Involvement ensures that we are always engaged with our stakeholders, fostering a collaborative environment that benefits everyone. These values have helped us build a strong foundation and continue to guide us as we move forward.

Royal Kaak’s head office in Terborg, the Netherlands. 

How do you balance your family-owned business heritage with cutting-edge technology and corporate governance? Could you tell us more about Royal Kaak’s current organizational structure and global presence?

That is a unique challenge that we embrace wholeheartedly. Our heritage provides us with a strong sense of identity and values, while our commitment to innovation ensures that we remain competitive in the global market. Our organizational structure is designed to support this balance, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. We have a global presence, with offices and facilities in key markets around the world, allowing us to serve our customers effectively and efficiently.

What role does the ‘Royal’ designation—granted in 2021 by the Dutch Royal Family—play in shaping your corporate identity? What does this title mean to your employees and business partners?

The ‘Royal’ designation is a significant honor that reinforces our commitment to excellence and integrity. It is a testament to our long-standing reputation and the trust that our customers and partners place in us. Moreover it gave us a change to rename all our brands under the umbrella of one name, being Royal Kaak.

In which areas of the global bakery industry does Royal Kaak hold a leading position today? Which product groups or services set you apart in the market?

Royal Kaak holds a leading position in several areas of the global bakery industry, including the development of innovative bakery equipment and solutions. Our product groups like fully automated production lines, robotic solutions, and artificial intelligence applications, such as our iBakeCare system, makes us a unique player in the market. 

TURKEY IS ONE OF OUR TARGET MARKETS

What are your short- and medium-term goals? Could you share details about any upcoming investments or plans for expansion?

Our focus is to play an important part in the roll- and bunlines with our new developed bun-divider. And we are pushing to have a bigger presence in new markets, an important one of them being Turkey.  

How important is the Turkish market for Royal Kaak? Could you share examples of projects you have implemented in our region?

The Turkish market is very important for Royal Kaak, and we have been actively involved in several projects in the region. We do not share details of our customers, but our increased activities in Turkey are substantial. Since Turkey is knows as the country as per capita the most bread is eaten, it is clear that a warm relationship between Kaak and Turkey is needed.

The team of Apus Gıda, Royal Kaak’s exclusive and sole representation in Turkey. 

How are increasing product variety and rising health and wellness trends in the bakery sector reflected in your equipment design and solutions?

Two trends can be seen in the world market. One being the use of sour dough, the other being increasing the time of the process. Good and healthy bread without any additives can only be produced by giving more time to the process. Our lines are well designed to accommodate these needs of our customers.

What innovations are you offering in fully automated production lines, robotic solutions, and artificial intelligence applications?

Since we are able to deliver complete lines from silo to crate, fully-automated-production-lines is our middle name. Within these lines we offer robotic solutions were needed, where our scarification robots are well known and also available for the Turkish market.

As already mentioned, we use artificial intelligence within our iBakeCare monitoring system to support our customers to gain higher efficiencies of their lines and less waste.

Roy Jansen, area sales manager, and Lodewijk van der Borg, CEO.

How has Royal Kaak adapted to digital transformation and the Industry 4.0 era? What solutions do you offer in areas such as remote access, automation, and data analytics? What does ‘smart manufacturing’ mean to you?

This is all incorporated in our already previous mentioned iBakeCare system. Within this platform, we can support our customers 24/7 with remote access. Our analytics of data from the lines gives pro-actively information to support the customer in finetuning their operations.

What criteria do you prioritize in machine design when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability?

In our perspective these two are very closely related. As our target is Food without Footprint, our concern is leaving as less as possible footprints behind. Where these footprints can be physical human footprints, carbon footprints or social footprints.

The pandemic has caused significant shifts in supply chains and production structures. How did Royal Kaak respond to these challenges? What lasting changes emerged from this period?

Royal Kaak already started to embrace remote supports from a sustainability point of view. The pandemic helped us accelerating these means and also made the acceptance at our customers easier.

What opportunities and threats have global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical risks created in the field of bakery technologies?

In the geopolitical situation of today, almost every week there can be a new challenge. 

The only way to battle these kinds of threats is to have more sources for our suppliers and up until now, we have been able to mitigate these threats.

Do you think R&D investments in the industry are sufficient? How does Royal Kaak integrate innovation into its corporate culture?

We don’t have any opinion on R&D investments in general. For Royal Kaak, it is imperative that focusing on innovations is a key success factor for us and for our customers.

Our corporate culture encourages creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning, ensuring that innovation is integrated into every aspect of our business.

What do emerging markets—particularly in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa—mean to your company? What is your growth strategy in these regions?

The mentioned markets are very important for Royal Kaak. And we feel that great part of our future growth will come from these markets. Especially from Asia.

Royal Kaak’s Technology Center in Nieuwkuijk, the Netherlands.

In your opinion, what technological or structural transformations will the bakery machinery sector experience over the next 5 to 10 years? How is Royal Kaak preparing for this evolution?

It is hard to answer this question. Since every market has a different future. It goes without saying that the trends in a merging market will be different from a mature market. Our preparation per market is done with our local representatives. Together we finetune our  machineries to the specific markets.

What do you believe will be the most significant disruption to reshape your industry in the coming years?

The most significant disruptions will be the wider introduction of AI. And with this, we create more fully automated lines and much higher efficiency. In other words, less feet on the ground and more output.

Finally, is there anything you would like to share with our readers that we haven’t covered in this interview?

Although it may be slightly off topic, I would like to highlight that the Turkish bread culture, where families come together to share their bread, strongly reflects the family-oriented approach we embrace at Royal Kaak.