YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Steven P. Cooper has been promoted to president of Schwebel Baking Co. He succeeds Paul Schwebel, who is retiring after 48 years with the company. Mr. Schwebel will remain as a member of the board of directors and company adviser.
Mr. Cooper has more than 30 years of experience in the baking and grain-based foods industries. He joined Schwebel in May 2015 as chief operating officer. Prior to that, he was general manager at J&J Snack Foods Corp. Earlier, he was senior vice-president at Hostess Brands. He started his career at CooperSmith, a family-owned wholesale bakery.
“The Schwebel family is extremely pleased Steve has accepted this leadership position,” said Lee Schwebel, vice-president of marketing and corporate communications. “He brings with him outstanding experience and the same commitment and values we have championed for five generations. With Steve as our leader, the Schwebel family will continue to promise and deliver the same great tasting products our customers have come to know us by.”
Mr. Cooper added, “Schwebel’s is a dynamic and highly successful company. I’m pleased to lead an organization that has established itself as a premier regional market share leader with top-selling brands, remarkable employees and an extremely loyal customer base. Our company celebrates its 110th birthday on June 24, 2016. We are looking to build on our strengths and expand our business of supplying quality baked goods to customers for another century.”
Founded in 1906 in the kitchen of Joseph and Dora Schwebel, Schwebel Baking Co. is one of the largest family-owned, independent baking companies in the United States, producing a variety of fresh bread, buns and rolls under the Schwebel’s, ‘taliano, Millbrook, Country Hearth, Roman Meal, Sun-Maid Raisin and Cinnabon brand names. It operates 3 bakeries and 35 distribution centers, and it distributes its products in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Indiana.