Membership Services
The Biscuit & Cracker
Manufacturers' Association serves the cookie and cracker industry from the
B&CMA headquarters in Columbia, Maryland. This office serves as
a center for information concerning Association services and affairs related to
our industry.
Benefits of becoming a member of
B&CMA include:
- Consulting Services
- Directory of Current Members
- Technical Conference
- Government Relations
- Continuing education for employees in
the baking industry
- Annual Convention
- Committees to serve the industry's
special needs
Consulting Services
Our staff, in consultation
with outside legal counsel, answers members' inquiries on laws and regulations
under the jurisdiction of federal food, environment and safety regulatory
agencies.
Directory
Our directory of current
members is published annually. It lists the names and addresses of all Regular, International and Allied Members of the Association and the
products or services offered by each of the Allied members.
Technical Conference
The Technical
Conference was the
first educational service offered to the membership. The first
"school" was held in 1926 and proved to be one of the most successful
endeavors of the Association. The conference includes presentations on all
aspects of biscuit and cracker production by authorities in their respective
fields. Nowhere outside of this meeting is there a greater assemblage of
biscuit and cracker "know-how." A plant tour of a cookie
and cracker bakery is generally included in the program and is considered a
highlight of the meeting. A table top trade show brings together
the foremost suppliers of products and services essential to the cookie and
cracker industry.
Governmental Relations
The B&CMA keep members
informed about continually changing government affairs issues. The
Association's staff maintains contact with various federal agencies in
Washington, D.C. and expresses the views of its members to such agencies on
regulatory and administrative matters and to Congress on legislative issues of
concern.
Education
The Cookie and Cracker
Manufacturing Course
The Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing Course is an instructional teaching program
developed by industry experts. It is recognized as the authoritative source on
the "up-to-date" cookie and cracker manufacturing process. The course
provides state of the art fundamental technical training for every step in the
baking and production process. The student will be trained to function as a
bakery supervisor with the ability to trouble shoot baking problems and
identify appropriate resources to assist in complex problem solving.
Multimedia
Based Training for the Cookie and Cracker Industry
This state of the art
instructional program contains the fundamental elements of cookie and cracker
production and is appropriate for introductory training or as a refresher course
for bake shop operator employees. The course material is presented in
four (4) separate CD-ROMs: Ingredients; Mixing; Forming; Baking.
The multimedia based training program is specifically designed to guide
the student through each of the learning objectives while allowing them to
progress at their own pace. The program is offered in both English and
Spanish.
Annual
Convention
The Association sponsors an Annual
Convention at
which it brings together well-known speakers from the fields of government,
management and marketing. Included at the Convention is the Annual Membership
Meeting wherein the activities of the Association during the past year are
reviewed and future plans are announced. The Annual
Convention offers
an excellent opportunity for members to meet others in the industry and discuss
the latest innovations and industry trends.
A number of committees have been established to deal with
particular concerns of the cookie and cracker industry. Committees also
provide input to the Board of Directors to assist in policy determination.
Committee membership consists of representatives from member companies thus
ensuring that the views of individual B&CMA members are recognized and used
to their best advantage.
Membership
Categories
When becoming a member of
B&CMA you can be classified as one of three categories; Regular Member,
International Member, and Allied Members. The definitions are described below.
- Regular Membership includes manufacturers of biscuits
(cookies), crackers or kindred products and are located in the United States.
- International Membership includes manufacturers of biscuits
(cookies), crackers or kindred products and are located outside the United
States.
- Allied Membership includes suppliers of products or
services to the manufacturers of biscuits (cookies), crackers or kindred
products.
For more information contact:
The Biscuit and Cracker Manufacturers' Association
6325 Woodside Court, Suite 125
Columbia, Maryland 21046
Telephone: (443) 545-1645
Fax:
(410) 290-8585
E-Mail to: kkinter@thebcma.org
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