Robert M. Beavers

Chairman and CEO

Bio
Best Harvest's co-founder Robert Beavers, Jr. began his 37-year career at McDonalds Corporation as a part-time crew employee and eventually earned the title of senior vice president and election to the board of directors.

Bob is the majority owner of Best Harvest Bakeries, Best Diamond Packaging, Best Chicago Meat Co. and Best Diamond Plastics.

• Best Harvest Bakeries produces baked goods that supply nearly seven hundred McDonald's Restaurants in six states throughout the Midwestern US.
• Best Diamond Packaging produces 25% of the napkins served by Burger King and McDonald's in the Southeastern US.
• Best Diamond Plastics manufactures straws to the Quick-Service restaurant industry.

In addition to the manufacturing operations, Beavers is Chairman of Beavers Real Estate Management (BREM).

He is involved with many philanthropic and community organizations, such as the Chicago Zoological Society and the Hinsdale Hospital. Bob is also a Washington & Jefferson College trustee and a member of the board of Nicor Gas.

Edward Honesty, Jr.

President and Chief Operating Officer

Bio
Before partnering to form Best Harvest Bakeries, Ed was Managing Counsel for the Great Lakes Division of McDonald's Corporation. As Managing Counsel, Ed led a team of lawyers in Business Counsel, franchising and real estate matters. His legal career at McDonalds spanned 20 years and included numerous honors and professional recognition including McDonald's President's Award and the Golden Arch Partners.

To ensure the success of Best Harvest Bakeries, in 1999 Ed supplemented his management experience with hands-on commercial baking management experience and courses at the American Institute of Baking and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

In 1999 Ed also moved to Kansas City, where he became actively involved with area community development. For six years Ed served as Chairman of the Local Advisory Board for the greater Kansas City chapter of LISC. In addition Ed has joined the boards of Swope Community Enterprises and Swope Community Builders; he is a board member of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Ed is also on the Starlight Theater Board; he is a board member of Prep KC and Ed is on the advisory board of the Kansas City Ronald McDonald House.

Brandon Beavers

Vice President

Bio
Brandon Beavers began his career with the Northern Trust Co. in 1997. In 2000, one of Brandon's first responsibilities at Best Harvest was to design a customer service program that now serves more than 675 McDonald's restaurants in addition to the U.S. military.

Today Brandon conducts case analysis and modeling for new business and acquisitions. He advises the CEO and COO on strategic planning and organizational issues, and most recently was promoted to President of Best Crouton.

Consistency

Statistical Process Control tracks the weight of each dough piece. We document each step of the process to ensure all of our products fall within customer specifications and optimal efficiency is achieved.

Our employees - some of whom have worked here since our first day 24 years ago - take great pride in producing consistent, high-quality products for every Best Harvest customer.

Precision

Modern, well-maintained equipment allows us to produce buns and rolls with maximum efficiency. For example, when our buns exit the oven at 200 degrees F, they're too hot to be sliced. Our meticulous attention to detail is evident in our use of a bun cooler, pictured here, to lower their temperature to 90-95 degrees. This important quality control step allows us to slice buns properly, avoiding the rough, ragged edges of bread that's been sliced too warm.

Cleanliness

As part of the third-party verification and certification process, we employ to guarantee customer safety, the American Institute of Baking audits our facility for sanitation and HACCP twice a year.

Quality

Best Harvest's Bun Quality Initiative (BQI) team participates in national and regional performance teams and training programs, the best practices of which we implement in our bakery. In addition, BQI team representatives from all McDonald's bakeries, along with McDonald's Quality Lead, meet quarterly to establish new directions in bakery production, to determine new program to implement, and to evaluate new food-safety equipment.

Freshness

By following strict guidelines in the freezing process, our frozen bun program produces a product with a consistent 60-day shelf life in its frozen state and an additional 48-hour freshness window once thawed.

Service

At Best Harvest, our communities are our customers, so we visit all the McDonald's restaurants we serve to ensure the high-quality buns that leave our counter are just as fresh when they reach your customer.

• Market surveys that track our effectiveness and document any issues that might arise with our product or packaging.
• Customer service monitoring that lets us see what our customer sees and hear their concerns first hand.
• A representative from our customer service department visits each restaurant we serve at least once each year, with opportunity restaurants visited more often.

With these tools and employees, we constantly improve our processes and make a positive difference in the restaurants we serve.

Best Harvest By the Numbers

Here are some of the numbers behind our large-scale production capabilities:

Our Capacity

• 29,000 square feet in our high-speed bakery
• 3,000 square feet in the freezer

Our Production

• 21 to 22 million dozen buns each year
• 19 to 20 million pounds of flour used each year
• 2.5 million pounds of sugar used each year
• Best Harvest supplies the buns for 675 McDonalds in the Midwest

Our People

• 53 employees
• 12.1-year average years of service for our managers

Best Harvest Strives to Be the Best

Best Harvest is committed to providing quality products and services to our customers. Our bakery began operations in 1984, and our 15 managers and supervisors collective average more than 12 years of service.

Every department contributes to our reputation for consistently delivering quality buns and rolls to our customers. Our production team takes ownership of every product we bake. Engineers keep our equipment operating with precision and accuracy. And our meticulous sanitation team keeps a detailed cleaning responsibilities calendar, to which it rigorously adheres.

Our outstanding Quality Assurance Team regularly reviews the entire bakery operation to ensure we follow HAACP procedures. Using statistical process controls, the team strives to maintain the excellent quality and consistency of our products.

Throughout the year we receive unannounced inspections by the American Institute of Baking, our customers and other third-party organizations.

Customized Order Expertise

Best Harvest utilizes modular customization to accommodate your special orders. Prices are determined by product specifications and quantity ordered, with a minimum order of 10,000 dozen and staggered delivery options.

• Defect-free, grain-based products that include white, egg-flavored, wheat, rye, sourdough, potato roll, hoagie roll, hot dog bun, Kaiser and sausage rolls
• Water splitters for artisan splits on bun and roll crowns
• Spray system application of egg wash, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or cornmeal
• Single and double slicing for club and triple-decker rolls
• Pillow-packed delivery; fresh or frozen

• 5 3/4-inch x 2 1/2-inch sausage roll
• 3 1/2-inch diameter -- 9/16-inch height hamburger bun, soft roll
• 4-inch diameter -- 9/16-inch height hamburger bun
• 4 1/8-inch diameter -- 1 1/8-inch height club-slice bun
• 4 5/8-inch diameter -- 1 1/8-inch height deluxe bun
• 5 1/2-inch x 2 1/4-inch hot dog bun
• 5 5/8-inch x 2 7/8-inch French bread, sourdough roll or hoagie roll

Best Harvest Customers

Our customer care environment is unsurpassed in the grain-based product industry, thanks to the extensive corporate background of our founders, our modular customization, and our single-customer focus.

We've dedicated ourselves to building strong relationships and providing our clients with products that are formulated and baked for their specific needs. Our freezer-to-freezer connection with our distributor preserves our strict storage parameters, enabling us to promptly deliver the highest quality product.

McDonald's Corporation
Best Harvest supplies the hamburger buns, specialty buns and soft rolls for greater Midwest McDonald's, a market that represents 675 restaurants.

The Kansas Speedway
Best Harvest supplies one of NASCAR's hottest racing venues with hamburger and hotdog buns as well as other specialty breads.

Innovative Products Set Us Apart

Best Harvest has been recognized by the Brigadier General of the Defense Supply Chain Philadelphia (DSCP) for the dedication and support we've shown during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Our 36-month shelf-stable hamburger bun allows DSCP shipments of them to remain fresh for troops on active duty.

Fact Sheets

Coming Soon!

Best Harvest Affiliates

Best Diamond Packaging - Kinston, North Carolina
This napkin supplier serves 25% of McDonald's domestic restaurants and 20% of Burger King's. Chairman - Bob Beavers, President - Kevin Thorne

Best Diamond Plastics - Chicago, Illinois
Best Diamond Plastics manufactures straws, cutlery and other products for the quick service restaurant industry. Chairman - Robert Beavers, Jr., President - Mark Tolliver, Executive Vice President - Robert M. Beavers III

Best Croutons - Chicago, Illinois
Best Croutons, formerly Quality Croutons, is one of the oldest minority suppliers to McDonald's. Best Croutons' customers also include Burger King. President - Brandon Beavers

Best Chicago Meat Co. - Chicago, Illinois
Once Jemm Foods, Best Croutons Meat Company continues the original company's half-century tradition of manufacturing individually quick-frozen hamburgers for retail and food service. President - David Van Kampen

Business Executives Parlay Expertise Into Bakery Success

Bob and Ed enjoyed a combined 55 years of service with McDonald's Corporation prior to forming an enduring partnership with Fresh Start Bakeries. In May 1999, Bob partnered with Fresh Start Bakeries' management team and employees to purchase the company's international 14-bakery organization from Campbell Soup.

Fresh Start was a premier baked goods supplier to McDonald's for more than 34 years before Bob and Ed purchased majority interest in the company's Kansas City bakery. Their partnership became the foundation for Best Harvest.

Best Harvest Becomes a Premier Bread Producer

Best Harvest Bakeries is a minority owned and certified, single-line soft roll bakery with production capacity in excess of 3000 dozen per hour.

Best Harvest, which supplies both McDonald's and the United States military, was honored by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce as a "Top Ten Kansas City Small Business of the Year" by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in 2004.

Customer-Focused Service Paves the Way to Future Growth

Best Harvest's accomplishments are rooted in its outstanding people and local supplier relationships. We are working to expand our facility and increase our 48-person team to in preparation for new sales opportunities and future growth.

The Satisfaction of Giving Something Back

Best Harvest doesn't just believe in taking care of its employees and customers. Community service has long been a passion of founder Ed Honesty, one that he's instilled in his employees.

Ed has served on the Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which supports redevelopment in metropolitan neighborhoods. He's also a member of the Community Development Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, among other activities.

Watch this space for Best Harvest-related news, including events, press releases, and company awards.

We're Commited to a Common Goal
Whether they work in our front office or on the production line, Best Harvest employees provide customers with the very best breads and rolls that meet or exceed their standards as well of those of their customers.

Through clear communication and a company-wide emphasis on personal responsibility, our departments and the individuals in them create a workplace that people enjoy while producing the high-quality breads and rolls for which Best Harvest has become so well known.

Taking Pride in Diversity
We strive to maintain a workforce that mirrors the diversity of the local community. By providing training and consistent feedback for all employees, our management team develops internal initiatives that identify and promote employees who exemplify excellence.

Cultivating Workplace Excellence
Best Harvest is proud to produce the best breads and rolls, and that sense of pride is evident in every aspect of operations, including:

• Ongoing education opportunities for employees
• Impeccable cleanliness and safety records
• Management-level commitment to social responsibility and community partnerships

Consider a Career with Us

Review our current openings and apply below, or submit your application for future reference. We will keep your resume application on file for one year and contact you if we have a relevant opening during that time.

Apply Now

Qualified candidates should send resume and salary history or apply in person to:

Best Harvest Bakeries
530 South 65th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66111-9998

Ph: 913.287.6300
Fx: 913.287.5408
Email: mailto:humanresources@bestharvest.com