At Mid Atlantic Baking Company (Baltimore, Maryland), an affiliate of privately held H&S Bakery Incorporated, workforce development is more than a hiring strategy, it is a long-term investment in people, performance, and production capacity.
With deep roots in Baltimore’s industrial and manufacturing landscape dating back to 1943, H&S Bakery Incorporated has grown through its affiliate network, including Mid Atlantic Baking Company, into one of the largest family-owned bakery operations in the United States. Built on a legacy of innovation, operational excellence, and sustained community investment, the company has continuously expanded its production capabilities to meet growing demand across the East Coast. These ongoing investments support a highly complex, 24/7 manufacturing environment that produces essential bread and bakery products for retail and food service partners nationwide, reinforcing a strong and ongoing need for skilled, adaptable maintenance and engineering talent at its East Baltimore facility.
Beyond its scale and production capacity, Mid Atlantic Baking Company also offers a strong foundation of employee benefits that support stability and long-term growth. Team members receive competitive wages, comprehensive health insurance, and access to a 401(k) retirement plan. Following the probationary period, employees also gain union representation, providing added job security and workplace protections. Together, these benefits help create a structured and supportive environment where employees can build experience, develop technical skills, and grow into more advanced roles over time.
”"JARC was recommended to me to learn how to weld, so while I was there (Helping Up Mission) in the program, I was also doing JARC.”
StephanJARC Graduate & Chief Engineer at Mid Atlantic Baking Co.
”Everything was great. It was like going back to school. I think it only took me like one and a half, two months to get the certification.
One of the most impactful additions to the team has been Stephan, a 2016 JARC Baltimore welding graduate, whose journey from entry-level trainee to Chief Engineer reflects both personal transformation and the value of inclusive hiring pipelines.
Stephan first encountered JARC Baltimore while navigating significant personal challenges and rebuilding his life. As he shared: “I was actually at the Helping Up Mission, dealing with personal struggles, and I didn’t have any skills or anything like that. JARC was recommended to me to learn how to weld, so while I was there (Helping Up Mission) in the program, I was also doing JARC.”
For Stephan, JARC Baltimore became a structured pathway into skilled trades. The training environment, as he described it, felt foundational and supportive. With access to workforce supports such as transportation assistance and structured welding training, Stephan progressed toward certification in a matter of months. The outcome was immediate career momentum.
Like many JARC Baltimore graduates, Stephan’s early career journey required persistence and resilience.
After completing training, he entered the workforce and steadily advanced into industrial manufacturing and engineering roles, ultimately building a career that spanned welding, field service, PLC programming, and advanced mechanical systems.
Reflecting on his early career breakthrough, he shared: “The place that I ended up getting hired at, I actually applied for, and they didn’t say anything to me… I kept applying, and then I would keep calling and calling and calling, and I just didn’t let them not hire me.”
That determination eventually led to long-term success, including a position at Better Engineering where he spent over eight years and advanced from entry-level work into global field service operations: “I worked my way up from the lowest position to pretty much the highest position… I was pretty much traveling the world, installing the parts washers… I travelled all 50 states, Poland, Russia, China, Australia, China, Amsterdam.”
Today, Stephan brings that same technical expertise to Mid Atlantic Baking Company, where he serves as a Chief Engineer overseeing a maintenance team of 30–35 employees within a facility that operates continuously: “The bakery had all together probably 700 or 800 employees. We were a 24 hour, seven day a week bakery… So the maintenance department is 30 to 35 people, which is what I oversee.”
His career progression, from $14/hour entry-level work to a six-figure engineering leadership role, illustrates the long-term economic mobility made possible through workforce training and employer partnerships: “I was making $14 an hour… then $15 an hour… and I worked my way all the way up to about 95K to $100,000 a year… and now I make 115K a year, plus bonuses.”
Mid Atlantic Baking Company has also benefited directly from hiring JARC Baltimore graduates. As Stephan explained, the company’s workforce model relies heavily on developing talent internally: “We were having real issues finding mechanics… instead of getting skilled mechanics, we have to hire people that want to learn how to do the job, and then train them how to do it.”
This approach has created meaningful opportunities for new hires entering the manufacturing field, including JARC Baltimore graduates who bring foundational technical training and strong work ethic. Stephan noted the impact of these hires:
“Jacob, he’s a rock star… he’s killing it… he’s good, he’s a good guy.” However, he also emphasized the importance of readiness and workplace expectations in a high-demand production environment: “The people that are coming through JARC don’t always have the best backgrounds, they don’t always have the best track records, but if you give people like that a shot, sometimes they’ll surprise you.”
Beyond workforce outcomes, Stephan also highlighted the value of Mid Atlantic Baking Company as a career entry point:
“I want our bakery to be, you know, not their final career. I want it to be, you know, a lily pad… learn as much as they can and then go somewhere else and make $45, $50 an hour.”
Today, Stephan is not only a success story of JARC Baltimore’s workforce development model, he is also part of the hiring ecosystem that continues to connect graduates to meaningful employment opportunities at Mid Atlantic Baking Company and beyond.
For employers in Baltimore seeking reliable, trainable, and motivated talent, Stephan’s journey demonstrates a clear return on investment: JARC Baltimore graduates do not just fill positions, they grow into long-term contributors, supervisors, and industry leaders.
As Mid Atlantic Baking continues its expansion and modernization efforts, partnerships with workforce programs like JARC Baltimore remain essential to sustaining growth, strengthening retention, and building the next generation of skilled manufacturing professionals in the region.
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