William F. Ungashick is the founder of Shick Engineering Company and a true pioneer in the automation of ingredient handling in the Baking Industry. Mr. Ungashick was an Aeronautical Engineer from the University of Notre Dame who spent his formative years selling equipment for Baker Perkins. In those days, commercial bakeries were still loading all ingredients manually into the mixer. His vision of using air to transport bulk ingredients in an automated fashion revolutionized the industry allowing for bakers to take advantage of lower ingredient and labor costs while also increasing production volumes.

With this thought in mind, he moved to Kansas City in 1951 with the intention of establishing a company in a central location to serve the nation. Established in 1956, Shick Engineering Company was his initial corporate entity. Mr. Ungashick always saw it as Shick’s responsibility to be the “ingredient engineering arm” of his customers, allowing them to focus on the art and science of baking and thereby offering complete facility integration of these custom systems. With several patented designs in hand, Shick added manufacturing to its core competencies and became Shick Tube-Veyor Corporation with the professed intent to establish pneumatic conveying as the preferred means of ingredient transfer. By the 196O’s Shick systems existed in many U.S. bakeries as the trusted means of flour management.

Shick then set out to add the automation of many other bakery ingredients to its capabilities. Over the years, ingredient automation devised by Mr. Ungashick and his company encompassed bulk flour, oil, cream yeast and sugar, plus dry and liquid minor ingredients, thus enabling complete recipe management. Many of his early patented designs are still employed to this day.

Mr. Ungashick was named by his alma mater as 1971 Kansas City – Notre Dame Man of the Year for his commitment to his community, his faith, and his fellow man.