Elias Escamilla
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For more than 20 years, San Antonio-based BE&SCO Manufacturing has been a valued partner of el Restaurante. To help celebrate the company’s 60th birthday, we reached out to Seth Huerta, Director of Sales & Marketing, to discover how this family-owned and operated company grew from a small equipment refurbisher into a leading manufacturer of tortilla, tamale and flatbread equipment used in more than 60 countries worldwide.
el Restaurante: How did Robert Escamilla decide to get into refurbishing and designing bakery equipment? And why tortilla/flatbread equipment specifically?
Robert Escamilla
Seth Huerta: Robert got his start by working alongside his father, Elias Escamilla, who founded BE&SCO in 1965. Back then, the company focused on helping local bakeries by refurbishing old equipment and bringing worn-out machines back to life.
Over time, Robert saw an opportunity to do more than just repairs. He began designing and building new equipment tailored to the specific needs of bakeries and restaurants. Being from San Antonio, tortillas were part of everyday life. It made perfect sense to focus on something so central to the culture and the food.
What was the marketplace for tortilla machines like in the early years of the company?
Huerta: In the early days, the options were limited. Most restaurants either made tortillas by hand or bought mass-produced ones from industrial suppliers. There wasn’t much in between.
How has the industry changed since that time? And how has the company evolved to meet the needs of this new and evolving industry?
Huerta: Over the past 60 years, tortillas have gone from a regional staple to a national favorite. They are now found across all kinds of menus from fast casual to upscale dining. Even grocery stores have embraced this trend, offering more varieties of fresh, on-site tortillas. Meanwhile, operators are navigating new pressures such as staffing shortages, rising costs and growing demand, making it harder to produce fresh tortillas consistently and efficiently.
BE&SCO has adapted to these new challenges by engineering equipment that is faster, smarter, and more efficient, without losing sight of quality. We’ve continued to introduce new safety features, earned international certifications, and build machines that fit in single-location restaurants to growing high-volume chains.
How did BE&SCO decide to focus on restaurant-size tortilla equipment, when most manufacturers serve the industrial-size market?
Huerta: When BE&SCO started designing machines, we noticed a big gap in the market for smaller operators who needed something efficient and reliable but didn’t have the space or budget for massive, factory-sized equipment. BE&SCO stepped in to fill that gap, offering compact machines that gave restaurants the ability to make fresh tortillas without giving up quality or control.
There were huge industrial systems designed for high-volume plants and there was hand production, but very little in between. Restaurants needed equipment that could automate their process, work with smaller teams, and still deliver the authentic quality customers expect. That’s where we stepped in, creating a solution that empowered operators to produce fresh tortillas in-house and on demand.
What technological challenges did BE&SCO have to overcome to create the quality tortilla equipment you now sell?
Huerta: The biggest challenge was finding the right balance between automation, simplicity, and authenticity. Automation can add complexity, so we’ve worked to make sure that never comes at the expense of quality or usability.
We’ve also had to design for flexibility. Our machines need to perform consistently across hundreds of unique tortilla dough recipes, including traditional flour and corn/flour hybrids, as well as specialty blends with different hydration levels, fat content, and textures. In addition, we build for a global market, which means adapting to a wide range of electrical standards, sanitation requirements, and production goals. It took a lot of engineering and real-world experience to make sure our equipment could handle it all without compromising the results.
BE&SCO's equipment has definitely helped a lot of restaurants switch from pre-made to freshly made tortillas. Have you noticed trends in that area? Are more restaurants doing that? How does it help their business?
Huerta: Yes, we’ve seen a strong and steady shift toward fresh, made in-house tortillas, and it continues to grow. More restaurants are realizing that customers can taste the difference, and that kind of quality keeps people coming back. Fresh tortillas do more than improve flavor; they elevate the entire dining experience.
For many operators, making tortillas on-site has also become a way to take control of their business. Relying on pre-made tortillas can leave them at the mercy of supply chain issues, fluctuating prices or inconsistent quality. Producing in-house gives them independence and the ability to meet their needs, regardless of outside factors.
Our equipment helps restaurants keep up with growing demand while maintaining quality and consistency. It allows them to scale production without overloading staff, making it possible to grow their business without sacrificing the product that sets them apart.
To learn more about the products and services BE&SCO offers, click here.
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