CPC technology class · A21

A21C - Machines Or Equipment For Making Or Processing Doughs

Machines or equipment for making or processing doughs; handling baked articles made from dough. 581 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

581
US patents granted: #2/3
in A21: 27.4%
A21 class share: +2%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Machines Or Equipment For Making Or Processing Doughs ranks #522 of 670 CPC technology areas - 581 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 2% over five years.

#522
of 670 CPC technology areas: 581
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Radie B V
leading assignee (29): +2%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A21C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A21C recorded 273 grants versus 267 in 2015–2019 (+2% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 68 grants and bottomed in 2017 at 47 (+45% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Radie B.V. holds 5.0% of the class ; the top three share 12.4%.

Leaderboard read

A21C concentration, lead at 5.0%

Radie B.V. leads this historical grant record at 5.0% of A21C - foreign corporation assignees hold 55% of class grants (187 of 341). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 5.0%
Top three share: 12.4%
Lead over #2: 2

Where A21C sits inside A21

Among 3 subclasses in A21 (BAKING; Edible Doughs), A21C ranks #2 and holds 27.4% of the parent class's 2,120 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A21D 993 A21B 546

Rising assignees active in A21C

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Primera Technology, Inc. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 11 in A21C
#2 Nichirei Foods Inc. 11x 1 → 11 company-wide · 6 in A21C
#3 Food Machinery Engineering, Lmtd 2.50x 2 → 5 company-wide · 6 in A21C
#4 Fritsch Bakery Technologies GMBH & Co. KG 2.00x 2 → 4 company-wide · 9 in A21C
#5 Lawrence Equipment, Inc. 2.00x 2 → 4 company-wide · 9 in A21C

A21C grants by year, peak 2024 (68)

US utility-patent grants per year in A21C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 2% versus 2015–2019.

Radie B V

29
General Mills

27
Rheon Automatic…

16
Haas Food Equipment

15
Primera Technology

11
Gea Food Solutions…

10
Creator

9
Lawrence Equipment

9
Fritsch Bakery & Kg

9
Intercontinental…

8
24/7 Pizza Box

8
Frito-lay North…

7

What this shows Radie B V is the most active filer in A21C, holding 29 of the 581 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A21C
Rank	Company	Patents in A21C
#1	Radie B.V.	29
#2	General Mills, Inc.	27
#3	Rheon Automatic Machinery Co., Ltd.	16
#4	Haas Food Equipment GMBH	15
#5	Primera Technology, Inc.	11
#6	GEA Food Solutions Bakel B.V.	10
#7	Creator, Inc.	9
#8	Lawrence Equipment, Inc.	9
#9	Fritsch Bakery Technologies GMBH & Co. KG	9
#10	Intercontinental Great Brands LLC	8
#11	24/7 Pizza Box, LLC	8
#12	Frito-Lay North America, Inc.	7
#13	Kellogg Company	7
#14	Nissin Foods Holdings Co., Ltd.	7
#15	Zimplistic Pte. Ltd.	7
#16	Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik GMBH & Co. KG	6
#17	Nichirei Foods Inc.	6
#18	Food Machinery Engineering, Lmtd	6
#19	Anko Food Machine Co., Ltd.	6
#20	Werner & Pfleiderer Lebensmitteltechnik GmbH	6

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A21C assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A21C's 581-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A21C (#522 of 670 by volume ; lead share 5.0%) - not the A21 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C06B 579 B42C 578 D04C 584 B41N 568

Nearest by lead-assignee share

E21D 5.0% A22C 5.0% H03J 5.0% B07C 5.0%

Questions about A21C

Which company holds the most patents in A21C?

Radie B.V. leads A21C with 29 patents (5.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 55% of class grants.

Which A21C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A21C, Primera Technology, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (11x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 11 in 2022–2024) while holding 11 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A21C compare inside parent class A21?

Inside A21 (BAKING; Edible Doughs), A21C ranks #2 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 27.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A21D (993 grants).

What to do with this data

A21C in context - here's where to go next.

Radie B.V. leads A21C with 29 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A21C ranks #522 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A21, the largest sibling subclass is A21D with 993 grants. Explore A21D

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A21C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (581 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.