Processing Equipment & Systems, Automation, Control

McVitie's and Jacob's lines to go back into production at flood-hit UB factory

04-Mar-2016 By Vince Bamford

United Biscuits’ factory in Carlisle is set to resume production – three months after being severely damaged by flooding.

Museum of the Future 2018

Swisslog debuts ‘Robot of the Future’ in Dubai

03-Mar-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Swisslog, which manufactures automated machines for warehouses and distribution centers, has debuted its CarryPick robot at Dubai’s Museum of the Future.

Weetabix recalls Oatibix Flakes over rubber contamination fear

29-Feb-2016 By Vince Bamford

Weetabix Food Company has recalled four batches of its Oatibix Flakes in the UK over fears they may contain pieces of rubber.

Mühlenchemie and partners invest $6.5m in upgrading flour technology center

25-Feb-2016 By Vince Bamford

Flour treatment specialist Mühlenchemie and partner companies DeutscheBack and SternEnzym have invested €6m ($6.5m) in research facilities.

Heinz speeds up customer response time and process orders

19-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Esker has partnered with Heinz Iberica to automate its order management process.

Disappointing bioavailablility results for UV vitamin D2 fortified bread

16-Feb-2016 By Louisa Richards

Vitamin D2 from UV-irradiated yeast maybe a cheaper and more ecological way to fortify bread but it shows poor bioavailability in humans, suggests EU-funded research. 

Avure to expand its HPP capabilities in Mexico

11-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Avure plans to expand its HPP (high pressure processing) capabilities across Mexico by hiring Edmundo Romo as business development manager for the region.

Blendhub Corp to host first international event in Dubai

04-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Blendhub Corp. will host its first international event, the ‘Professional Network’ to coincide with Gulfood 2016, in Dubai, on February 24.

Kettle Chips recalls UK products over plastic contamination fear

04-Feb-2016 By Vince Bamford

Kettle Foods has recalled a number of packs of its Kettle Chips in the UK over fears they may contain pieces of plastic.

ISM & ProSweets 2016

LHT Consultancy and Eagle Vision create Dirty Tray Vision system

01-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

LHT Consultancy and Eagle Vision are showcasing their Dirty Tray Vision system (DTV) at ProSweets 2016 this week, which can get rid of problems associated with poorly filled starch trays in the confectionery and bakery industry.

ISM & ProSweets 2016

PWR Pack expands its production facilities as it moves into 3D robotic grippers

01-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

PWR Pack, which supplies robotic packaging to the food manufacturing industry, is expanding its production facilities as it moves into 3D grippers.

ISM & ProSweets 2016

tna on ‘growth mode’, controlled portion packaging and ‘good for you’ food processing

01-Feb-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Controlled portion packaging is continuously growing and will drive machine speeds to ever increasing heights on the packaging side of the business, according to tna.

Musgrave renews private-label contract with Trace One

28-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Irish retailer Musgrave Group has renewed its contract with Trace One, software company.

Carritech in talks for ColdBake process to enter bakery, snacks and cereal sector

28-Jan-2016 By Vince Bamford

Carritech Research has revealed it is in discussions with bakery, snacks and breakfast cereal companies about bringing its ColdBake technology to market.

ISM & ProSweets 2016 Preview

‘Winners of the pack’ Processing & Packaging round-up ISM & ProSweets 2016

26-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

From Crown’s LED lighting to give seasonal, limited edition, premium biscuits and confectionery a striking on-shelf appeal to Bosch’s WRF 600 Flex roller former for multilayer bars – we round up some of the best processing and packaging machines on show...

Metal contamination fear prompts Sainsbury's own-label bread recall in UK

19-Jan-2016 By Vince Bamford

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's has recalled some of its own-label bread over fear the loaves are contaminated with metal.

Dow doubles capacity for its Methocel MX food grade product line

19-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Dow Chemical Company has completed an expansion, which will more than double capacity for its Methocel MX food grades products line.

KraussMaffei Group to expand in China

12-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

ChemChina, one of China’s largest chemicals group, is set to acquire KraussMaffei Group and its brands KraussMaffei, KraussMaffei Berstorff and Netstal, for €925m.

Keystone Food Products expands snack production

11-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Keystone Food Products has expanded production capabilities at its Easton, Pennsylvania site, adding a series of tna technology to its packaging lines; robag 3ci; intelli-weigh omega 314; intelli-read 3 barcode scanner; intelli air and hyper-detect metal...

EquipNet opens office in Brazil after surge of international firms moving to the region buying pre-owned equipment

08-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

EquipNet has opened an office in Sao Paulo because it says it has seen an increase in the use of pre-owned F&B manufacturing equipment, due to an increasing number of international firms moving to Brazil.

OAL wins £60k grant to develop robotic ‘chefs’ to speed up food processing

05-Jan-2016 By Jenny Eagle

Olympus Automation Ltd (OAL) has received a £60,000 grant from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative to develop robotic ‘chefs’ in food manufacturing.

Genius gluten-free bakery to expand further into frozen food sector

17-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Genius Foods gluten-free bakery will expand further into the frozen food sector following its acquisition of frozen pie-maker Chapel Foods.

Körber acquires Efacec Handling Solutions

17-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Körber technology group has completed its acquisition of Efacec Handling Solutions strengthening its presence across Portugal, Czech Republic, India, Singapore, and Spain.

Dematic completes Reddwerks acquisition

15-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Dematic has completed its acquisition of Reddwerks Corporation, and will operate as a subsidiary of the firm under the tradename Dematic Reddwerks.

Tips for choosing a pump system for food and beverage applications

14-Dec-2015 By Pete Ciorrocco

‘Pumps in food and beverage applications are used to transfer product from one place to another, from unloading rail cars filled with corn syrup for a cola beverage; to dewatering devices and high temperature cooking processes or heat exchangers. 

Biscuiterie Thijs increases its waffle production by over 30% with FANUC M-2iA robots

10-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Belgian waffle house, Biscuiterie Thijs, has increased production by over 30% after installing six FANUC  M-2iA robots to automate its packing line.

60-second interview

What do you do? Christy Draus, Eagle Product Inspection

09-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

As part of FoodProductionDaily’s ongoing series of 60-second interviews with the movers and shakers of the food and beverage industry, we caught up with Christy Draus, marketing manager, Eagle Product Inspection.

‘Proof is in the pudding’ as OAL installs Greencore Grocery autocoding system

09-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

OAL joined forces with Cognex, vision systems and software recently, to present a seminar on the latest vision and ID technologies for the food industry.

The importance of sanitary bottling machinery for foods and sauces

09-Dec-2015 By Krys Beal

‘Bottled food and sauce products, like other spoilable items, require packaging that properly avoids contamination and damage to its contents.

GEA Food expands into the cake and pastry sector

04-Dec-2015 By Jenny Eagle

GEA has moved into the growing cake and pastry sector of the food industry and created a Bakery Experience Center (BEC) in Torrebelvicino, Italy.

Märsch Importshandels to rely on X-ray inspection by next year

27-Nov-2015 By Joseph James Whitworth

Märsch Importshandels has said it intends to rely fully on X-ray inspection by the end of 2016.

Sweet success as bakery installs Loma X-ray inspection machine

26-Nov-2015 By Joseph James Whitworth

Changing retailer codes of practice and business growth have driven a cake and dessert producer to install an X-ray detection machine from Loma Systems.

Campden BRI opens consumer test centre

26-Nov-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Campden BRI has opened a consumer test centre in Leamington Spa, UK, to support new product development and provide consumer research on food and drink products.

OAL cryogenic cooling project to revolutionize ready meal industry

24-Nov-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Olympus Automation Ltd (OAL) has kicked off the first of its kind Advanced Cooking and Cooling Technology project (ACCT) to revolutionize the ready meal industry.

Atlas Copco to strengthen its vacuum technology business with $514m Leybold Vacuum acquisition

23-Nov-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Atlas Copco has agreed to acquire Leybold Vacuum, part of Oerlikon Corporation, for $514m, with the transaction to be completed in the first half of 2016.

Not just quantity: Nofima says think about fiber quality

12-Nov-2015 By Hal Conick

There’s frequently talk that consumers aren’t getting enough fiber in their diets; but are they simply not getting the best quality fiber?

Cryogenic freezing aids cookie manufacturing, says Linde exec

12-Nov-2015 By Hal Conick

An executive at Linde claims cryogenic freezing is allows cookie manufacturers to produce a more consistent product.

Eurofins approved as gluten-free third party auditing company

09-Nov-2015 By Joseph James Whitworth

Eurofins has been inducted into the Gluten-Free Certification Program (GFCP) as a newly trained and approved third party auditing and certification company.

South African population to increase by 7 million by 2050

Eagle Product Inspection strengthens its market position in Africa

06-Nov-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Eagle Product Inspection has partnered with J-Pak, in Africa, to distribute its x-ray inspection systems for applications including bakery, dairy, snacks, confectionery, cereals and grains.

Gulfood Manufacturing 2015, Dubai

PepsiCo: ‘Is sustainability mainstream or faddish?’

26-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

PepsiCo will highlight its sustainability progress across its most significant areas: water, packaging, waste, energy and agriculture at Gulfood Manufacturing 2015, in Dubai, this week (October 27).

Gulfood Manufacturing 2015, Dubai

How to connect driverless cars with flexible food manufacturing

26-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

‘In the food industry we have seen considerable adoption of robots on the packing line but as yet there has been limited use for robots in the processing of raw materials,’ says Jake Norman, business development manager, OAL (Olympus Automation Ltd) Group.

The deep clean: Baker Perkins upgrades Tweedy dough mixer to slash clean time in half

22-Oct-2015 By Oliver Nieburg

Baker Perkins has reengineered its Tweedy dough mixers to ensure machines are thoroughly cleaned far quicker and easier for bakers.

Artisan bread at standard bread cost: Mecatherm touts tray technology

22-Oct-2015 By Oliver Nieburg

Bakery producers in developed markets can create an intermediate category in the bread sector with high quality artisanal bread at low production costs, claims Mecatherm.

tna expands in the Middle East and North Africa

‘It’s essential to become a part of the local culture if you want to achieve global success’

20-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

‘It’s essential to learn about and eventually become a part of the local culture if you want to achieve global success’, says tna as it expands in the Middle East and North Africa.

Treofan to expand in the US as it sees growing market for five layer labels

19-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Treofan has spent €60m in the past two years upgrading its plants in Germany, Italy and Mexico. It also has a sales office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US.

Clean cut: Soreen hires Telsonic UK to cut soft/sticky Malt Loaves into individual portion sizes

13-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Telsonic UK has partnered with Soreen, which makes Original Malt Loaves as well as a range including banana, apple and cinnamon, to test its Ultrasonic technology on soft or sticky products.

Dry milk producer installs Flexicon bulk bag discharger for baked goods, ice cream & confectionery

09-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Franklin Farms East (FFE) in New Jersey, US, which produces dry milk and non-dairy food products used in baked goods, ice creams and confectionery products has installed a Flexicon bulk bag discharger and bag dump station to bring its blending in-house.

Deal will support Hosokawa Bepex’s bakery & grain processing portfolio

Bühler acquires Hosokawa Bepex as it sees a growing demand in emerging markets

07-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Bühler Group has acquired chocolate specialist Hosokawa Bepex, which will be integrated into its Business Area Consumer Foods division.

Donkey Brands partners with FOODesign to increase production of its tortilla chips

01-Oct-2015 By Jenny Eagle

Donkey Brands has partnered with FOODesign from tna, to install an immerso-cook frying machine and quik-coat system for its tortilla chips.

DISPATCHES FROM THE 2015 PROCESS EXPO

Eating it raw: Don't neglect food safety of cereal-based goods at consumer level, warns researcher

17-Sep-2015 By Hal Conick

Ridding grain-and flour-based product contaminants must be considered at every step of processing down to consumer level as consumers may misread labels and eat the product raw, says a food researcher.