The Leading Source for Food Manufacturing News
Heineken To Buy Femsa In $5.5B Deal
January 11, 2010 4:34 am | News | CommentsAMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch brewer Heineken NV said Monday it will buy the beer-making operations of Mexico's Femsa in an all-share deal that values the maker of Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol beers at $5.5 billion, excluding debt. The buy increases Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Heineken's presence in growth markets and cements its position as the world's second-largest brewer by sales.
Can 2010 Be Prosperous Without Manufacturing?
January 11, 2010 4:32 am | by Mark C. Tomlinson, executive director and general manager, Society of Manufacturing Engineers | Articles | CommentsAs January rolls around each year, we tend to make resolutions with every intention on keeping them. By February, however, most have faded away. But if we want manufacturing to emerge from what some call a “Depression,” and support the nation’s economic recovery, then we need to go beyond the annual New Year’s resolutions, and set a number of things into action.
Five Commandments For The Next Industry Leaders
January 11, 2010 4:31 am | by George Young, Founding Partner, Kalypso | Articles | CommentsThis month, the food and beverage (F&B) industry is embarking not only on a new year, but the dawn of a new decade—one driven by the demands of a new consumer reality focused on value, food safety, health and wellness, and environmental sustainability. Near-term, the industry faces a post-recession economy in which the ability to adapt will separate those businesses that soar into success from those that tiptoe into fragile recovery.
Online Training Programs
January 8, 2010 10:11 am | Product Releases | CommentsKey Technology introduces its new Online Training Program for Manta® sorters. With this addition, Key’s Online Training Program now covers all G6 sorters as well as ADR® Automatic Defect Removal Systems and Iso-Flo® vibratory conveyors. This interactive, multimedia curriculum helps processors expand the knowledgeability of employees to better operate Key equipment at peak performance to optimize product quality and maximize equipment uptime while minimizing training costs.
Table Bagging System
January 8, 2010 10:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe new AccuFill™ table bagging system delivers labor savings, cost-saving performance and space efficiency. Completely engineered and built in the USA, these systems are ideal for the full range of meat, poultry and seafood weigh/bagging applications, including breaded, fresh and frozen items.
Paper Packaging System
January 8, 2010 10:08 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe FasFil™ paper packaging system delivers pad-shaped paper for void-fill applications on-line and on-demand. The system uses three pre-set speeds to create custom-length, pad-like paper void-fill material from rolls of 100 percent recycled paper. Capable of producing void-fill output at up to 260 feet per minute, the system easily adapts to on-demand workstations or high-volume continuous feed environments with multiple packaging stations.
What's That Down the Road? A Head?
January 8, 2010 5:22 am | by Dr. Chris Kuehl, economic analyst, Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International | Articles | CommentsWith apologies to the old Red Skelton bit, this is the question that manufacturers are now asking about 2010. The 2009 recession has been replaced by the 2010 recovery but thus far it is hard to tell one from another. If this is the year of recovery what will that mean? How will this coming year be judged? Against the miserable performances of 2008-2009 or by the boom years that preceded them? In some respects both will serve as reference points.
Scientist Disputes Watershed Pollution Study
January 8, 2010 5:01 am | News | CommentsTULSA, Okla. (AP) — A study by the state of Oklahoma showing phosphorous pollution in a sensitive watershed was incomplete, rife with errors and "not scientifically defensible," a scientist testified Thursday in federal court. The testimony targeted Oklahoma's closely watched case against 11 Arkansas poultry companies in a trial that began in September and is expected to run several more weeks.
InBev Cuts 10% Of Western European Jobs
January 8, 2010 5:00 am | News | CommentsBRUSSELS (AP) — Anheuser-Busch InBev SA said Friday it will shed some 10 percent of its west European work force, cutting hundreds of jobs in Germany and Belgium as beer sales slump. The world's largest brewer and the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois employs about 8,000 people in the region.
China's Tainted Milk Kept Secret For Months
January 8, 2010 4:57 am | News | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities secretly investigated a dairy for nearly a year before announcing the company had been producing milk tainted with an industrial chemical, reflecting the country's unease with the transparency needed to restore public confidence in food safety. The Shanghai dairy had been part of one of China's worst food safety crises, the 2008 tainted milk scandal in which six children died and more than 300,000 fell sick after drinking baby formula contaminated with an industrial chemical.
National Pork Board To Meet With Producers
January 8, 2010 4:56 am | News | CommentsDES MOINES, IA (pork.org) — Continuing a practice begun several years ago, the National Pork Board will travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 12 to meet with Ohio pork producers as part of its January board meeting. The board met with producers in North Carolina last January and with California producers the year before that.
Cadbury To Publish Takeover Defense
January 8, 2010 4:55 am | News | CommentsLONDON (AP) — British chocolate and gum company Cadbury PLC said Thursday it will publish an updated defense against Kraft Foods Inc.'s hostile takeover bid next week, followed by a report of its 2009 financial performance. Cadbury will publish its defense on Tuesday, and two days later will report on its profit and loss account for last year.
2nd Labor Trial For Slaughterhouse Manager
January 8, 2010 4:54 am | News | CommentsWATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Court officials say former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin is scheduled to stand trial May 4 on state child labor charges. The trial is scheduled to be held in Waterloo, though it would be moved if an impartial jury can't be found. Judge Nathan Callahan said Tuesday he would set aside three weeks for a trial in which Rubashkin and several managers, including Agriprocessors owner Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, face more than 9,000 counts of misdemeanor child labor law violations.
IR Thermography Improves Food Safety
January 8, 2010 4:41 am | by Jason Styron, FLIR Systems, Inc. | Articles | CommentsJason Styron , FLIR Systems, Inc. In the food industry, it's essential to carefully control the temperature of perishable goods throughout production, transportation, storage and sales. Repeated warnings about infections due to tainted and improperly cooked foods highlight the need for tighter process control.
Carton/Case/Tray Former
January 7, 2010 11:12 am | Product Releases | CommentsThe new Trayfecta S Series Carton Forming Machine uses advanced servomotor drive control of all critical machine motions, allowing the unit to operate at higher throughput speeds and with greater efficiencies than mechanical-drive systems. The S Series also incorporates enhanced ergonomics, such as waist-high carton blank magazines for safer, easier material replenishment.
High-Speed Checkweighing Systems
January 7, 2010 11:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsNew checkweigher systems provide accurate high-speed, in-motion weighing of both bagged and boxed poultry and red meat products against a variety of pre-set “accept” or “reject” parameters. The equipment is specially designed to withstand the rigors of heavy use in virtually all processing environments, and the system can process up to 60 bags or boxes per minute, depending on unit size.
LEED-Approved Water Filtration System
January 7, 2010 11:09 am | Product Releases | CommentsThis LEED-approved combination of filtration technologies—an automatic self-cleaning screen filter at the main water supply’s point of entry, followed by point-of-use filters at each faucet—delivers tap water of a quality equal to bottled water, without the environmental impact associated with the production, distribution and disposal of plastic bottles.
Can't Get No Job Satisfaction
January 7, 2010 5:24 am | by FM Editor-in-chief, Karen Langhauser's | Videos | CommentsJob satisfaction hits an all-time low as researchers find only 45% of employed Americans are satisfied with their jobs.
A Big Gulp of Climate Change
January 7, 2010 5:19 am | Videos | CommentsSome in Greenland would like turn their melting glaciers into cash.
Learn About Chicks In Atlanta
January 7, 2010 5:17 am | Videos | CommentsThe International Poultry Exp will kick off on January 27, as poultry, egg and feed producers and suppliers from around the world convene in Atlanta.
