2013 May

Sustainability

Energy management: crunching the numbers

Reducing energy usage is an ongoing practice, requiring education and continuing efforts by everyone in the organization.

Wayne Labs

May 13, 2013

There are many paths toward reducing energy and utility usage at plants—some are obvious, but some are not and require the help of consultants and suppliers.

Lift Trucks

Making all the right moves

An integral part of the food and beverage industry supply chain, state-of-the-art lift trucks provide efficiency, economy and ergonomics.

Jaan Koel

May 13, 2013

Lift trucks have taken their own special direction in the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

Tech Update: X-ray & Optical Inspection

New types of foreign material and product flaws detected

X-ray, camera and laser sorting technologies are coming of age in new configurations and applications that improve productivity and reduce false rejects while detecting harder-to-find flaws.

Mikell Knights

May 13, 2013

A new range of contaminants, product defects and packaging imperfections are being spotted by the latest styles of multi-beam X-ray systems and optical inspection technologies.

Food Safety

Inline monitoring aids in food safety and quality

What you don’t measure could kill your brand.

Wayne Labs

May 13, 2013

While it may be said that food safety and food quality are not necessarily interrelated, get lax about either, and you probably won’t have a brand for long.

Editor's Note

It takes a village to achieve modern manufacturing success

Cooperation is key in today’s manufacturing environment.

Joyce Fassl

May 13, 2013

No man or woman, and no department or job title, can function as an island in today’s competitive food and beverage manufacturing environment.

Engineering R&D

Moving dry food sterilization ahead full-steam

A new pasteurization and sterilization approach for dry goods relies on saturated steam to purge pathogenic germs

Mikell Knights

May 13, 2013

In the process, it widens the window of product types treatable by the same unit.

Plant Openings & Expansions: May 2013

May 13, 2013

Greek yogurt maker FAGE USA is expected to begin construction on a $100 million expansion that will double the plant’s output.

Industry & People: May 2013

May 13, 2013

Ted Masters was appointed president and CEO of HART Communication Foundation, the standards foundation for communication technology in process automation.

Food Packaging

Mobile portion control

Flexible packaging delivers on-the-go convenience and single-serving calorie counts.

May 13, 2013

As more consumers snack more often, brand owners provide products in portable, single-serving packs to appeal to these grab-and-go consumers and the retail outlets they frequent.

Food Packaging

Microwaveable popcorn pops in ‘bowl’

A gusseted bowl design with a tear-strip opening moves to Canada to replace the traditional bag for Orville Redenbacher’s microwaveable popcorn.

May 13, 2013

The Pop Up Bowl’s wider mouth, sturdier sides and transparent top and bottom provide a stable serving “dish.”

Manufacturing News

Energy management improves business performance

Ever-increasing energy costs have processors looking for tools to cut wasteful energy usage.

May 13, 2013

One useful tool is industrial energy management software, but determining which software to use can be daunting.

Technology Sourcebook

Used for blending powders or other solid raw materials with a bulk density of 35 lb./cu. ft. or less, Ross 42B Model ribbon blenders come with stainless steel wetted parts polished to a 60-grit finish, a solid-shaft double ribbon agitator for center discharge, knife gate discharge valve and Teflon braided packing.

Technology Sourcebook

Low-temperature chillers

May 16, 2013

With -20°F to 20°F operating temperatures and nominal capacities up to 12 tons in air and water-cooled condensing,

Technology Sourcebook

Spiral ovens

May 16, 2013

Engineered for the high-volume production of poultry, meat, prepared foods and bakery products, Heat and Control spiral ovens are available with an internal, integrated system to enhance product color.

Technology Sourcebook

Stainless steel heater

May 16, 2013

Designed for harsh/damp environments, the Thomas & Betts Reznor VC series stainless steel heater can be used in clean rooms, such as food processing areas, to keep workers warm.

Technology Sourcebook

Nontoxic bird deterrent

May 16, 2013

Bird-B-Gone Bird-OFF oil-based, nontoxic clear gel is made from all-natural, environmentally safe ingredients that also are safe for humans, birds and animals.

Technology Sourcebook

Cleaner/insect repellent

May 16, 2013

Orkin Actizyme floor and drain cleaner uses naturally occurring enzymes and beneficial bacteria to break down grease and grime buildup in pipes, cracks and crevices.

Technology Sourcebook

Fluid bed dryers

May 16, 2013

Witte vibrating fluid bed dryers and coolers feature an optional motorized hoist system that automatically raises the cover and reveals the entire drying or cooling system interior.

Technology Sourcebook

Spiral oven

May 16, 2013

Offering a choice of up-flow, down-flow or dynamic airflow control air through the belt stack, the JBT Stein GYRoCOMPACT (GCO) II-1000 spiral oven suits a range of product and process requirements.

Technology Sourcebook

Compact palletizer

May 16, 2013

The QComp 5G compact palletizer has a robot with a rate of up to 20 picks/min.; the robot can handle loads over 100 lb.

Technology Sourcebook

Seating pins

May 16, 2013

Available in metric sizes, Winco GN 6321.1 seating pins are RoHS compliant and fabricated of tempered, hardened steel.

Technology Sourcebook

Differential pressure gauge

May 16, 2013

Capable of low differential pressure measurement in high-static, wet-wet media applications, the Ashcroft Type 5503 differential pressure gauge is equipped with wetted materials of 316 stainless steel or Hastelloy C.

Technology Sourcebook

Packing vision system

May 16, 2013

Applying case labels based on automated visual case identification, the RedLine vision system prints up to 5 individual labels for a single box or stacked box configurations.

Technology Sourcebook

Viscometer

May 16, 2013

The Hydramotion XL7 online process viscometer stores all instrument-specific data on the transducer.

Technology Sourcebook

Wet surface labels

May 16, 2013

Adhering to damp, wet or frozen surfaces, FOX IV AquaGrip labels can be applied to room temperature or frozen products, film, plastic and corrugated surfaces through water and in temperatures as low as -8°F.

Technology Sourcebook

Pellet frying system

May 16, 2013

The PPM Technologies pellet frying system fries pellet snacks from rings to screws to 3-dimensional potato/starch-based products.

Technology Sourcebook

External threads connectors

May 16, 2013

FasTest FasMate FX connectors provide connections to SAE and NPT external thread profiles.

Technology Sourcebook

Antimicrobial cable

May 16, 2013

Designed for food and beverage washdown areas, canning or bottling process lines and conveyor systems, TPC DEFENDER antimicrobial cable contains a silver ion-based antimicrobial additive to eliminate more than 99% of bacteria and fungi within 24 hrs. of exposure.

Technology Sourcebook

Redundancy controller

May 16, 2013

Blending automation and IT protocols, the WAGO ETHERNET 2.0 750-885 media redundancy controller features 2 redundant networks backed by dual, independent Ethernet interfaces and 1MB of data memory.

Technology Sourcebook

Peanut butter filler

May 16, 2013

Suitable for all peanut butter formulas, the Hinds-Bock 6P‐64H peanut butter filler automatically fills plastic and glass containers ranging from 8 to 64 oz.

Technology Sourcebook

IAQ monitor

May 16, 2013

The E Instruments AMI300 indoor air quality testing instrument monitors CO, CO2, temperature, humidity, airflow (vane and hot wire), air velocity (Pitot tube), current and voltage.

Technology Sourcebook

Washdown AC motors

May 16, 2013

Omega WSS stainless steel washdown AC motors are constructed with windings that are doubled dipped and cured in polyester insulating varnish.

Technology Sourcebook

Salmonella detection system

May 16, 2013

Able to detect foodborne Salmonella, the DuPont BAX system has been certified as Performance Tested method #081201 by the AOAC Research Institute.

Technology Sourcebook

Flow meter

May 16, 2013

The FCI ST100 flow meter has an enclosure that is ATEX and IECEx certified as flame proof and protected from dust ignition.

Technology Sourcebook

Power distributor box

May 16, 2013

Providing energy management that can withstand harsh industrial environments outside of electrical cabinets, the Beckhoff EP9214 power distributor box provides the ability to supply up to 4 NEC class-2 circuits via typical M8 plug connectors.

Technology Sourcebook

Combustible gas detector

May 16, 2013

The General Monitors Model IR400 Point IR combustible gas detector features a 3-second T90 response time to the presence of combustible hydrocarbon-based gases.

Technology Sourcebook

Detectable components

May 16, 2013

Compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act, SLIDEWAYS metal- and X-ray-detectable components for conveyor and food processing equipment provide detection levels that exceed FDA requirements.

Technology Sourcebook

Stainless steel palletizer

May 16, 2013

Washdown safe with components to NEMA 4X specifications, the A-B-C Model 72AGSS stainless steel palletizer is suitable for harsh plant environments with high humidity or moisture or corrosive factors caused by some foods, beverages, chemicals and feeds.

Technology Sourcebook

Static mixer

May 16, 2013

Designed for turbulent flow applications where a high degree of mixing is required in a compact space, the Chemineer Kenics UltraTab static mixer features an integral wall injector upstream of the mixing element that forces flow stream additives through the high-energy dissipation region created by the mixing element.

On Demand Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

On Demand Driven by climate goals, business risk, client interest, and resilience considerations, food and beverage companies are increasingly turning their attention to decarbonizing their production processes.