Muhtar Kent, president and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company, and Jeffrey P. Ansell, CEO, Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, were elected to the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s board of directors. 

Yogen Früz, an international frozen yogurt company with more than 1,100 locations in 20 countries, will open multiple stores throughout the US. Some initial locations include Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Chicago; Houston; Dallas; Miami; and upstate New York.

Casa de Oro Foods, LLC sold its Louisville, KY manufacturing facility and business to Mesa Foods, Inc.

American Dairy Products Institute appointed Dale Kleber as its new CEO. Kleber has more than 20 years’ experience in dairy and food-related businesses.

Sealed Air opened the Cryovac Flavour Mark Retort Laboratory at Clemson University. Located in Clemson’s packaging science department in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, this teaching, research and service facility will provide hands-on learning about food packaging, especially shelf-stable retort packaging.

PMMI inducted five new members to the Packaging Hall of Fame at PACK EXPO International 2008. This year’s presentation honored Jim Goodman, Goodman Packaging Equipment; Tom Lowery, Ethan Allen; Ben Miyares, PMMI; Eric Nord, Nordson Corporation (posthumously); and Herb Schueneman, Westpak Inc.

Mark Klossner was appointed to vice president and general manager of the Altra Engineered Couplings Group.

Siemens IT Solutions and Services, a division of Siemens AG, named John E. Evers Jr. president and CEO of its business in the US and Canada.

The Reusable Packaging Association appointed Jerry Welcome as president. Welcome has more than 16 years’ senior-level management experience in the produce industry and served as vice president of the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI).