The three major areas of focus in food and beverage manufacturing are cost management and margin protection, more sustainable manufacturing focused on energy usage and waste reduction, and the improvement of food safety. To stay competitive, processors are concerned about quality product, packaging and manufacturing innovation. Since most processors have similar business strategies, flawless and timely execution differentiates the leading companies from their competitors, says the study.
Key automation products to help processors get control of their processes include enterprise asset management, motion control, laboratory information management systems, plant asset management, AC drives, programmable controllers, distributed control systems, process safety systems, HMIs, field transmitters and valves, process engineering tools, real-time process optimization and production management.