At first, it might seem odd that many of the presentations during this year’s Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference focused on people. However, people are at the center of many of the challenges food and beverage companies currently face. FA&M sessions also covered topics such as the increasingly technological environments of modern processing plants and how companies can produce better-quality products.

Gregg Stedronsky, vice president of engineering, global safety and environment and manufacturing excellence for General Mills, delivered the engineering keynote address, “Harness the power of automation and information to achieve manufacturing excellence,” which explored how the application of increasingly available technology affects employees.