INDUSTRY NEWS
ABB will acquire ASTI MOBILE ROBOTICS GROUP, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, which has a broad portfolio across all major applications enabled by the company’s software. The acquisition will expand ABB’s robotics and automation offerings, providing the company with a complete portfolio of flexible automation technologies. For more information, visit “ABB expands robotics line to include autonomous mobile robots with acquisition.”
ENDRESS+HAUSER and HAHN-SCHICKARD have created a joint venture entitled ENDRESS+HAUSER BIOSENSE to develop equipment and methods for fast molecular analyses. The goal is to provide options that enable rapid, onsite molecular analyses for the detection of bacterial or viral contamination in water and beverages, and genetic modifications in food or contaminated milk. The joint venture will be located in Freiburg, Germany. (See People section for management team.) In another announcement, E+H shared news about an expansion of its partnership with sales representative Field Instruments and Controls in the Pacific Northwest region.
ALLPAX, a product brand of PROMACH, completed its move to a new facility in Covington, La., which more than doubles the size of its offices and manufacturing area from 40,000 to 86,000 sq.-ft. In a second doubling, Allpax has increased the size of its business by 100% in the past five years.
PREGIS, a global manufacturer of protective packaging, announced an $80 million investment in a new, state-of-the-art blown film extrusion facility in Anderson, S.C.
PROAMPAC, a supplier of flexible packaging and material science, has acquired APC PAPER GROUP, a producer of recycled paper packaging products for food service and retail markets. ProAmpac also announced the acquisition of ULTIMATE PACKAGING, a pioneer in flexographic and digitally printed flexible packaging.
WEIDMÜLLER has acquired the team and assets of EMPHATEC INC., extending the Weidmüller Group’s portfolio to PLC migration and C1D2 (Class 1 Division 2) solutions.
GOYA FOODS is pledging $2 million to combat child trafficking, and to launch Goya Cares, a global initiative dedicated to working with organizations to combat trafficking and help victims of these crimes.
LAÏTA NUTRITION, a European dairy cooperative, has announced that its nutrition division is pursuing a strategic focus on plant-based ingredients as consumer demand increases for plant-based products.
BOSCH REXROTH has revamped its e-commerce portal, The Rexroth Store.
NESTLÉ RESEARCH in Lausanne is working with FUTURE MEAT TECHNOLOGIES, a cultured-meat start-up, to explore the potential of cultured-meat components that do not compromise on taste or sustainability.
SOLENIS, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, is joining forces with PULPEX LIMITED and its global consortium partners to collaborate on the ongoing evolution of the Pulpex eco-friendly paper bottle. Pulpex is a new sustainable packaging technology company established by venture management firm Pilot Lite and spirits producer Diageo. The company has developed the world’s first widely recyclable PET-free paper bottle made from sustainably sourced pulp.
ALLIED ELECTRONICS & AUTOMATION has expanded its suppliers and selection of facilities maintenance products, adding almost 20 new suppliers and with more than 3,000 products in their inventory. New suppliers in the facilities maintenance category include Dykem, DYMON, Kimberly-Clark, NYCO, SCRUBS, Spray Nine and Zep.
MICROWAVE TECHNIQUES LLC of Gorham, ME. and Nashua, N.H., has acquired the assets and IP of N.C.-based INDUSTRIAL MICROWAVE SYSTEMS LLC from LAITRAM LLC.
FANUC CORPORATION, supplier of CNCs, robotics and factory automation has announced the production of its 750,000th industrial robot. Currently, FANUC is capable of producing 11,000 robots per month in fully automated factories that use its own robots to make robots, controllers and machine tools.
C&S WHOLESALE GROCERS INC., an industry supply chain solutions and wholesale grocery supply in the U.S., has entered into a definitive agreement with Piggly Wiggly Midwest with the intent to purchase the Wisc.-based wholesaler. Piggly Wiggly Midwest operates corporate stores and services independent franchisees under a chain-style program.
RM2 announced the grand opening of the company’s newest automated pallet wash and sort facility in Birmingham, Alabama.
TRUVANT, a global provider of scalable packaging and display solutions, opened a new facility in Indianapolis. The latest expansion supports the growing Truvant company portfolio and increases its operational footprint to 15 facilities around the world.
DOT FOODS INC. has earned certification as a “Great Place to Work.” This marks the first time Dot has partnered with Great Place To Work.
SUJA LIFE, California-based producer of cold-pressured, organic beverages, announced its acquisition by PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and co-investors.
PRESSED JUICERY announced a rebrand to Pressed.
LAMBAY IRISH WHISKEY AMERICA will be the exclusive importer of Lambay Irish Whiskey in the U.S. and throughout the Western Hemisphere.
TELEDYNE TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED completed the acquisition of FLIR SYSTEMS INC. FLIR will now be included in Teledyne’s Digital Imaging segment and operate under the name Teledyne FLIR.
JONGERIUS HANCO B.V., (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) has been acquired by the BLUEPRINT AUTOMATION GROUP. Jongerius Hanco BV is a supplier of multi-packaging (bag-in-bag) systems in the secondary packaging industry worldwide.
PLANTERRA FOODS, a plant-based protein start-up company based in Colorado, announced a Master Collaboration Agreement with MYCOTECHNOLOGY, a food ingredient company.
SLEEVER MACHINES GROUP launched an interactive web platform to present its expertise in machines and services, designed to support its customers in their ecological packaging transition.
SMURFIT KAPPA GROUP has completed the acquisition of CARTONBOX, a folding carton company located in Monterrey, Mexico.
ABBEY LOGISTICS announced the acquisition of South-West based liquid tanker specialist WELCH HIRE, which includes the company’s customer base and tank hire business.
HANWELL SOLUTIONS LTD, UK manufacturer of wireless environmental monitoring equipment, has made the decision to change its name to ELLAB to reflect the integration with Danish parent company Ellab A/S, which acquired the company in 2019.
GRUBMARKET completed the acquisition of PACIFIC FARM MANAGEMENT, a full-service farm management services company in California, Oregon and Arizona. The company also acquired TERMINAL PRODUCE in New York.
PEOPLE NEWS
SMITHFIELD FOODS INC. appointed SHANE SMITH, a two-decade veteran of the company and, most recently, its chief strategy officer, as president and chief executive officer. Smith will succeed Dennis Organ. Prior to becoming chief strategy officer, Smith served as executive vice president of Smithfield’s European operations. Photo: Smithfield
Endress+Hauser and Hahn-Schickard have created a joint venture called ENDRESS+HAUSER BIOSENSE GMBH, which will be managed by (left) Managing Director DR. NICHOLAS KROHN. In addition, DR. STEFAN BURGER (center) and DR. MARTIN SCHULZ (right), who obtained their doctorates in the field of molecular diagnostics at the University of Freiburg, will round out the management team. Photo: Endress+Hauser
BECKHOFF USA hired DON SHANKLIN as its Great Lakes district sales manager. Based in the Cleveland area, he will work to boost market share gains and increase sales from wide-ranging manufacturers and machine builder OEMs throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and northern Kentucky. Photo: Beckhoff Automation
CLASADO BIOSCIENCES, a global supplier of prebiotic ingredient and product solutions for the human gut microbiome, has strengthened its long-term digital strategy with the appointment of a new Head of E-Commerce CATHY ERWIN. Photo: Clasado Biosciences
PSSI, food safety and contract sanitation provider, appointed DOUG WHITE to the newly created position of chief operating officer and promoted JAKE WATTS to its executive leadership team as senior vice president of shared services. In his new role as COO, White will continue to work directly with the executive team and operational leadership to drive PSSI’s company strategy and vision. Watts, entering his new role as SVP of Shared Services, will provide direction and leadership over the safety, food safety, sales, and marketing functions to ensure resources and programs are aligned to support the overall strategic direction of PSSI. Photos: PSSI
WAGO hired DANNY WOODLIEF as its new electrical contractor and wholesale specialist for the Eastern U.S. He received his bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from Southeastern Flight School and holds diplomas in Industrial Distribution, Engineering Technology, Marketing and Voltaic Energy. Photo: WAGO
MCEVOY RANCH President SAMANTHA DORSEY celebrates her 20th anniversary since she began her career on the Garden Team in 2001 before becoming farming manager in 2013. In 2016, she was promoted to general manager, and then became the company’s president in 2019. Photo: McEvoy Ranch
TOMPKINS SOLUTIONS, a supply chain consulting and services firm, named RANDY PRICE vice president of the material handling integration division. In this role, Price will be responsible for engaging with customers on new and legacy projects and overseeing the engineering and controls teams for the division. Photo: Tompkins Solutions
TALKING RAIN BEVERAGE COMPANY, the maker of Sparkling Ice beverages, announced the promotions of three corporate leaders. ADAM LAPP has been promoted to senior vice president of sales, NINA MORRISON to senior vice president of community experience, and KEN SYLVIA to chief operating officer. Photos: Talking Rain Beverage Company
ERIEZ has selected ERIC ADAMS to serve as managing director for the company’s newly established Eriez Deutschland GmbH, based in Recklinghausen, Germany. Eriez also announced the promotion of GARETH MEESE to regional sales director-EMEA. Meese—formerly Eriez-Europe sales director—will now direct, align and support Eriez’ strategic sales efforts over a wider geography, including Europe, the Middle East, India and Northern Africa.
BENSON HILL announced that BRUCE BENNETT will join the company’s Executive Leadership Team as president of its Ingredients business segment.
FUTURE FARM, a fast growing, plant-based meat company, has appointed former head of Red Bull North America and 25-year industry veteran ALEXANDRE RUBERTI as CEO of its U.S. business.
SHENANDOAH GROWERS filled two key C-suite management positions. MATT RYAN, former chief marketing officer for Starbucks Inc., has joined Shenandoah Growers as the company’s chief executive officer. MIKE BUCKLEY, most recently senior vice president of business for Postmates, joins as chief financial officer.
Global food processing and packaging solutions provider, TNA SOLUTIONS, has announced the appointment of MAGDY EL DESSOUKY as general manager for North Africa.
HIGH LINER FOODS INCORPORATED appointed ANTHONY RASETTA as chief commercial officer. Rasetta brings extensive experience in developing, marketing and selling multinational food and snacking brands.
MATRIX MEATS, developer of nanofiber scaffolds to support the production of clean cultivated meat products, welcomed the following new employees: NICHOLE BROWN, director of operations; KEVIN DO and MITCH KAHN, project engineers; and HARDY CASTADA, PhD, senior food scientist.
Global packaging company TRICORBRAUN appointed SUSAN BERGETHON as senior vice president and general counsel. Bergethon’s appointment marks TricorBraun’s first in-house general counsel.
