Gardner Pie Company turned to Benchmark Automation to develop a series of conveyors to support manufacturing and packaging of baked and frozen pies without damaging tender, flaky crusts.
Bakeries that view bearing selection through the lens of heat stability, contamination control and energy efficiency will reduce disruption and protect both product integrity and margin.
Manufacturers are improving operator safety through third-party services, such as continuous training from OEMs, risk assessments and new production line approaches from consultants. In addition, digital training at the machine level is increasing operator safety.
Operator safety is becoming a critical lever for performance in food and beverage manufacturing. As workforce challenges intensify, processors are investing in automation, advanced HMI design and safer equipment to improve both retention and productivity.
In an industry where product quality increasingly determines competitive advantage, the ability to see what you're processing isn't a luxury — it's a fundamental requirement for profitable operation.
A synthetic dye that was once stable across wide pH ranges, heat loads and storage conditions may be replaced with a pigment that behaves very differently under shear, thermal cycling or light exposure.
There are two key points in the lifecycle of food packaging where sustainability gains can be made: end-of-line and end-of-life. At first glance, these terms may appear interchangeable, but they describe distinct stages of food packaging manufacturing.
Black & Veatch’s Kim Lovan and Carrie Woehler discuss how food and beverage manufacturers are implementing automation, considerations for vetting solution providers, and how automation projects have evolved.
Through precision fermentation, engineered microbial “cell factories” can generate specific proteins that can serve as next-generation food ingredients.
Fermentation has evolved into precision fermentation, utilizing biotechnology to engineer microorganisms that produce high-value food ingredients. These "cell factories" create proteins and compounds, enhancing quality and reducing environmental impact.
By integrating modern pump technology, hygienic design principles, clean-in-place (CIP)-ready systems and energy-efficient components into the plant layout from the start, manufacturers can reduce waste, secure lower long-term operating costs and meet stringent food safety requirements.
It used to be that if you used one particular vendor’s automation products or sensors, you were locked in forever. With today’s open standards-based networks, users are no longer locked in and can shop around for sensors, industrial PCs, PLCs and industrial network devices.