Since the recent passing of CEO Tom Giacomini, JBT Corporation had asked Brian Deck to fill in as interim president and CEO. On December 14^th, JBT made it official. Deck has been appointed president and chief executive officer. He has also been elected to the Board of Directors. Deck has served as interim president and CEO of JBT since June 2020 and previously served as the Company’s chief financial officer since 2014.

Baldwin Richardson Foods, one of the largest Black family-owned and operated businesses in the food industry, has promoted Erin Tolefree from Chief Operating Officer to President.

Informa Markets, show organizer of Fi Europe CONNECT, announced the winners of this year’s Innovation Awards and the Startup Innovation Challenge for their groundbreaking offerings during virtual award ceremonies held on December first and second.

Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, is the largest cooperative food wholesaler in the United States. The company, with sales of more than $10 billion, is planning and building a leading-edge, highly automated full-range logistics center in Hernando, Mississippi,

Flexco CEO Richard A. White recently announced the appointment of three new business leaders, as well as new reporting structures designed to promote better alignment of programs and activities to bring highly-valued solutions to its customers more efficiently and quickly.

Hispanic Cheese Makers-Nuestro Queso has announced an expansion to its facility in Kent, Ill. The $15 million expansion will include new processing and packaging equipment, expanded cooler space and additional capacity to meet further expansion needs.

Kezzler, a global provider of supply chain traceability and serialization technology, has signed a master service agreement (MSA) with Bayer to provide track and trace capabilities for seed origins. Bayer—a life sciences company with more than 150 years experience in healthcare and agriculture—and Kezzler have had an existing working relationship for the last four years.

People and industry news in food and beverage manufacturing for October 2020