https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/rss/2683 en-us Thompsona@bnpmedia.com (Alyse Thompson-Richards) Food and beverage manufacturers are investing in equipment and training despite difficult economic conditions.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/103289 Tue, 14 Oct 2025 07:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/103289-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-in-2025 Thompsona@bnpmedia.com (Alyse Thompson-Richards) AI, automation and consumer trends continue to drive change in food and beverage manufacturing, according to our 2025 State of Food Manufacturing survey.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/103287 Mon, 06 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/103287-whats-driving-change-in-food-manufacturing Manufacturers are consistently investing in their manufacturing processes as costs are finally starting to come down, albeit slowly.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/102540 Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/102540-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-in-2024 Survey results show an increase in demand for products, but supply chain and labor issues are preventing food manufacturers from a corresponding increase in revenue.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/101381 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/101381-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-in-2023 costam@bnpmedia.com (Michael Costa) In order to understand what factors are shaping the industry today and what obstacles operators face in 2022, Clear Seas Research, a B2B market research firm, recently surveyed processors about a wide range of today’s industry challenges, and here are some of the highlights from that report.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/100394 Wed, 06 Jul 2022 09:10:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/100394-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-in-2022 During the Women in Food Manufacturing segment, the keynote covers how to turn an idea into a brand, which is followed by a women’s panel discussion.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99879 Mon, 13 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99879-women-in-food-manufacturing-lessons-learned-and-strategies-to-succeed For the second time in as many years, FE’s annual Food Automation and Manufacturing Conference was held quite successfully on line—rather than in person—due to the persistent COVID-19 pandemic.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99878 Mon, 13 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99878-engineering-keynote-shows-persistent-staffing-supply-chain-problems-for-design-upgrades-and-planning Laughmanc@bnpmedia.com (Casey Laughman) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99571 Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99571-supply-chain-challenges-arent-going-away Laughmanc@bnpmedia.com (Casey Laughman) Food Engineering’s annual State of Food Manufacturing shows processors are still responding to the effects of COVID-19.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99538 Mon, 05 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99538-the-state-of-food-manufacturing Food Manufacturing Getty Images/Oksana Kuznetsova Laughmanc@bnpmedia.com (Casey Laughman) Constant changes, huge swings in demand or shifts in consumer behavior, employee safety, and a general uncertainty about what comes next are all present in the 2020 State of Food Manufacturing Survey.

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99124 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/99124-2020-state-of-food-manufacturing-survey bottles on production line The COVID-19 pandemic dominates the conversation this year among food and beverage processors surveyed by Food Engineering for the 2020 State of Food Manufacturing. Photo courtesy of Getty Images Location Gross Throughput More than half of respondents expect their throughput to increase over the next year, but almost a quarter expect it to go down due to a COVID-19 driven downturn in the foodservice market. (View full-size chart.) Process Control Hardware/Software Purchase Almost two-thirds of respondents expect to purchase process control hardware or software, which is in line with responses in a normal year. (View full-size chart.) Structural Changes in the Past Year One of the most common responses to a question about structural changes was supply chain changes, as processors found out where the weak links were when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. (View full-size chart.) robotic food packing Robotics are more common in food and beverage processing every year, but a number of respondents expect them to play a bigger role as COVID-19 reshapes the industry Photo courtesy of ABB Laughmanc@bnpmedia.com (Casey Laughman) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/98519 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/98519-state-of-food-manufacturing-survey processing line Food and beverage makers give much of their attention to improving efficiency on the line and automating on a budget, according to Food Engineering’s survey of industry leaders. Photo courtesy of Getty Images Workforce-1.jpg More than half of respondents say their workforce hasn’t changed. For respondents whose workforces have changed, hiring due to growth is the main reason. Budgets.jpg More than half of respondents say their budget for production, processing and packaging equipment has increased this year. Process.jpg Most respondents say their company will be purchasing process control hardware or software this year. This slide shows the breakdown of what processors expect their companies to buy. Laughmanc@bnpmedia.com (Casey Laughman) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/97799 Tue, 09 Oct 2018 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/97799-food-engineerings-2018-state-of-food-manufacturing-survey schugd@bnpmedia.com (Debra Schug) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/96847 Fri, 11 Aug 2017 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/96847-state-of-food-manufacturing-2017-survey Structural Changes chart Over a third of respondents to our State of Food Manufacturing Survey report changing a process at their company during the past year. Another 30 percent said that their companies have added manufacturing staff or a new line, or have expanded/renovated an existing plant. Location Gross Throughput chart Roughly half of the respondents report that throughput is up at their plant locations, as well as their companies, and is expected to grow in 2017 compared to last year. Company Gross Throughput chart Roughly half of the respondents report that throughput is up at their plant locations, as well as their companies, and is expected to grow in 2017 compared to last year. Process Control Hardware/Software Purchases chart 80 percent of respondents expect their respective company locations to purchase process control hardware/software in 2017. There is also a jump in companies planning on buying food safety management software. Changes to Improve Employee Engagement chart Half of respondents have improved their training programs since last year in order to improve employee engagement at the operator level. http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/96193 Wed, 05 Oct 2016 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/96193-state-of-food-manufacturing-shows-increased-sales-food-safety-issues bottles on production line 10 reasons for increase in throughput Process control hardware/software Over a third of respondents’ process control hardware and/or software purchase plans for 2016 include PLCs (38 percent) and/or digital sensors/transmitters (36 percent). Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. 10 trends that change operations Continuous improvement systems in use Total quality management is the most reported continuous improvement system in use in 2016, reported at 41 percent. In 2015, those implementing lean manufacturing represented the highest number at 44 percent. Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. Food safety methods in use More than two-thirds of respondents indicate their companies are using a food safety management system and/or have a recall plan in place. Fewer (61 percent) say they have a lot-level traceability system in place this year compared to last year (76 percent). Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. Budget allotment for equipment The overall percentage of budget for production, packaging and process control equipment; software; and professional services has increased slightly in 2016 from the previous year. Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. Location and company throughput In 2016, 57 percent of respondents expect their location gross throughput to increase by 14 percent compared to 2015; in 2015, 71 percent expected their throughput to increase by 14 percent compared to 2014. In 2016, 60 percent of respondents expect their company’s gross throughput to increase by 13 percent compared to 2015; in 2015, 70 percent expected an increase of 13 percent compared to 2014. Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. Current and targeted OEE On average, processors targeted an overall equipment effectiveness of 74 percent on average, but report 68 percent as their current OEE. While 39 percent of respondents targeted an OEE of 81 to 90 percent, only 26 percent realized an OEE score in that range. Both target and actual scores decreased significantly this year. Source: FE’s 2016 State of Food Manufacturing Survey. What issue about your current plant/facility keeps you up the most at night?

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/94287 Thu, 06 Aug 2015 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/94287-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-its-all-about-throughput ]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/92698 Thu, 04 Sep 2014 15:01:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/92698-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-the-need-for-speed  Processors beef up food safety measures and invest in automation to remain competitive. 

]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/91305 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/91305-state-of-food-manufacturing-2013-slowly-trending-upward higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/89599 Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:30:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/89599-the-state-of-food-manufacturing higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/88811 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:24:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/88811-the-state-of-food-manufacturing higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/88113 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:32:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/88113-state-of-food-manufacturing-spending-is-up-as-economy-rebounds higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/87473 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:37:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/87473-state-of-food-manufacturing-br-the-quest-for-continuous-improvement higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) Food Engineering readers weigh in on issues affecting workers and the workplace for food manufacturing.]]> http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/86737 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:53:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/86737-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-br-processors-address-changing-priorities higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/85850 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:27:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/85850-state-of-food-manufacturing-br-the-quest-for-continuous-improvement higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/85446 Sat, 02 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/85446-state-of-food-manufacturing-br-the-quest-for-continuous-improvement higginsk@bnpmedia.com (Kevin T. Higgins) http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/83324 Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.foodengineeringmag.com/articles/83324-the-state-of-food-manufacturing-br-processors-address-changing-priorities