Dole Foods has opened a new state-of-the-art frozen fruit facility in McDonough, Georgia, Dole's third frozen fruit facility in the United States, complimenting the existing operations in Atwater, California, and Decatur, Michigan. The new facility is approximately 60,000 square feet, fully automated and will have four manufacturing lines which when at capacity can produce 60 million pounds of frozen fruit annually. The operations will package frozen fruit for Dole's retail, food service and private label customers on the east coast.

Once a hacker connects via RDP to any computing system, unless operators take immediate action, the hacker can use this connection to log in at any time in the future, extort money, install ransomware on the computer, and/or sell the connection login/password and other data on the dark web, making an unprotected system available to anyone who wants to purchase the information.

Gray Solutions, a Gray company that provides automation, operations and information services to help food & beverage customers implement smart manufacturing, has reached a merger agreement with Stone Technologies.

The term First Time Fix Rate (FTFR) indicates the percentage of the time that a system manufacturer is able to correct a customer’s equipment issue on the first visit, without the need for a return visit after obtaining additional expertise, information, or parts. For a company with a downed printer that is holding up production, the ability of a supplier to solve the problem quickly is a primary driver of customer satisfaction. As a result, FTFR is an important measurement of the quality of an equipment manufacturer’s service capability, which can in turn be a strong selling point for the company’s systems.

Recent developments from energy providers and equipment suppliers are providing new ways to reduce energy usage and costs. We look at developments on the AI (artificial intelligence) front from Constellation (an Exelon company) and integrating process with heating/cooling systems from GEA, supplier of manufacturing equipment to the food and beverage industry.

A M King has partnered with ALDI U.S. to provide property consulting, design, and construction of ALDI's new facility in Loxley, Alabama. The 570,660-sq.-ft. divisional headquarters and distribution center will service more than 100 stores in southern Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle, which will mark the company's presence in 38 states.

The FDA released its annual Inspection Observation Data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, and once again the data shows an increase year-by-year since 2017 of violations on the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVPs).