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Plant efficiency
Food processors are under increasing pressure not only to be leaner but also to be greener. In this series, we look at environmental management systems, how computer modelling can cut energy bills, ways to cut water usage by almost a third as well as the feasibility of recycling waste into energy.
MWV lowers F&B profit expectations after maintenance issues
MeadWestvaco (MWV) Corporation has dropped the profit it expects from its Food and Beverage segment to between $45m-$50m after unanticipated costs and lower productivity.
Stora Enso continues site investments
Stora Enso is to invest in a Swedish mill and explore converting a machine from paper to containerboard in Finland to increase operational efficiency.
Graphic Packaging to shutter UK site with 170 job losses
Graphic Packaging is to close one of its UK sites resulting in the loss of up to 170 jobs following its acquisition of Contego Packaging.
Ecolab expands Brazilian research center
Ecolab has expanded one of its research centers in Brazil to keep pace with the strong growth of the business in the country and throughout Latin America.
Solar cells to power refrigeration in cold storage warehouse
Dagab is to install more than 400 solar cells to power its cold storage warehouse in Sweden.
Ardagh signs supply agreement with ConAgra Foods
Ardagh Group is to invest $250m in two new can making facilities to convert the majority of ConAgra Foods’ shelf-sized cans from traditional 3-piece can to flexible DWI (Drawn and Wall-Ironed) technology.
Sonoco invests in flexible packaging
Sonoco Flexible Packaging is to expand its Morristown, Tennessee facility with an investment of $9.7m which will create 26 jobs.
Amcor invests £1.3m in UK site
Amcor is investing £1.3m in one of its UK facilities including installing a new production line that will help to safeguard 53 jobs.
Novelis invests in evercan launch site
Novelis has completed a £1.7m (US$2.5m) upgrade at an aluminium can recycling plant which will serve as a launch production site for the evercan aluminium beverage can body sheet.
Sealpac highlights at IFFA 2013
Sealpac has outlined flexibility, material savings and traceability as the main benefits of its integrated machinery, during a recent trade show in Germany.
O-I expands alliance with Emhart Glass
O-I has expanded its strategic alliance with Emhart Glass to supply glass forming machines and parts to all their plants from Q2 this year.
Sealed Air targets savings in organisational restructure
Sealed Air has announced a program aimed at annual savings of $80m by the end of 2015 but said impact this year would be “minimal”.
PLM part of holistic approach for industry
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is still emerging in food and beverage with growth expected as more firms take a holistic approach, according to the president of CIMdata.
Toppan builds “mother factory” to focus on flexible packaging
Toppan Printing Co., is investing 27bn Yen (US$292m) in what it described as the “mother factory” in Japan in anticipation of flexible packaging growth overseas.
Ball Corporation to close Illinois site
Ball Corporation is to close a food and aerosol packaging manufacturing facility with the loss of 245 jobs by the end of the year.
Nampak to boost beverage business with investment
Nampak is to invest in equipment to boost its bottle and can producing business to meet growing market demand.
Netzsch does the Rumba to optimise chocolate processing
Netzsch has claimed that it offers an energy efficient chocolate production process as its grinding and liquid-conching processes run simultaneously in different equipment.
Crown reviewing UK plant after decline in food packaging sales
Crown Food Europe has launched a consultation process with staff at its Worcester, UK site due to declining food packaging sales.
Bühler invests in optical sorting at new centre
Bühler Sortex has invested in the latest optical sorting technology as part of the facilities at the customer service centre it plans to open on February 25 in East London.
‘That’s intralogistics’: Krones secures stake in specialist Klug
German beverage filling and packaging giant Krones has bought a 26% stake in German intralogistical supplier Klug, and says it will stop supplying such solutions through its loss-making in-house business.
Operational Efficiency 2012: Free Access To Today's First Ever Dedicated Online Event!
Register now for free access to today's first ever online event devoted to Operational Efficiency in food and beverage processing, organized by FoodProductionDaily.com and William Reed Business Media.
Breakthrough CIP cleaning tech ‘more progressive than prog rock’: Radical Waters
Carla Fiford, of Radical Waters, tells Ben Bouckley at InterBev 2012 why Electro Chemical Activation (ECA) is a ‘breakthrough’ cleaning technology that brings beverage bottlers cost and sustainability benefits.
Kraft files patent for flexible chocolate depositor
Cadbury UK and Kraft Foods R&D in the US have filed a patent application for an improved chocolate depositor that the companies claim allows manufacturers to better meet output demands and cope with new formulations.
Linpac invests in plants and packaging
Linpac Packaging is investing an extra €3m in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) extrusion and automation at Ritterhude, Bremen, on top of €6m in the past two years spent there and at Beeskow, Brandenburg.
Ardagh invests in European food can line
Ardagh has invested €10m in a two piece drawn, walled and ironed (DWI) food can line in the Czech Republic.
New heat recovery system saves money: WP Green
Bakery firms can cut costs with a new system that reuses hot gases emitted from ovens to heat and make water for an entire production facility, head of WP Green says.
ConAgra Foods fined for wastewater permit violation
A ConAgra processing plant has been fined $1,625 for exceeding the limit for disposal of nitrate.
BASF to shut two EPS plants in Asia
BASF is to shut two sites in Asia by the end of the year, citing overcapacity and low margins.
Dry Lube predicts sustainable revolution for dry lubrication
Dry Lube says that one barrier to de facto use of dry lubrication technology for glass packaging lines is wariness among site engineers following imperfect past trials using rival products.
Sonoco third quarter earnings outlook hit by maintenance problems
Sonoco has lowered its earnings guidance for the third quarter of 2012 due to unscheduled downtime and lower than anticipated volumes.
Totally Green receives $20m to simplify food composting
Totally Green has partnered with York Plains Investment Corp. to support their aim of diverting food processing waste from landfill.
Tetra Pak expands industrial performance business
Tetra Pak has acquired a Brazilian control systems specialist to strengthen their manufacturing monitoring technology.
Coke plans to roll-out 'first of its kind' water recovery system from 2013
The Coca-Cola Company has developed and tested a ‘first of its kind’ beverage process water recovery system that it says could save up to 100bn litres per year if adopted across its bottling network.
Quail meat processor hit with almost $100,000 of proposed fines
Quail International was cited for 23 violations totalling more than US$92,000 (€75,000) by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Industry consolidating in terms of machinery purchases - PMMI report
Industry is focussing on current rather than new vendors and rebuilt packaging machinery, according to a report from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI).
Spartech Corporation to upgrade US plant but close Canadian site
Spartech Corporation has announced it will upgrade its food packaging manufacturing facility in Indiana later this year but will close a plant in Canada by 2013.
FoodDrinkEurope sets out sustainability initiatives up to 2030
FoodDrinkEurope has launched a report outlining its goals to move towards more sustainable food and drink production by 2030.
Day Two: Relive Anuga FoodTec 2012 in pictures
Relive the best of the action from day two of the major processing and packaging show ongoing in Cologne, Germany this week.
Electron beam ‘breakthrough’ sees Tetra Pak hit carton hyperspeed at Anuga
Tetra Pak has unveiled what it claims is the world’s fastest carton filling machine – over 11 units per second – and says the concept was only realisable due to the launch of new eBeam non-contact and dry sterilisation technology.
Multivac launches stand-alone end-of-line conveyor systems
Multivac has unveiled two stand-alone conveyor systems with adjustable lanes and speeds that can be retrofitted to thermoforming packaging machines.
Tetra Pak’s production doubles at factory in China ‘due to demand’.
Tetra Pak say a new production line at one its plants in China will boost output to 20bn liquid dairy cartons annually to ‘keep up with market demand’.
Novel dairy waste disposal process offers significant savings on anaerobic digestion, UK firm
Lindhurst Engineering has successfully tested microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology to help dairy processors dispose of waste streams and generate energy, and MD Martin Rigley told Dairy Reporter.com that an installation could cost 75% less than its anaerobic digestion equivalent.
New production line will save time and cut costs - Nampak
Nampak claims that newly installed printing technology will reduce food packaging production costs and shorten delivery times by up to eight weeks.
Coke takes Turkish delight in potential for 'built-in' sustainability
The Coca-Cola Company says that it has opportunities to build sustainability in to its plants in the emerging markets such as Turkey, through integration of best practice and the latest, most efficient technology.
Processors could reap benefits from new UK anaerobic digestion plant
Food producers can cut costs and boost environmental credentials by recycling food waste at a new anaerobic digestion plant in Wiltshire, UK, according to the firm behind the facility.
Miracle metal could usher in food safety revolution, scientist
Copper could usher in a food safety revolution within processing plants, according to the author of a new study that revealed the metal’s impressive ability to kill deadly E.coli pathogens.
State-of-the-art serrated plastic pipe cleaning tech unveiled by Arla
The UK arm of Scandinavian based dairy giant Arla has installed a new ‘state of the art’ pipe cleaning technology at its creamery in Stourton that it says will help it reduce product waste and save water.
Ultrasonic clean for baking tins can cut lifetime costs – Caresonic
Ultrasonic cleaning machines for baking tins can produce better results faster and reduce long-term costs compared to high spray washing, according to UK based technology firm Caresonic.
Krones chairman presents ‘ultra compact’ bottle washer
Krones has launched what it describes as an ‘ultra compact’ single-end bottle washer designed specifically for beverage manufacturers with small to medium outputs.
Line performance analysis means a ‘win of money’ for producers, Krones
German engineering giant Krones is at the forefront of IT solutions to allow close line performace analysis to help beverage manufacturers avoid downtime, and the firm’s IT solutions sales manager Timo Frankl told BeverageDaily.com and FoodProductionDaily.com that the company’s solutions ensured efficient production and a ‘win of money’.
Eco friendly methane trucks optimise supply chain for Nestle
Nestle UK has scooped an award for its use of methane trucks that has reduced CO2 emissions by 14% compared to diesel trucks with further potential to slash emissions in half.
Developing world 'grid reliability' issues speed effluent energy uptake, General Electric
Worldwide beverage industry uptake of effluent energy generation solutions depends on the cost of local power, while grid reliability problems are also encouraging uptake in the developing world.
‘Next generation’ bottling system will slash costs, claims KHS
KHS has launched a new filling system that it claims will increase product safety for consumers and effect cost reductions via simpler cleaning and maintenance.
Favourable tax changes boost Finnish can boom, Rexam
Positive changes to the Finnish tax regime have encouraged a rapid transition from bottled to can beer in the country, according to consumer packaging giant Rexam.
EMS offers food processors benefits and challenges
Environmental management systems (EMS) can be a good tool for food processors looking to achieve the twin goals of improved productivity and corporate responsibility.
Should anaerobic digestion plants be on the menu for food processors?
The financial and eco-benefits of investing in anaerobic digestion (AD) technology to generate energy from food waste is something that all processors should be considering, said InSource Energy.
Consultant reveals the secrets behind water efficiency
Food and drink processors can achieve savings of up to 30 per cent on their water and effluent bills without even having to resort to major capital investments.
Computer modelled heat recovery could slash processors' energy bills
In the first part of a special edition on plant efficiency, we look at the results of a recently published Australian project, which found that a combination of computer modelling and dehydrator redesign can cut energy bills in half in dried fruit manufacture.
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Key Industry Events
The International Dairy Foods Association’s International Dairy Show 2013
Chicago / Conference and exhibition
