Processing equipment

Supply chains need to adapt to technology trends

17-Feb-2017 By Gwen Ridler

Manufacturers need to adapt their supply chains to the latest technologies or risk losing out to the competition, warned logistics specialist Fowler Welch.

Bakery pays £5,250 for bread basket misuse

15-Feb-2017 By Matt Atherton

Bristol-based Anstee’s Bakery had to pay more than £5,000 in costs and damages to Bakers Basco, after using its bread baskets without permission.

Sandwich maker’s assets to be sold at auction

13-Feb-2017 By Matt Atherton

Sandwich manufacturer S&L Catering – which has ceased trading and appointed liquidators on February 2 – is to have its assets sold at auction.

Ensure forklift truck productivity in cold stores with eight top tips

06-Feb-2017 By Rick Pendrous

Advice is now available to support improved productivity of forklift trucks operating in cold store environments from RTITB, the regulatory body for workplace transport training.

Crisp manufacturer fined £330k for hand slice

13-Jan-2017 By Gwen Ridler

A crisp manufacturer has been ordered to pay more than £340,000 for safety failings, after an agency worker lost the tops of three fingers.

Chicken processors latch on to automation of lines

19-Dec-2016 By Alyson Magee

The UK may be leaving the EU, yet the poultry-processing sector is following the lead of its European neighbours by embracing automation.

More than 90 jobs to be axed at biscuit manufacturer

16-Dec-2016 By Gwen Ridler

More than 90 jobs at biscuit manufacturer Rivington Biscuits are to be axed, after the falling value of the pound plunged the company into administration.

Pay fears for drinks factory staff

14-Dec-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Pay restructuring at Cott Beverages’ West Yorkshire drinks factory could cut skilled workers’ wages, according to employees at the site.

Protesters picket pig production plant

14-Dec-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Animal rights protesters have picketed a food factory in Northern Ireland, in hope of raising awareness around what it claimed was “the cruelty of animal slaughter” involved in putting meat on supermarket shelves.

Amazon launches zero checkout store

09-Dec-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Online shopping giant Amazon has opened its first physical grocery store in the US, which allows consumers to pick up their purchases and walk out, without queuing to pay at a checkout.

Biscuit manufacturer creates 40 jobs

30-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Up to 40 jobs have been created at a biscuit manufacturer in Gateshead, after the company’s new £1.2M bake oven and production line became fully operational.

Food park could create 1k jobs

28-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Up to 1,000 food and drink jobs could be created in Pembrokeshire, after plans were unveiled for a new food park.

Control valves that do away with compressed air

25-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Two new electromotive process valves have been introduced by Bürkert that offer precision control without the need for compressed air.

Peristaltic and sinusoidal design for clean transfer

25-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

The latest development in peristaltic and sinusoidal pump technology is said to raise the game in clean pumping for all food applications, according to its supplier Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group.

Lobe pumps provide reliability

25-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Alfa Laval SRU rotary lobe pumps have been engineered to provide reliable performance, trouble-free operation and good energy efficiency for demanding applications in the dairy, food and beverage sectors.

Pistons help retain meat texture

25-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

An award-winning V-shaped piston pump – the V-Pump – is available from Marel, which, when used with its RevoPortioner 70 processor, allows up to 5,000kg of convenience red meat products an hour to be produced.

Coca-Cola Scottish factory gets £2.3M investment

25-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has invested £2.3M in its Scottish operations this year, funding the development of a new water treatment plant at its East Kilbride site.

Food manufacture engineers see 4% boost to pay

17-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Pay for engineering graduates – including those in the food and drink industry – has risen by 4% since last year, according to a new report from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.

Coca-Cola opts for vendor-managed spares inventory

17-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Coca-Cola European Partners’ (CCEP’s) Wakefield factory, which is said to be the largest soft drinks plant by volume in Europe, is ensuring it has the highest levels of productivity through a close partnership with its strategic supplier of industrial...

Marshmallow maker Boomf installs robotic ultrasonic cutter

17-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Personalised confectioner Boomf has installed a robot-controlled ultrasonic cutter at its factory in Reading to keep up with demand for its range of marshmallows.

Big savings on offer from improved energy efficiency

16-Nov-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Many food and drink manufacturers are still reluctant to take advantage of efficiency savings, which will not only cut their energy bills but also reduce their environmental impact, it has emerged.

Arson attack causes food factory blaze

14-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

A blaze at a food processing plant has been confirmed as an arson attack by West Yorkshire Police.

Carlsberg brewery gas leak leaves one dead

11-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

One person has died and another is in a serious but stable condition following an ammonia leak at Carlsberg’s Northampton brewery.

Fire crews rush to Tangerine factory fire

04-Nov-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Teams from North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue were called to a fire at Tangerine Confectionery’s factory in York this week.

Furniss Biscuits boosts production capacity with a new steel band oven

31-Oct-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Furniss Biscuits, the Cornish biscuit manufacturer, which is part of the Proper Cornish Group, has recently installed a new steel band oven at its Redruth bakery.

Crank it up and cream it off

31-Oct-2016 By Paul Gander

What approach should small dairy processors use to invest in equipment in order to increase their product quality and innovate? Paul Gander reports.

Food firms: fatal injuries and prosecutions

26-Oct-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Over the past year, more than 20 food and drink firms have been fined for health and safety failings. Four of these prosecutions were for fatalities.

Sandwich manufacturers are ‘cautious’ about technology

26-Oct-2016 By Michelle Perrett

Sandwich manufacturers are “cautious” about being the first to market with a fully-automated sandwich systems.

Bacon slicing into stacks or shingles gets a big production boost

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Back bacon processors can boost their productivity with a new slicing machine from Norwich-based Thurne.

Dicer comes with and without conveyors

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

The latest addition to the Urschel line of dicers, the Sprint 2, builds on the technology of the DiversaCut Sprint dicer and is inspired by its Model G.

Dicers that handle a variety of meats

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Holac dicers, available from food processing equipment specialist Reiser, offer high versatility, enabling them to produce a variety of product shapes and sizes.

Precision portions from boneless poultry cutter

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

It has been designed for cutting boneless, non-frozen poultry products to fixed weight or uniform dimensions.

Post-cook heat reduction and chilling combined in a single unit

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

A new approach to hot product cooling prior to blast chilling or freezing has been introduced, which cuts the large costs of ‘double handling’ usually needed.

Tims Dairy boosts yogurt output with handling unit

29-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

Buckinghamshire yogurt maker Tims Dairy has increased its production to 200t a week with the aid of new end-of-line handling systems supplied by UPM Conveyors.

Me and my factory

Direct Table Foods aims to boost pork productivity

15-Sep-2016 By Noli Dinkovski

Direct Table Foods is bucking the nationwide fall in meat sales by increasing productivity through investment, director Rob Nugent tells Noli Dinkovski

Fruit crisp firm’s £150k investment boosts expansion

12-Sep-2016 By Gwen Ridler

Expansion into US and European markets is planned for fruit and vegetable snack manufacturer Nim’s Fruit Crisps, after it received £150,000 of investment.

Manufacturers warned about rubber seals

07-Sep-2016 By Rick Pendrous

The recent recalls linking own-label chilled yogurt to rubber contamination have led one rubber seal and gasket supplier to warn of the potential dangers of using cheap imported materials in manufacturing processes.