Food Manufacturing

Airknives reduce clean-down times

TasteTech, specialist manufacturer of 'controlled release' flavourings and ingredients for applications in bakery, confectionery and chewing gum products has recently increased production and cut machine clean-down times by employing airknives in a novel way.

30th November 2011

Should you aim to be the leanest and fittest?

The redoubtable Mrs Simms is in training for her second marathon. Or at least she was until a rather nasty cold struck her down, leaving her somewhat under the weather.

8th November 2011

Celebrating great new ideas and inventions...

If I remember correctly - and it's been a long time - my school days seemed to lurch from one fad or craze to the next, that emerged from nowhere and ran for a few weeks, before inevitably being banned after things ended in tears, usually because of loss, theft, arguments or some perceived health hazard (probably along the lines of "if somebody were to swallow that..." or "you could have someone's eye out..."). And if my kids' school is typical, nothing much has changed. There always seems to be something new that they have to collect and trade. Recently it was elastic bands in the shapes of different animals. Currently it is creature shaped erasers. I don't know what they do with them, but I do know that I've spent two successive weekends trawling around different stationers' looking for rubbers that no one else at school would have yet.

1st October 2011

HBM celebrates 25 years of ISO 9001 certification

HBM is celebrating the the 25th anniversary of its ISO 9001 certificate - Number 000001. Since HBM was awarded the first certificate, the quality management of 45,000 companies in Germany have been certified in accordance with ISO 9001; globally, the figure exceeds one million.

14th September 2011

Free training courses in Hygienic Processing

Burkert is running a second series of Free training courses dealing with the critical subject of Hygienic Processing. Burkert's UK and Eire Marketing Manager, Helen Christopher, comments: "We certainly appear to have struck a chord with the training courses that we are providing for the process, food, pharmaceutical and bio-medical sectors. Our Steam Training courses were quickly oversubscribed, so we are now providing more to meet the demand. The new Hygienic Processing courses are also the result of feedback from our customers regarding the specific types of training that they require to meet the continuing challenges they face, both from competitive markets and also as a result of the demands placed upon them by increasingly stringent regulatory regimes."

25th August 2011

HepcoMotion ALR aluminium rings to be unveiled at PPMA Show

HepcoMotion will be on Stand G61 at the 2011 PPMA Show to promote its linear motion products, ex-stock components, custom designs and multi-axis systems complete with motion control.

13th August 2011

R. A. Rodriguez to launch new products at PPMA Show

R. A. Rodriguez will be on stand E70 at the 2011 PPMA Show, with the stand's theme being automation, and the company explaining to visitors how it has the ability to address a wide range of needs, from the supply of simple plug-and-play robots or compact drives, through to bespoke, multi-axis and programmable handling systems. R. A. Rodriguez will also launch a new conveyor roller development to the UK market, giving those in the food and beverage processing and packing industries a highly cost-effective alternative to stainless steel rollers.

13th August 2011

ABB helps clear ice pigs for take-off

ABB is supporting the development of a technology that is set to revolutionise cleaning operations in food and drink, water, nuclear power and other process industries. Invented at the University of Bristol, "ice pigging" promises big cost reductions and environmental improvements in a wide range of cleaning operations.

29th July 2011

UK tourism booms with PLC magic

The Suffolk coastal resort of Southwold is booming as the 'staycation' becomes the holiday of choice for many British families. One of its most popular attractions is the refurbished pier which, thanks to Mitsubishi controllers and a truly original-thinking engineer, combines Edwardian elegance with surreal amusements.