HANTEMP Controls Stainless Steel Float-Switch line has expanded to include the new SSLLA adjustable Float Switch.

New designs that allow for flexible width, more compact production space, easier cleaning and better sanitation, all while featuring more technologically advanced controls, have been foremost on the minds of snack and bakery companies in recent months and years when replacing or upgrading their sheeters and laminators.

The human-machine interface (HMI) is essential in an operator’s daily work, as it represents how he or she can use and control the equipment, via technology. These days, using an HMI is all about fostering an easy user experience.

Automation has begun to take over the world of sorting and ingredient handling among snack and bakery products, especially in the area of continuous batching and delivery systems.

Siemens recently announced a limited-time offer, effective until May 31, 2017. Under this program, users of any machine tool with SINUMERIK CNC onboard will receive a variety of additional services, plus training and a 10% discount on spare parts orders. 

In his 1954 compendium of writings, “Ideas and Opinions,” Albert Einstein said that “all knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it.” He put forth this scientific “fundamental truth” in connection to his predecessors Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, tying it to the origins of modern science.

Cold-chain management—an essential aspect of many snack and bakery operations today—has entered a brave new world characterized by sophisticated temperature monitoring and tracking technology connected by the Internet of Things (IoT).

Ross SysCon Control Panels are now offered with wireless connection allowing users to access the PLC system using tablets, laptops and smartphones via Ethernet, WLAN or Bluetooth.

Bühler Aeroglide has introduced a complete moisture control system that helps customers maintain a dryer temperature profile and minimize over drying.  

Hardy Process Solutions announced a new version of the HI 6600 Modular Sensor Systems for PROFIBUS-DP control systems.

The Beckhoff Automation booth (S-6302) will be the center of automation technology (AT) and IT convergence at Pack Expo 2017 in Las Vegas.

Thiele Technologies has announced that it soon will integrate Allen-Bradley control software on SYMACH Palletizers.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, the domestic baking industry consumes an estimated $800 million worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year, as noted in its guide, "Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Baking Industry" (Nov. 2016 update, available on www.energystar.gov).

The food industry is reveling in the digital age with the continual improvement of new technology. More snack producers and bakeries aspire toward alignment with Industry 4.0 ideals

WP Bakery Technology’s tried and tested control system will be launched on the market in the third generation at the iba 2018.

Beckhoff Automation will demonstrate its new AMP8000 distributed servo drive system alongside a complete lineup of automation hardware, software and networking solutions at Pack Expo 2018 in Chicago.

The Power Panel C50 provides the combined advantages of a powerful controller and a modern projected capacitive touch screen in a single HMI device.

The Readco Process Control System (RCS) from process equipment manufacturer Readco Kurimoto, LLC, York, Pa., integrates mixing, heating, cooling and feeding into a single, touch-screen HMI.

EXAIR's new Dual 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler Systems with ETC (Electronic Temperature Control) keep electrical enclosures cool with 20°F (-7°C) air while maintaining the NEMA 4X rating of the enclosure and removing the heat that could adversely affect the internal components.

This past year has been an exciting one for the baking industry, especially in terms of the progress made on revising the ANSI/ASB Z50.2 Bakery Equipment Sanitation Standard (formerly known as the “BISSC Standard”). Representatives from across the baking industry, including bakers, bakery engineers, bakery equipment manufacturers and academics have come together to give their input on updating this standard.

Last month, I had the opportunity to offer testimony in support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to modestly scale back the amount of ethanol required to be produced under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). 

Are you thinking about restocking your packaging supplies? If you are, then you have a lot to think about before making the investment. 

Many of us are asking ourselves where the summer went, and it is difficult to find a good answer. I hope you had some deserved downtime with family at some point.

When 2015 began, most Washington, D.C. observers predicted more gridlock in Washington.

One of the strangest, most-convoluted policy fights in the history of modern food just cleared a major hurdle in July with President Obama’s expected signature of the GMO Labeling agreement between Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

With the election of Donald Trump, and a slightly narrower Republican majority in Congress, Washington and the national punditocracy is both stunned and clamoring to find meaning in the election results.

With great trepidation that this column will become immediately obsolete or at least very dated in the short time from submitting it to publication, I want to address the whirlwind of regulatory relief announcements from the new Trump Administration.

The 2017 American Bakers Association (ABA) Convention featured our most thought-provoking and provocative program yet, centered around the enormous disruptions impacting the baking industry.

This past year on the Stronger Together tour, after the merger of the American Bakers Association (ABA) and the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers’ Association, we stopped at Kansas State University (KSU) to meet with the Bakery Science & Management students and participate in the Grain Science and Industry Advisory Council meeting.

During the tumultuous first year of the Trump Administration, the untold story has been the significant efforts to mitigate the numerous regulatory overreaches by the Obama Administration.

I recently met with one of the most actively engaged and supportive members of the American Bakers Association (ABA) and their senior management team. They asked me to provide a market and Washington update.

Even though the year started in a partial government shutdown, the government relations team from the American Bakers Association (ABA) continued to push forward on several key regulatory initiatives.

All federal food policy is based on the recommendations stemming from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The American Bakers Association (ABA) leads the Grain Chain, an organization of 10 groups from grain growers and millers, as well as bakers and others who have an interest in growing grain consumption.

Since grains are the cornerstone of a healthful, plant-based diet, and the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the bedrock for nutrition policy in the U.S., the baking industry is well-positioned to make powerful, positive changes for the health of America's families.

The 2020 election is over, but efforts to understand the impacts are just beginning.

In the ongoing grip of the COVID-19 pandemic as we enter a new year, and a new administration in Washington, we reached out for an update from Robb MacKie, President and CEO, American Bakers Association (ABA), Washington, D.C.

 
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People commonly misconstrue the work of a writer/historian.

The essence of plumbing is its mechanical genius.

The nature of plumbing is such that its most clever innovations usually are obscure to the public eye.

Plumbing and mechanical contracting companies have been the birthright of generations.

These are the Dead Men that PM columnist Dan Holohan holds in high esteem.

Plumbers have given way to scientists as modern inventors.

One of the legacies of the old Trade Extension Bureau that remains alive today was its effort to standardize industry vocabulary.

The debate over who Thomas Crapper was - or even if there was a Thomas Crapper at all - continues.

American plumbers have accomplished more in two centuries than the Romans did in 10.

People take for granted devices such as the T&P valve, kitchen disposal, flush toilet and so many of our industry's other useful gadgets that have made lives safer, healthier, more comfortable and convenient.

Every year on March 11, the international plumbing community comes together to celebrate World Plumbing Day. The day aims to spread awareness of the importance of plumbing and plumbers in protecting public health and improving access to clean water and sanitation facilities. 

Tool Tips—October 2018