// PEOPLE NEWS //
WEST LIBERTY FOODS recently announced the retirement of CEO ED GARRETT. Garrett started with West Liberty Foods in 1999 as the vice president of operations. He was promoted to president & CEO in 2004. West Liberty has also promoted BRANDON ACHEN to president and CEO. Having been promoted from within, Achen is a 16-year industry veteran who started with West Liberty Foods as an intern and has since seen a long tenure in operations, supply chain management and key customer relationship management for the organization. He was promoted to president in 2020.
CIRANDA, a supplier of certified organic, non‐GMO and fair‐trade food ingredients, welcomed DON TROUBA as director, go-to-market. In a newly created role for the organization connected to its long-term strategy, Trouba will oversee Ciranda’s marketing, product innovation and sustainability teams.
COLMAC COIL MANUFACTURING, INC. announced that JEREMY OLBERDING, VP of Colmac Coil was appointed to Colmac Coil’s Board of Directors. Olberding will serve as an advisory member of the board.
JOHN GALYEN, president of Danfoss North America since 2011, has retired. RICK SPORRER, VP sales America for Danfoss Power Solutions, has been appointed to succeed Galyen. Galyen and Sporrer worked together to ensure a successful transition, with Sporrer fully assuming the position on July 1. Sporrer brings more than 30 years of customer and regional expertise and leadership to his new role. Previously, he served as director global sales – Motors Business Unit.
TETON WATERS RANCH, which produces grass-fed and finished beef, named JEFF TRIPICIAN as the company’s CEO. Tripician, former president of the Perdue Premium Meat Company—with brands that include Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural, Panorama Organic Grass-Fed, Sioux Preme and Alexander & Hornung—has 36 years of consumer marketing and branding experience within the food industry and 24 years in the meat business.
MCCORMICK & COMPANY announced the appointment of BRENDAN FOLEY to the role of COO and president. Foley will continue to report to Lawrence Kurzius, chairman and chief executive officer.
GOLDEN STATE FOODS (GSF) appointed DORN VAN CLEAVE as group vice president, corporate development and strategy, and MELISSA VIEIRA as group vice president, human resources. In his newly expanded role, Van Cleave will continue to focus on bank financings, provide thought leadership on business strategy and manage GSF’s mergers and acquisition efforts. In her newly expanded role, Viera will help QCD and GSF continue to support the success of its people and the customers they serve.
DARIGOLD, a Seattle-based farmer-owned dairy co-op, has hired KRISTI KANGAS as its chief operating officer and promoted executive DUANE NALUAI to the role of chief customer officer. The moves come as the 104-year-old dairy producer looks to accelerate some initiatives aimed at modernizing and globalizing the co-op, including the construction of a new processing facility in Pasco, Wash., and the rebuilding of a fire-damaged facility in Caldwell, Idaho.
ADM appointed JOHN STOTT to serve as the new president for ADM Investor Services Inc. (ADMIS). He replaces Tom Kadlec, who announced his retirement after nearly 32 years with ADM. Stott is also a long-term executive at ADM, having served in a variety of roles at the company over almost 30 years.
SPARTANNASH announced PETER ANJORIN has joined the company as vice president, strategy and business development. He will be responsible for driving strategic plans for the company reporting to SpartanNash EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Masiar Tayebi.
DMC BIOTECHNOLOGIES has appointed KENNY ERDOES as chief operating officer. He has more than 20 years of experience in process engineering, project development and manufacturing operations. Erdoes is a chemical engineer with a broad range of experience in building and operating manufacturing facilities for different company sizes and varying product markets.
SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC. announced that TAMMY RUSS, senior operations manager of the company’s Tar Heel facility in North Carolina, has been named a 2022 STEP Ahead honoree by THE MANUFACTURING INSTITUTE. The institute is the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers.
SASSENACH SPIRITS appointed CHRISSY BEAUDETTE TINELLI as its new general manager. In this role, Tinelli will be responsible for growing the company’s market share and maximizing the distribution in the U.S., Canada and Europe while entering new markets and supporting the development of new products for the Sassenach Spirits portfolio.
ALLIANCE MACHINE SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, a global supplier of automated paperboard packaging, appointed MARIUS BATRIN as president of the Spokane, Washington-based company. Batrin—who has served as Alliance’s vice president of engineering, global development and innovation since 2011—replaces Mark Duchesne as he retires after leading the company for the past 21 years.
FLOWER POWER COFFEE COMPANY announced the addition of KEVIN SCOTT to lead companywide sales as chief commercial officer. Scott has over 32 years of leadership spanning sales, marketing, business development and new product expansion for The Coca-Cola Company.
NATURAL ALTERNATIVES INTERNATIONAL, a contract manufacturer of custom nutritional supplements, promoted AARON STARR to vice president of CarnoSyn Brands. In his new role, Starr will be responsible for the leadership of business teams and for overseeing operational performance and the advancement of CarnoSyn Brands.
GREENSEED CONTRACT PACKAGING, a supplier of sustainable external packaging operations for CPG brands, promoted long-term growth strategist BRAD MERIDITH to director of customer service management.
CLEAN JUICE, national USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise and quick-service restaurant, hired TRIPP SETLIFF as chief operating officer. In his role, Setliff will oversee all store operational initiatives including development, supply chain, training and field support.
The BEL GROUP Board of Directors, appointed CÉCILE BÉLIOT, chief executive officer of the company, and renewed ANTOINE FIÉVET’S mandate as chairman of the board.
APPLIED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES Founder and CEO MICHAEL JACOBS has been named by the Association for Advancing Automation to receive the Joseph F. Engelberger Robotics Award for Leadership.
BW FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS, a Barry-Wehmiller Packaging Systems company, appointed CHRIS FRANK to the role of vice president of operations.
GREEN LIFE FARMS, a controlled-environment agriculture grower in the Southeast U.S., announced the addition of DONALD GRANDMAISON as general manager of Green Life Farms’ Babcock Ranch facility.
KPI SOLUTIONS welcomed CALIN URSULESCU as project manager; EDWIN LAUS, senior project estimator; VICTORIA BENDER, consultant; BRENDAN BUCKLEY, project estimator; and CELINA DIMICELI as project coordinator.
MILKADAMIA has added to its executive roster BRETT SARDO as the new EVP international & food service and ALIX SIMMONS as EVP national sales.
// INDUSTRY NEWS //
FLORIDA FOOD PRODUCTS has invested in T-BEV INC., a provider of all-natural ingredients focused on botanical extracts and tea related products. This represents the second add-on acquisition in five months under the Ardian/Mid Ocean partnership.
JMP SOLUTIONS reported that construction is complete on its automation and robotics facility in northwest Ark., and that it officially opened for business on March 1, 2022. The 20,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing and integration space will provide automation and robotics solutions to the region and create approximately 140 jobs in the next five years.
BLACK EQUIPMENT, a material handling equipment dealer with headquarters in Evansville, Ind., acquired the Briggs Equipment territory as the Hyster dealer in the Memphis, Tenn.; Jackson, Tenn. and Jonesboro, Ark. markets. Black is already the authorized Yale dealer for these markets and will continue to operate from its existing locations.
ORBIS CORPORATION, an international supplier of reusable packaging, recently named its Silao, Mexico, facility its 2021 Plant of the Year. This annual ORBIS award honors one of its plants for its performance in safety, quality, service, innovation and overall operational efficiency. This plant, located in the state of Guanajuato in Central Mexico, employs more than 350 associates and provides food, beverage and consumer goods companies with reusable packaging totes, containers, custom dunnage and pallets.
WAYNE FARMS announced a $500,000 donation to contribute toward a $7 million state-of-the-industry research feed mill for MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF POULTRY SCIENCE. Wayne Farms is a long-time supporter of MSU’s poultry program, which is ranked by industry leaders as one of the top programs in the nation.
YOUNGLOVE CONSTRUCTION, L.L.C., of Sioux City, Iowa, recently received a 2022 Award of Excellence in the category of General Construction—Industrial from the ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS (ABC) of Iowa during the association’s annual Excellence in Construction Gala.
A M KING, an integrated design-build firm with offices in Charlotte, N.C., Greenville, S.C., and Chicago, has been recognized with a 2022 Best Project Award from the DESIGN-BUILD INSTITUTE OF AMERICA’S Southeast Region. The award was given for Mission Produce’s avocado plant in Laredo, Texas, which became operational last fall.
ABBOTT has agreed to enter into a consent decree with the U.S. FDA related to its Sturgis, Mich. infant formula plant. The decree is an agreement between FDA and Abbott on the steps necessary to resume production and maintain the facility. This does not affect any other Abbott plant or operation. The decree is subject to court approval.
GENERAL MILLS has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TNT CRUST, a manufacturer of frozen pizza crusts for regional and national pizza chains, foodservice distributors and retail outlets. TNT Crust is currently a portfolio company of Peak Rock Capital.
HEINZ is teaming up with PULPEX to develop a paper-based, renewable and recyclable bottle made from 100% sustainably sourced wood pulp. HEINZ is reportedly the first sauce brand to test the potential of Pulpex’s sustainable paper bottle packaging for its range of condiment products.
ENDRESS+HAUSER CANADA recently opened its customer experience and process training center in Burlington, Ontario. The facility, which is energy-autonomous and CO2 neutral, occupies 47,361-sq.-ft. (twice the size of the current location) and houses a process training center, a large calibration lab, repair facility, another training center and office plus recreational space for around 120 people. In another announcement, E+H has expanded its on-site calibration offering in the U.S. by adding three mobile calibration rigs to the existing fleet for a total of 19 mobile units.
SOFT ROBOTICS INC. has teamed with QUEST and OSSID to offer a robotic handling and packaging solution to the food industry powered by Soft Robotics’ mGripAI technology.
VERTICAL COLD STORAGE, a developer and operator of temperature-controlled distribution centers sponsored by real estate asset manager Platform Ventures, has acquired public refrigerated warehouses in Medley, Fla., Marshville, N.C. and La Vista, Neb. from US COLD STORAGE. Terms of the transaction were not released.
ADM will invest to expand significantly starch production at its Marshall, Minn. facility to meet fast-growing demand from the food and beverage sectors and to support the continued expansion of the company’s BioSolutions platform.
BATORY FOODS, a national distributor of food and fine ingredients, has acquired SWEETENER SOLUTIONS, a Savannah, Ga.-based company specializing in custom sweetener formulation, precision blending and specialty portion packaging. The acquisition is seen as a natural fit for Batory Foods, which is a national distributor of natural, alternative sweeteners and sweetener blends.
PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP COMPANY announced the introduction of ten net-zero emission refrigeration trailers to its fleet at the company’s Gilroy, Calif. distribution center.
INNOVIA FILMS, a producer of highly differentiated specialty films, opened a new 6.2 meter (20 ft.) multi-layer co-extrusion line at its site in Płock, Poland. The state-of-the-art line will be dedicated to manufacture low-density polyolefin shrink film for shrink sleeve labels and tamper-evident applications.
Following the close of $120 million in Series B funding, REMILK announced it will build a large, full-scale precision fermentation facility on more than 750,000 sq.-ft. of newly acquired land within The Symbiosis project, a sustainable industrial ecosystem in Kalundborg, Denmark.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) authorized commercial use of BLUE OCEAN BARNS’ red seaweed supplement as a feed additive for dairy cows. The decision followed a highly successful trial at Straus Organic Dairy Farm in West Marin, Calif., the largest and longest yet conducted with seaweed and dairy cows, proving to reduce their enteric methane emissions (cow burps) by an average of 52 percent and as much as 90%.
NEOSPECTRA BY SI-WARE, the creator of NeoSpectra material analysis solutions built on single-chip FT-NIR spectrometers, announced a partnership with AB VISTA’S AUNIR, a global supplier of near infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy calibrations. The partnership will give customers subscription-based access to all Aunir INGOT NIR calibration models on the NeoSpectra LabStore to empower in-field analysis and decision making across animal feed, feed ingredients, flour and milling, pet food, aquafeed, forages, animal by-products, plant breeders and other specialty products.
FIELDCOMM GROUP announced that EMERSON’S AMS Device Manager has successfully completed conformance requirements testing under FieldComm Group’s FDI Technology Host Registration Policy. Thus, AMS Device Manager became the first FDI host system to earn the right to display the FDI registration logo in product marketing materials.
BERRY GLOBAL GROUP INC. and TACO BELL are making strides toward a more circular approach to sustainable packaging with the launch of a new clear, all-plastic cup containing mechanically recycled post-consumer resin (PCR). The move represents progress by both organizations in meeting their publicly stated sustainability commitments: Taco Bell’s 2022 Commitments and Berry’s Impact 2025.
MATRIX F.T. (formerly Matrix Meats), supplier of plant-based nanofiber scaffolds and microcarriers, has opened its new wet lab. Complimenting Matrix F.T.’s existing engineering lab, the new facility will further strengthen the company’s R&D offering and accelerate the exploration and execution of various custom scaffold projects currently underway.
International food conglomerate IFF-DUPONT is teaming up with Israeli foodTech start-up SIMPLIIGOOD BY ALGAECORE TECHNOLOGIES LTD. to develop a commercial smoked salmon analog made entirely from a single ingredient: whole fresh spirulina.
PIPA LLC has entered into a multi-year agreement with MARS, INCORPORATED to accelerate the discovery of new, plant-based ingredients. PIPA’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform, LEAP, will leverage biomedical databases and innovation pipelines to provide Mars with capabilities for designing new products to address growing consumer demand for health benefits from foods, beverages and dietary supplements.
C-P FLEXIBLE PACKAGING has teamed up with VOLPI FOODS to launch a fully compostable package for packaged deli meats. C-P’s proprietary GreenStream compostable packaging is certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and meets the standards established under ASTM D6400 test methods.
DANIMER SCIENTIFIC, a U.S.-based bioplastics company focused on biodegradable materials, announced a multi-year license and supply agreement with Kemira, a Finland-based global supplier of sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries.
