Wayne Labs

Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.

BlackMatter is a new ransomware that is sold to would-be hackers to infect critical systems

Ransomware Attacks

BlackMatter ransomware targets food/agriculture sector

While Black Matter, a new ransomware group, promised not to target critical infrastructure, those purchasing the RaaS don’t necessarily follow that rule

Wayne Labs

October 19, 2021

This new ransomware as a service provides tools for criminals to attack companies with big pockets, including food and beverage.

Connecting process control, CIP, HVAC and energy management

In many facilities, these systems are manual and standalone, with no coordination—other than human

Wayne Labs

October 14, 2021

In many facilities, these systems are manual and standalone, with no coordination—other than human

Apatin brewery has a large portfolio that includes the brands Jelen, Jelen Chill, Jelen Cool, Apatinsko, Staropramen, Bavaria, Nikšićko and Nikšićko Tamno.

Brewery upgrades

Bringing Apatin Brewery up to date and speed

When a brewery can no longer satisfy demand for thirsty customers, it’s time to make some big changes—and long-standing partnerships ease the upgrading task

Wayne Labs

October 12, 2021

With the brewery's new can filler, the system fills 25,000 0.5 liter cans per hour.

Mergers and acquisitions

Regal completes merger with Rexnord PMC

The new company, Regal Rexnord Corporation, brings an expanded range of automation solutions to improve manufacturing efficiency and productivity

Wayne Labs

October 5, 2021

Regal Beloit Corporation, a global supplier of electric motors and controls, power generation products and power transmission components, has completed the merger with Rexnord Process and Motion Control (PMC) to become Regal Rexnord Corporation.

Engineering R&D

Proteins: Use the entire animal

Tools now exist to make the use of animals as food sources more sustainable.

Wayne Labs

October 4, 2021

While most food processors aren’t yet relying only on plants for protein sources, the tools now exist to make more sustainable use of animals as food sources, and highly nutritious ones at that.

New insulation on dairy piping saves energy and reduces the chance of bacterial cross-contamination

Insulating pipes

Hygienic process insulation solves dairy coop condensation issues, saves energy

Kamataka Milk Producers replaced aging and cracking foam and nitrile rubber insulation, reducing the potential for bacterial cross contamination

Wayne Labs

September 22, 2021

Replacing aging insulation on piping not only reduces the potential of developing bacterial cross-contamination, but also saves energy.

Fermentation

Getting Consistent Results from Fermentation

If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it, so having the right data means a great, consistent batch every time.

Wayne Labs

September 10, 2021

If you don’t measure it, you can’t control it, so having the right data means a great, consistent batch every time

Engineering R&D

Novel Pasteurization Technique Extends Shelf Life of Milk

Not to be confused with UHT and HTST pasteurization techniques, MST combines the effects of a temperature spike with a drop in pressure to accomplish pasteurization in milliseconds

Wayne Labs

September 10, 2021

Suppose you want a process to pasteurize milk without shearing it—while keeping the flavors in and killing any bugs along the way, extending the shelf life beyond ordinary pasteurization. This new technology, Millisecond Technology (MST), offers dairy producers long-life products with the same nutritional values that consumers want.

Automatic scraper strainers can remove waste from raw water.

Water filtration

Strainers with automatic scraping prevent clogging and fouling in water/liquid filtration

While these devices can filter out micron-sized particles, they also minimize downtime normally associated with manual cleaning and blowdowns

Wayne Labs

September 8, 2021

Automatic strainers have many uses, for example, providing necessary filtration for process cooling water, liquid product, and wastewater treatment. Each application requires the removal of suspended solids of various sizes to attain certain characteristics or qualities.