Manufacturers are consistently investing in their manufacturing processes as costs are finally starting to come down, albeit slowly.

Visual Components, developer of 3D simulation software, surveyed more than 300 manufacturing decision-makers in the U.S., UK and Germany.

Five issues will serve as the organization’s primary policy focus for 2024, including the 2024 Farm Bill, food safety, labor reform, pesticide regulation and PFAS.

The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and automation.

Survey results show an increase in demand for products, but supply chain and labor issues are preventing food manufacturers from a corresponding increase in revenue.

FE’s 2022 State of Food Manufacturing survey found that 58% of respondents believe their facilities are understaffed. Some are turning to automation to help bridge the gap, others are turning to previously underused or overlooked sources of human staffing.

A long list of concerns continues to keep businesses in the food processing industry on their toes. Inflation. Supply chain issues. Hiring challenges. The pandemic. However, a connective thread runs through these four: automation.

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Meat from Europe—an organization promoting European Union meat products within the EU and abroad—and the Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry (UPEMI) to visit Poland and two of its meat processing facilities: one dedicated to beef, the other primarily pork. 

Kellogg's announced that employees have ratified the tentative agreement for a master contract at four U.S. cereal plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee. The contract covers approximately 1,400 BCTGM union-represented employees (Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers) who will return to work on December 27.