When you hear the words “glue gun,” what comes to mind — arts and crafts projects? Did you know that there’s an industrial version of the glue gun that can take on more extreme tasks? To learn more about industrial glue guns and how they increase efficiency in product packaging, we spoke with Rick Warner, […]

Managing a food company means balancing a lot of moving parts in addition to the main activity of processing food — complying with regulations, adopting automation, improving sales, hiring qualified employees, and everything in between. In the daily hustle and bustle, it can be easy to lose sight of things that operate in the background, […]

Have you ever had a piece of equipment that worked perfectly…except that one little part that gave you trouble — say, a filter that kept getting clogged or an electrical connector that was always on the fritz? Wouldn’t it be great if you could redesign just that one piece to improve the operation of the […]

“I’ve got a situation here, and right now I’m using duct tape to hold things together.” For the folks at Siftex, this is an all-too-familiar cry for help. Their customers may be moving product from a square transition to a round inlet, the product temperature might be too high for the connector’s material to withstand, […]

Accurate process data is critical for food safety and quality, as well as regulatory compliance. But data on its own isn’t enough — you also need a system to monitor the data and, most importantly, alert you if anything goes wrong. To learn more about the role of data loggers in validating cooking processes and […]

The force that powers food processing equipment — everything from pumps and conveyors to slicers and mixers — is housed within industrial gearboxes. Though these parts are small enough to be picked up by hand, they’re still not pieces you want to replace regularly, especially when a breakdown means stalling production and losing profits. We […]

Food industry sanitation methods are notoriously abusive for equipment. That’s one reason food processing equipment is made of stainless steel — so it can withstand hot water and chemical washdowns and still maintain food safety. But non-food contact surfaces need to cope with these conditions as well. As the industry continues to adopt automation technologies, […]

Many factors must work in concert to produce food that’s safe to eat. For example, the ingredients must be free of contamination and the equipment used to process those ingredients must be designed, cleaned, and sanitized to maintain a contamination-free state. That’s why the food industry has embraced sanitary design, to ensure processing equipment meets […]

Automation and digital technologies have brought many improvements to food processing operations — from higher throughput to lower labor costs and improved traceability and compliance. They’ve also brought more screens into food plants. And those screens need to be protected from what can often be a harsh environment, especially for sensitive electronics. To learn more […]

Most processing plants have similar goals, such as cutting costs, reducing waste, improving efficiency, and increasing profits while also boosting quality. It’s not always easy to achieve these goals at the same time. For example, there are typically trade-offs between cutting costs and boosting quality. But some tools, if they’re designed well, can help processors […]