NEWS OF INDUSTRY
H&R Florasynth to operate under parent name; opens sensory laboratory in Teterboro
Haarmann & Reimer, which operated in North America under the trade name H&R Florasynth, will now operate under its worldwide name and logo, Haarmann & Reimer. The company feels that using the international name will reinforce its global identity. Créations Aromatiques will continue to be the trade name for the Fine Fragrance Business Unit of Haarmann & Reimer.
In addition, H&R’s Flavor Division announces completion of a new, state-of-the-art sensory laboratory at its newly expanded and renovated location in Teterboro, N.J. The new facility enhances the company’s sensory evaluation capabilities with eight panelist booths, each set up for computerized data entry, and simultaneous computer data analysis. The consumer panels span a range of specific demographic groups, including in-house, external, CLT, HUT, and kids panels, which encompass regional, national, and international capabilities. Trained panelists, including expert flavorists, marketing, technical, and sales personnel, are taught to analyze a large variety of products. Thus, H&R can support customers with consumer and professional sensory evaluations of flavors in specific applications.
ADM partners DuPont in expansion program
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Decatur, Ill., in partnership with the DuPont Corporation, has expanded its “value-added” contracting program at its Decatur processing complex.
The program, which uses the DuPont STST soybean and its STS Identity Preservation System, is being expanded to address the growing business opportunity for these soybeans in Europe and elsewhere. DuPont and ADM have been working together to create higher value grains and grain products for improved feed, food, and industrial uses. In its role as a major grain handler and processor, ADM is committed to the delivery of grains that meet customer needs around the world. ADM is working with DuPont and other companies to increase the choices for farmers and their customers, and to help expand the market for the products of U.S. agriculture.
BioPro International offers “one-container” Italian plant for lease or purchase
BioPro International Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., offers a “one-container” plant that may be leased or purchased from SnamprogettiBiotecnologie of Italy. The plant is completely independent and equipped with all necessary utilities. Its flexibility allows several configurations depending on the final use, from pharmaceutical to fine chemical or environmental applications such as bioremediation. The one container configuration is particularly suitable for bioremediation activities because it can be moved from one field to another for site decontamination.
Contact Renè F. Lohser, BioPro International Inc., 265 Conklin St., Farmingdale, NY 11735 (call 516-249-0099; fax 516-249-0494; E-mail: [email protected]).
Dow Chemical introduces new facilities for lipid epoxy resin and epichlorohydrin production
The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., is completing construction of its new liquid epoxy resin and epichlorohydrin production facility expansions, expected to be completed at the end of 1999. Both production facilities will incorporate improved manufacturing process technology.
Dow is a global producer of lipid epoxy resin and of epichlorohydrin—a raw material used in the production of liquid epoxy resin, synthetic glycerine, glycidal methacrylate, and a variety of specialty chemicals. The new production facilities will increase Dow’s capacity for liquid epoxy resin by 90 million lb and for epichlorohydrin by 250 million lb. Synthetic resin has a number of different food applications, such as coating for dried fruits to extend their shelf life through reduced water activity.
Michael Foods makes two European investments
Michael Foods, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., has recently completed the purchase of a 25% position in Belovo S.A., Bastogne, Belgium. Belovo specializes in producing customized dried egg products, lysozyme extractions, and certain nutraceutical egg products. This investment will allow Michael Foods to participate in the expected growth of Belovo and will provide the company with access to specialized, proprietary technologies developed by Belovo for ultimate use in the United States.
In conjunction with the Belovo transaction, Michael Foods also acquired a 50% interest in The Lipid Company S.A. (TLC), a firm founded by Belovo’s founding shareholders for the purpose of commercializing a phospholipid extraction process. TLC is now a joint venture between Belovo’s founding shareholders and Michael Foods. TLC will build a facility for the extraction of phospholipids from egg yolks in Wiltz, Luxembourg, which is expected to be operational in early 2000. Currently, phospholipids are used mainly as an ingredient in infant formulas and seniors’ dietary supplements.
Pillsbury contributes heavily to Second Harvest
The Pillsbury Company, Minneapolis, Minn., announced that its Wellston, Ohio, plant will devote production lines to feed needy Americans through Second Harvest, the nation’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization. The plant will produce frozen combination pizza and pizza rolls destined for food banks in Logan, Ohio; Battle Creek, Mich.; and Elizabethtown, Ky.
The Second Harvest network distributes 1 billion lb of donated food and grocery products to 26 million hungry Americans annually, a number that continues to grow by as much as 10% each year. Since partnering with Second Harvest in 1980, Pillsbury, one of the first companies to do so, has contributed more than 100 million lb of products for distribution to food banks throughout the nation. Products include Pillsbury cake and bread mixes, Progresso soup, Old El Paso taco dinners, Underwood meat spread, Green Giant vegetables, and Hungry Jack pancake mix.
Thomas Food Industry Register and American Express form marketing partnership
Thomas Food Industry Register, New York, N.Y., and the American Express Company have signed a marketing agreement to cross-promote both companies’ products and services to food industry wholesaler/distributors and suppliers.
The agreement includes a number of joint marketing campaigns to promote the use of American Express credit cards in addition to planned nationwide market research among food industry segments. Currently, the two companies are sponsoring Thomas Food Industry Register’s ninth FoodTRENDS survey which will examine purchasing trends among restaurants, wholesaler/distributors, and food processors.
UMI changes name to match parent company
UMI Information and Learning has changed its name to Bell & Howell Information and Learning to more closely align itself with its parent company. The company will continue to use its two major brand names, UMI® (traditional products in microform) and ProQuest® (electronic products). Its Web site address, www.umi.com, will remain the same.
Culinary Consortium consulting think tank formed
A group of seasoned food, wine, and restaurant industry professionals have formed the Culinary Consortium, a consulting think tank for food and hospitality clients based in Seattle, Wash.
The principals are Karen Malody, food consultant and co-founder; Terry LaBrue, marketing expert, and Suzanne James, public relations specialist. Consulting services will include such varied categories as situational analysis, restaurant concept development, product and menu updating, foodservice and restaurant marketing, public relations writing, and more. For more information, call Suzanne James at 425-427-8481 or E-mail Terry LaBrue at [email protected].
NEWS OF PEOPLE
• Tony DeLio was named President of the recently formed ADM Nutraceuticals Division of Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Ill. • Zylepsis Ltd., Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom, appointed Matthew Walls as new CEO, replacing Gerard de Reuver. • Joseph P. Durrett was named Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Information Resources, Inc., Chicago, Ill. IRIC provides UPC scanner-based business solutions to the consumer packaged goods industry. • At Flavurence Corporation, Commerce, Calif., Dennis Beck was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Robert Wenrich joined the company as President. • Fredrik Kjellberg was appointed Managing Director of Collamat Stralfors AG, Aesch, Switzerland. • Michael C. Lowe has become a Principal in the Arlington, Va., office of Environ International Corporation.
• National Seal Company, Aurora, Ill., appointed George Zagorski President, D. Kevin Blair Chief Operating Officer, Joel Freundt Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Linda Englander Marketing Manager. • Roger Johnson was named Director of Meat Quality for Triumph Pork Group LLC, Kansas City, Mo. • Cerestar appointed Peter Nielsen Marketing Manager for its Sweets and Drinks Sector, based at Cerestar’s headquarters in Paris, France. • Uniqema, a global specialty chemicals business, has reorganized its R&D division and appointed the following staff members: Patricia Aikens to the newly created position of Technical Manager of Surfactant Characterization; Mark Chandler and John Gormley Technical Managers of the company’s Health and Personal Care Division; and Bill McNamee Section Manager of Industrial Products. All four positions are in Uniqema’s Specialties Americas region.
• The Triarc Beverage Group, White Plains, N.Y., named Neal Larkin Group Director, Promotions, for both Snapple and Mistic brands; and promoted Page Bowler Mistic Promotions Manager and Cathy Stoia Snapple Associate Promotions Manager. • A.J. (Tony) Del Vecchio was appointed Vice President, Sales and Marketing, of A&B Ingredients, Inc., Fairfield, N.J. • Art Armstrong has become Vice President of Sales, Consumer Products, of United Sugars Corporation, Bloomington, Minn.
• Servomex Company, Inc., Norwood, Mass., promoted Mel Platte from Vice President and General Manager to President. • Rick L. Miller was promoted to Vice President, Alcohol Products, at Grain Processing Corporation, Muscatine, Iowa. • At Austin Packaging Company, Austin, Minn., Tracy Bridgeman was appointed Director of Technical Services and Kevin Arnold National Account Manager.
• Geoffrey Bertkau was appointed Manager of the Biotechnology Department, Takasago Flavors, Rockleigh, N.J. • At Opta Food Ingredients, Inc., Bedford, Mass., William Hofmeister joined the company as Technical Manager for the Louisville, Ky., facility; and Brian Parker as Plant Manager for the Galesburg, Ill., facility. • Lisa Ristino McDonald joined Amgraph Packaging, Inc., Versailles, Conn., as a Senior Process Engineer in Research and Development.
• Kemin Foods, L.C., Des Moines, Iowa, appointed Steve Hanson Product Manager and Zoraida DeFreitas Technical Services Manager, Food Ingredients. • Jeff Stenner joined J.W. Allen & Company, Wheeling, Ill., as Quality Assurance Manager of the Process Foods Division; David J. Carlson has retired from the company as Regional Sales Manager. • Diane Dunphy joined Eurofins Scientific, Inc., Dayton, N.J., as Client Services Representative, and Barbara Brojack as Account Manager, East Region.
• Rodney W. Larson has joined SRC Vision, Medford, Ore., as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. • Mike Duni rejoined Datacolor International, Charlotte, N.C., as Director of Sales for Retail Point-of-Sales Systems for the Americas. • Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tenn., appointed Roberta J. Buford as Market Development Manager for North America. • Lourine Alschuler joined Davisco Foods International, Inc., as West Coast Technical Sales Representative.
• FIS, Solon, Ohio, promoted Bill Richardson to Manager of Market Research. The company also formed the FIS Select Business Segment within the FIS Sales Division and appointed three new Select Regional Managers: Marilyn Carlson, Seattle, Wash.; Layton Smith Jr., Omaha, Neb.; and Karen Weiman, Dallas–Fort Worth, Tex. • Omer Chapman joined Case Swayne Co., Inc., Corona, Calif., as Plant Manager for the company’s Bryan, Ohio, facility. • The Cultures & Enzymes Business Unit of SKW Biosystems, Inc., Waukesha, Wis., appointed William Watrous an Account Manager for National Direct Vat Set (DVC) culture sales; Karen Vandergraft was promoted to Product Manager for its line of Enzyme Modified Dairy Ingredients; and Ben Cheng joined the unit as a Flavor Chemist.
• Alfa Laval Flow Inc., Pleasant Prairie, Wis., has added the following four individuals to their staff: Nadejda Szfranski as Application Engineer for the G&H and Industrial Pump Divisions, Lori Cavanaugh as Marketing Services Coordinator, Linda Augustine as Inside Sales Representative for the G&H Division, and Jodi Erickson as Project Coordinator.
• Vicorp Restaurants, Inc., Denver, Colo., hired Fred Genth to lead their product development and menu development efforts as Director of Menu Product Development. • Albright & Wilson, Richmond, Va., appointed Rick Gilbert Manager of Manufacturing Operations, Industrial Chemicals. • Haarmann & Reimer, Teterboro, N.J., appointed Nigel J. Murphy to Senior Flavor Chemist. • Sparks Companies, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., announced the following three additions to its livestock and dairy research, analysis, and consulting staff: Dennis McGivern as a Senior Livestock and Meat Consultant; Tom Simon as a Meat and Poultry Consultant in the company’s Grand Rapids, Mich., office; and Adam Valenta as Systems Manager, St. Paul, Minn.
NEWS OF SOCIETIES & ASSOCIATIONS
Al Clausi to keynote Atlantic food development exhibition
A.S. Clausi, retired Senior Vice President, Chief Research Officer Worldwide, General Foods Corporation, and 1993–94 President of IFT, was named Keynote Speaker of the Atlantic Food Development & Processing Exhibition. The exhibition will be held August 10-12, 1999, at the Baltimore Exhibition Center in Baltimore, Md.
Clausi will speak on a topic that mirrors the conference’s theme of highlighting the latest trends, development, and concerns in the food industry. He will discuss how the U.S. model in the food industry is being replicated in many places around the world, and examine the future of U.S. food industry leadership and how it may be maintained.
While at General Foods, Clausi created the first R&D organization involving corporate and operating-division research and development on a global scale. He has chaired the Council of Advisors initiating the “Nobel-class” World Food Prize and the Food Safety Council Forum (1976–82), and is currently Chair of the Research Directors’ Roundtable and of the Nutrition Advisory Board of the Monell Chemical Senses Institute in Philadelphia, Pa. He has a degree in chemistry from Brooklyn College, holds 14 U.S. patents, and has received such honors as IFT’s 1987 International Award and citations from the People’s Republic of China and the Korean Institute of Food Science and Technology. In 1997, he was appointed to a task force by the Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to review all USDA facilities and recommend a strategic plan for the future.
A new event, the Atlantic Food Development & Processing Exhibition, will provide East Coast food manufacturers with their own industry forum. Sponsored by Food Manufacturing magazine, the National Assn. of Fruits, Flavors, and Syrups; and the Pennsylvania Food Processors Assn., the meeting will bring together suppliers and buyers involved in every stage of food processing.
Doyle receives NFPA Food Safety Award
Michael P. Doyle, Head of the Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, and Director of the university’s Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement, received the 1999 Food Safety Award given by the National Food Processors Association (NFPA).
The award is presented annually to honor an individual, group, or organization for preeminence in and outstanding contributions to the field of food safety. Nominees should demonstrate long-term involvement in the food safety arena, with measurable, sustained, effective contributions. Doyle has dedicated 22 years of his career to food safety, with research at the forefront of public health issues. He was one of the first microbiologists to study E. coli O157:H7, in 1982. Novel isolation procedures developed in his laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Campylobacter spp. led the way for the development of many of the testing procedures used today. His food safety expertise is internationally recognized.
Schutz receives Peryam Award from ASTM
Howard G. Schutz, Professor Emeritus, Food Science and Technology Department, and Special Assistant to the Dean, University Extension, University of California at Davis, has received the 1998 David R. Peryam Lifetime Achievement Award in Sensory Evaluation from Committee E-18 on Sensory Evaluation of Materials and Products. The award, given by ASTM (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) recognizes Schutz as an outstanding professional in the applied sensory science field.
Schutz earned his B.A. in psychology from the University of Illinois, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill. He began his career in 1951 as a psychologist with the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute and later was at the Battelle Memorial Institute. In 1962, he joined Hunt-Wesson Food Company as Associate Director of Research, then joined the University of California in 1970. During that time, he has focused on taste and odor research, preference measurement and methodology, and cognitive and context factors in food acceptance. In addition, he worked on product development methods with emphasis on optimization, consumer behavior, food irradiation attitudes, and food and nutrition attitudes. He is a charter member of Committee E-18, one of 130 ASTM Technical Standards–writing committees.
Lawrence named AOAC’s 1999 Harvey W. Wiley Award winner
AOAC International has named James Lawrence the 1999 Harvey W. Wiley Award winner in recognition of his outstanding contribution to analytical methodology. Lawrence, Head of the Food Additives and Contaminants Section, Food Research Division of the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada, receives this award in acknowledgment of his work in food additives and contaminants, particularly high pressure liquid chromatography and residue analysis.
He has also served as President of the International Association for Environmental Analytical Chemistry, heading the Canadian delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, and worked as editor regarding food composition and additives for the Journal of AOAC International. He also bridges the gap between government and academia by serving as an adjunct professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University.
The Wiley Award was established in 1956 to honor Harvey W. Wiley, an AOAC International founder who was instrumental in instituting laws regulating food quality. Lawrence will receive his award at AOAC International’s annual meeting in September 1999, where he will address the Wiley Award Symposium on the subject of “Immunochemical Techniques in Food Contaminant Analysis.”
AOAC International releases new CD-ROM on bacterial analysis
AOAC International has released the 8th edition of the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), current through 1998’s Revision A, on CD-ROM. In an easy-to-use format that allows the user to search by words or phrases, this CD-ROM contains the most current methodology used in Food and Drug Administration laboratories for the detection of microorganisms and certain of their metabolic products in foods, beverages, and cosmetics.
The current version contains revised material for selected BAM chapters on Campylobacter, staphylococcal enterotoxins, yeasts and molds and parasitic animals in foods; and updated appendixes featuring commercially available test kits and Most Probable Number enumeration of bacteria. The CD-ROM uses the latest Adobe Acrobat™ software.
In addition to BAM, the CD-ROM features the FDA Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook, which provides basic facts regarding foodborne bacteria, viruses, parasites, and natural toxins.
For more information or to request a copy, contact AOAC International, 481 N. Frederick Ave., Suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-2504 (call 301-924-7077; fax 301-924-7089; E-mail: [email protected]).
GrowTech Americas to be integrated into United International convention
The United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association recently announced that the GrowTech Americas Expo and Conference, held in Miami, Fla., for the past three years, will be integrated into the United International Convention and Exposition beginning with the year 2000 event to be held in Phoenix, Ariz., February 26-28, 2000.
The combination will bring all segments of the produce industry together into one large show. GrowTech Americas is sponsored by The RAI Group, an international communications and marketing company which hosts more than 140 trade shows worldwide. The combined exposition and educational conference is expected to create an event on a global scale not previously achieved in the Americas.
For more information about the year 2000 event in Phoenix, contact the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association at 703-836-3410; fax 703-836-7745; or via E-mail at [email protected].
Whetten and Claypool receive ADPI awards
The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) named John D. Whetten, Challenge Dairy Products, Dublin, Calif., as recipient of its 1999 Honorary Lifetime Director Award. This award was established in 1993 to recognize individuals for their outstanding, untiring, and long-time service on ADPI’s Board of Directors. Whetten served as an Institute Director for 15 years, and also as a member of the ADPI Executive Committee.
Larry L. Claypool was awarded ADPI’s 1999 Award of Merit, established in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the processed dairy products industry. Claypool has served the dairy industry for more than 40 years, 33 of them with Dairy Farmers of America and its predecessor organization. His efforts have focused on quality assurance, new product development, and regulatory compliance, and he is cited for his broad depth of knowledge and sense of commitment to industry that have set the standards of today. He has been Director and President of ADPI and Chairman of Technical Committees for the Whey Products Institute and the American Dry Milk Institute, as well as a number of other important organizations in the dairy industry.
NRA expands food safety training program into retail segment
The National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation will partner with the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in a special joint venture that will distribute the Foundation’s newly enhanced ServSafe® food safety training program to a wider retail audience.
Through the ServSafe program, participants learn important food safety procedures such as sanitation, time and temperature constraints, and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles, essential to providing safe food. The joint venture provides the retail sector with a food safety program that is not only recognized and accepted by more state and local regulatory agencies than any other food safety training program, but also offers more flexible and affordable levels of training methods and information. In addition, the partnership establishes a coordinated promotional effort between the two organizations to send a uniform message regarding food safety training and to expand recognition of ServSafe as a training program for all retail operations.
FMI members will now qualify for a National Restaurant Association membership discount, when available, and will have access to ServSafe food safety training and certification information through The Training Times, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s online information resource, located at www.edfound.org.
Raddatz named Fellow of American Society for Quality
Janet Raddatz, Quality Technical Services Manager at Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis., has been named a Fellow of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Recognition by her peers was given for her role in developing customer–supplier relations in the food industry, sharing that knowledge with others, and being a strong supporter of the Customer–Supplier Division of ASQ.
At Sargento, Raddatz has been involved with the development, implementation, and auditing of quality systems for more than 20 years. She was responsible for the development of the Sargento Persnickety Partner Process, a method of supplier certification in the company’s overall Quality Excellence Process. She is Vice Chair of Programs for the Supplier Division, and has received the R.W. Maass Award for her publications and presentations. In 1992, she received the Wisconsin Laboratory Association’s Laboratorian of the Year Award. She has a master’s degree in quality from Marian College, Wis., and a B.S. in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Elections and Appointments
• Lee E. Blakely, Land O’Lakes, Inc. Western Region, Tulare, Calif., was elected President of the American Dairy Products Institute. He succeeds Larry L. Claypool, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., Springfield, Mo. Other elected officers were Vice President—Mark Davis, Davisco International, Inc., Le Sueur, Minn.; Secretary—Walt Wosje, Michigan Milk Producers Assn., Novi, Mich.; and Treasurer—Phillip Dale Smith, Leprino Foods, Denver, Colo.
• The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) has named Nicholas Kelly Director of Membership. In this role, he will direct AFFI’s efforts to recruit companies into membership, and member retention services. In addition, he will assume management responsibilities for the AFFI-affiliated National Yogurt Association.
Kelly most recently served as Membership Coordinator for the National Venture Capital Association. Prior to that, he worked for Direct Impact Companies as executive recruiter, office manager, and executive assistant to the company’s chief executive officer. He is a graduate of Radford University.
• The California League of Food Processors elected David Withycombe, Del Monte Foods, Western Region, as President for the 1999–2000 term of office. Also elected were First Vice Chairman—Rick Orzalli, Campbell Soup Company; and Second Vice Chairman—Greg Pruett, Ingomar Packing Company, Los Banos.
• Elected as officers of the Northwest Food Processors Association, Portland, Ore., for the 1999–2000 term are: Chairman—Tom Flaherty, Boardman Foods, Inc.; Chairman-Elect—Randy Hageman, Milne Fruit Products; Vice Chairman—Mark Harris, Continental Mills, Inc.; President, Secretary, and Treasurer—David A. Pahl, NWFPA staff; and Executive Vice President—Dave Klick, NWFPA staff.
• The Refrigeration Research and Education Foundation has changed its name to World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) to better reflect the mission and activities of the organization, which has been supporting both the refrigerated warehouse industry and the larger food industry for more than 50 years. Elected officers for 1999–2000 are: President—Jeffrey C. Spence, ICS Logistics, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.; Vice President—Raymond E. Biggar, Associated Freezers Corporation, Etobicoke, Ontario; and Treasurer—Merle Lemmen, Atlas Cold Storage, Green Bay, Wis. Daryl B. Lund, Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and former President of IFT, was reelected Chairman of the organization’s Scientific Advisory Council.
Company News in Brief
BIOSIS, publisher of Biological Abstracts and Zoological Record, has considered and declined an unsolicited proposal by Stanford University for merger. The company’s Board of Trustees reaffirmed its commitment to capitalizing on its core competencies, including an investment in international marketing, an escalated product development program, and ongoing automation and cost savings.
Central Soya Company, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., has broken ground for two major expansion projects at its Remington, Ind., facility. The expansion will house new, larger production capabilities for functional soy protein concentrates and lecithin products, as well as a 10,600 sq.ft. warehouse. The projects are expected to be completed by the end of this year, and are part of a total investment program of nearly $18 million.
DSM Food Specialties, headquartered in The Netherlands, and Della Toffola, of Italy, have reached an agreement on DSM’s takeover of the wine ingredients activities of Della Toffola’s subsidiary Imeca, which operates in France under the name Laboratoire Oenotechnique. Laboratoire Oenotechnique will be integrated with DSM’s Beverage Ingredients business unit, which forms part of the DSM Food Specialties business group.
Dairy America, Inc., a cooperative venture made up of California Milk Producers, Danish Creamery Association, Land O’Lakes Western Region (formerly Dairyman’s), San Joaquin Valley Dairymen, United Dairymen of Arizona, and Land O’Lakes Eastern Region (Carlisle, Pa.), has moved to new headquarters. The new address is Dairy America, Inc., 4974 E. Clinton Way, #C-221, Fresno, CA 93727-1520 (telephone 559-251-0992 or 800-722-3110; fax 559-251-1078).
Folexco, Montgomeryville, Pa., has announced an agreement with East Earth Herb, Eugene, Ore., to acquire a controlling percentage of the stock of East Earth Herb. Financial details were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to make the new Folexco/EEH Company the largest botanical manufacturer in North America, with domestic production facilities on both the East and West Coasts.
International Bioflavors Inc., Oconomowoc, Wis., is constructing a new 30,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility adjacent to its corporate offices and technical center in Oconomowoc. The new plant will feature state-of-the-art fermentation equipment to produce flavor systems and creative laboratory support. Mike Leonard has joined the company as Plant Manager for the new facility.
Kerry Ingredients, Beloit, Wis., has purchased a manufacturing facility from Nestlé in Tres Coracoes, Minas Gerais, Brazil, its second Brazilian acquisition in the past year. Kerry is adding to the processing capabilities of the Tres Coracoes site and is also building a fully equipped research and development center and pilot plant. The center will serve as the company’s manufacturing, R&D, and administrative center for all of South America and will be staffed by South American food engineers and administrative personnel.
King Safety Products, St. Charles, Mo., announces a multimillion dollar expansion to 80,000 sq.ft. that will quadruple the size of its plant, warehouse, and headquarters facilities.
ProdiGene, a biotechnology company located in College Station, Tex., recently opened a new Business and Research Headquarters to accommodate future expanded product development and growth. The new facility includes more than 17,000 sq.ft. of laboratories and offices, and a 6,000 sq.ft. state-of-the-art greenhouse.
Ropak Materials Handling Group, Georgetown, Ky., manufacturer of plastic reusable container systems, has changed its name to that of its parent company, Linpac Materials Handling. Linpac is headquartered in the United Kingdom. The products produced in the Georgetown facility will be marketed under the brand name of ROPAK™ Reusable Containers. A new Web site, www.linpacmh.com, is currently under development.
The Process Analytic Division of Rosemount Analytical Inc., Orrville, Ohio, has developed and sold a customized Continuous Emissions Monitoring (CEM) System, which measures multiple gases, to E.I. Dupont Sabine River Works in Orange, Tex. The system will measure NOx and O2 in Dupont’s ammonia oxidation process. It incorporates Rosemount Analytical’s 951C and 755R analyzers, a customized shelter, a data acquisition system, and a sample conditioning system and related equipment. Visit the company’s web site at www.processanalytic.com for more information.
Following an increase in its hydrogenation capacity earlier this year, SPI Polyols, New Castle, Del., has commissioned extra crystallizing and grinding equipment to increase its Sorbogem™ Crystalline Sorbitol capacity by more than 50%. The work was to be completed by June 1999. The additional capacity investment was made to meet the growing need in sugar-free foods and confections. SPI manufactures and sells a wide range of polyols, including sorbitol, mannitol, and maltitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, and specialty ingredients such as powdered maltose and directly compressible sugars.
Trident Seafoods Corporation, Seattle, Wash., has signed a definitive agreement with Nichirei Foods, Inc. and Nichirei Foods America (NFA) to acquire NFA’s plant in Fife, Wash. The plant produces surimi seafood and the imitation crab brand, Sea Legs®. Transaction terms were not disclosed.
Tropicana Products, Inc., Bradenton, Fla., has created a new Immediate Consumption Division dedicated solely to serving the needs of its nongrocery customers, those who shop at convenience, mass, club, foodservice, and drug outlets. Jim Dwyer was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the new division; Jim Powers was named Vice President of Retail Sales; and Scott Siers was named Vice President of National Accounts.
Uniqema, a new global specialty chemicals business composed of several members of the ICI group, has established a new research and development structure for the specialties business in the Americas, and reorganized its R&D division into four focused areas—chemical technology, applications research, scientific support, and technical service. These areas allow Uniqema to closely coordinate new processes and methodologies, technical guidance, and physical characterization of final products to provide an enhanced level of customer support. Nine technical members who held positions with previous Uniqema entities have assumed new roles in the organization based on recently established focused areas.
by BETSY BAIRD
Assistant Editor
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