NEWS & ANALYSIS
NEWS OF INDUSTRY
Sunny Fresh Foods is first food company to win Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Sunny Fresh Foods, Monticello, Minn., the egg further processing subsidiary of Cargill Incorporated, Minneapolis, was one of four companies which received the 1999 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest recognition of business performance excellence that a U.S. company can receive. The presentation was made in Washington, D.C. by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of Commerce William Daley on February 25, 2000.
Sunny Fresh, with 380 stakeholders (employees) and three processing plants in Monticello; Panora, Iowa; and Lake Odessa, Mich., is the first food company to have been so honored since the Baldrige Award was established in 1987. It manufactures and distributes more than 160 different types of egg-based food products to more than 1,200 U.S. foodservice operations. Products include refrigerated and frozen liquid pasteurized eggs and scrambled egg mixes, zero-cholesterol and fat-free egg products, omelets and other precooked frozen entrees, peeled hard-cooked eggs, diced hard-cooked eggs for salad bars, and more than 25 different types of French toast.
To apply for this prestigious award, organizations must submit details showing their achievements and improvements in seven key areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer focus and satisfaction, information and analysis, human resource development and management, process management, and business results. Nat Jackson, Senior Quality Consultant of Cargill, speaking at a press conference on the day of the award, pointed out that the seven criteria all boil down to one concept: respect—respect for your customers’ needs, respect for your employees, respect for your fellow man. The company, which has won a number of quality awards over the years, states it is no accident that its stakeholders are motivated and its customers are satisfied.
All Baldrige Award applicants receive 300–1,000 hours of stringent review and a detailed report by an independent board of examiners on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Of the 52 organizations submitting applications for 1999, only ten received site visits and only four won Baldrige awards. Sunny Fresh Foods won the award on its first try.
Novartis and Quaker Oats form joint venture in functional foods
The Quaker Oats Company, Chicago, Ill., and Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., Nyon, Switzerland (North American Division, Summit, N.J.), have entered into a North American joint venture to form Altus Food Company, headquartered in Chicago, Ill.
Altus plans to develop and market functional food brands in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The two companies will each invest 50% in the new venture and share profits equally; and each parent company will have equal representation on the new company’s Board of Directors.
Altus will have access to its parent companies’ strengths in brand marketing and selling, nutrition science, taste technology, and manufacturing to pursue category leadership in functional foods. The company will develop and market foods that are specifically formulated and scientifically proven to provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
The functional foods category is estimated at U.S.$10–20 billion in the United States, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10%. Future product offerings are expected to include proprietary ingredients that provide tangible health benefits. Altus will focus on the healthcare concerns of women, children, athletes, and maturing adults with food and beverage products that offer great taste and convenience.
This venture represents the first time a global healthcare company and an international food marketing company have come together to create foods with health benefits covering a wide range of therapeutic areas.
Government News:
At the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Elizabeth A. Yetley was named FDA Lead Scientist for Nutrition, effective January 31, 2000. In this capacity, she will serve as chief advocate and facilitator of nutrition policy and related science for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and also serve as nutrition advisor to Susan Alpert, M.D., Director of the Center’s food safety program.
Yetley has worked with FDA since 1980, most recently as Director of the Office of Special Nutritionals. In her new position, she will lead CFSAN activities to improve how FDA coordinates and applies sound nutrition science to regulatory and research activities. She also will assist the Center’s top management in formulating, developing, and executing short- and long-range nutrition-related goals.
She has been the U.S. delegate to the CODEX Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Use, has authored or coauthored more than 40 articles for professional publications, and has received numerous awards and honors. She earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in nutrition from Iowa State University.
NEWS OF PEOPLE
• Rich Products Corporation, Buffalo, N.Y., promoted Bill Knutsen to Vice President of Quality Assurance. • SunPure, Ltd., Avon Park, Fla., appointed William DuBose Vice President of Technical Services at the company’s Flavor Division in Lakeland, Fla. Also at the Lakeland facility, Primo Bader joined the company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing; Steve Fowler as Director, Beverage Applications; John Kraft as Plant Manager; and Mario Santos as Account Manager.
• Arthur J. McEvily was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer at Opta Food Ingredients, Inc., Bedford, Mass. McEvily succeeds Lewis C. Paine III, who has left the company. • Roger M. Prevot was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Graham Packaging Company, L.P., York, Pa. John A. Buttermore, Vice President of Market Development for company’s Food and Beverage Unit, will succeed Prevot as the Business Unit’s General Manager. • Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, Ill., named John Ward Vice President, Technical Services/Fermentation Products; Larry H. Cunningham Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs; and Martin L. Andreas Director of Corporate Marketing.
• Arthur C. (A.C.) George was promoted to Vice President Sales, Special Markets, for the Food Service Group of McCormick & Company, Incorporated, Sparks, Md. • American Italian Pasta Company, Excelsior Springs, Mo., promoted Jerry H. Dear to Executive Vice President, Retail Markets; Warren B. Schmidgall to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; W. Matthew Duffield Jr. to Vice President and General Manager, Excelsior Springs Operations; and Tommy J. James to Vice President.
• Wyandot, Inc., Marion, Ohio, has appointed Bryan Hensel Vice President of Human Resources and Dan McGrady Vice President of Technical Services. • Ashland Distribution and Specialty Chemical Companies, Dublin, Ohio, named David H. Armstrong Vice President of Planning and Development. • Joseph F. Downes joined bMarco Corporation, New York, N.Y., as Vice President of Marketing and Sales Food Activities. • Jeff Milne joined SPI Foods, Inc., Fremont, Neb., as Vice President of Sales. He will be located at the company’s office in Kansas City, Kans. • Universal Foods Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., promoted Ralph Pickles to Vice President and Managing Director, Europe, for the company’s Color Division, and James A. Warzniak to Vice President of Sales for its Dehydrated Products Division.
• Ken Nishimatsu was promoted to Sales Manager at Amano Enzymes USA, Lombard, Ill., a subsidiary of Amano Pharmaceutical Company, Nagoya, Japan. • Christian Foubert joined the Customer Service Dept. at Flavor & Fragrance Specialties, Mahwah, N.J. He will be concentrating on international sales in this position. • At Environmental Risk Limited, Ian P. Karasik joined the company’s office as a Senior Associate in its New England Region main office, Bloomfield, Conn., and Ron Poustchi as Senior Associate in the New York Metro Region office in Clifton, N.J. Karasik, as Manager of the Manufacturing and Industry Services Group, will direct a team of technical staff which provides environmental, health and safety consulting services. Poustchi will be responsible for air quality control and compliance issues.
• Newly Weds Foods, Inc., Chicago, Ill., promoted George Kelecich to Director, Technical Services; Jean Theiss to Director, Quality & Regulatory Services; Steve Haverkos to the Technical Services Dept.; Susan Reimold to Senior Product Development Scientist; and Sue Svitak to Director of Research and Development for National Chain Accounts.
• Roger R. Klene was elected Chief Executive Officer, in addition to his current responsibilities as President and COO, at Mott Corporation, Farmington, Conn. • Alex N. Beavers Jr. joined Thomson Industries, Inc., Port Washington, N.Y., as Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds John B. Thomson Jr., who will continue as Chairman of the Board. • Deborah A. Rolf was appointed Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Jana’s Classics, Tualatin, Ore. • Flavorite Laboratories, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., appointed Steven P. Mower as Vice President of Operations and Jay Kurmaskie Director of Foodservice Sales.
• Daniel F. Mielcarek was appointed Business Unit Manager for Food Extrusion at Krupp Werner & Pfleiderer Corporation, Ramsey, N.J. • At Alfa Laval Flow Inc., Pleasant Prairie, Wis., Tom Jensen was appointed Technical Services Supervisor, and Dan Ouimet was appointed Materials Manager. • Elaine Chow was named a Food Scientist with the Coatings Division Research and Development area at Kerry Inc., Beloit, Wis.
Company News in Brief
• Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Ill., is constructing a new training center, the ADM Global Education and Training Center, adjacent to ADM’s world headquarters in Decatur. When completed later this summer, the center will provide education and training of employees in safety, environmental protection, product safety, employee development, and management.
• Biocontrol, Bellevue, Wash., has acquired the food microbiology business of Idexx Laboratories Inc., Westbrook, Me. Products included in the transfer include Hygiene Monitoring systems, Lightning® for ATP, Flash™ for protein detection, and other new products in development; Patented SimPlate kits for rapid quantification of total bacterial count, total coliform, and E. coli and yeast and mold; and BIND for detection of Salmonella. These newly acquired product lines will be added to Biocontrol’s existing products to offer a complete line of microbiology testing products for food safety, quality control, and HACCP programs.
• Central Soya Stern Lecithin, a Central Soya Company subsidiary of Eridania Béghin-Say, headquartered in Paris, France, has opened a new Lecithin Application Center in Aarhus, Denmark, effective February 1, 2000. The new center is to provide additional technical support for the company’s European, African, and Middle Eastern customers. Managed by Michael Sponholz, it will provide seminars and customer training in the use of lecithins to improve nutrition and product characteristics in food products.
• Guernsey Bel, Inc., Chicago, Ill., specialty producer of ice cream inclusions, variegates, and flavors, recently signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Pacific Foods of Seattle, Wash. Pacific Foods, previously known as Crescent Foods, focuses on dry foods ingredients. The closing of the sale should take place by mid-April 2000.
• Haarmann & Reimer GmbH, based in Holzminden, Germany, has invested from 15 million DM to build a greenfield facility in Bogotá, Colombia. The 9,000-square-meter site includes high-tech compounding plants for flavors and perfume oils, new warehousing and shipping buildings, and modern laboratories and offices. In addition to the domestic market, the H&R facility in Colombia serves Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
• National Starch and Chemical Company, Bridgewater, N.J., has completed a major plant expansion project at its plant in the Rayong province of Thailand, owned by National Starch since 1982. Over the last 18 months, the company invested more than $16 million into the expansion and modernization of the Rayong plant in response to increased global demand for tapioca starches. Production capacity has increased by 50%, or 90,000 MT per year, at this plant.
• Northern Wind Inc., New Bedford, Mass., has acquired some of the assets of U.S. Fresh, an international processor of fresh and frozen scallops. With this acquisition, Northern Wind established a frozen division and increased its operation with 25,000 sq ft added to the existing 42,000 sq ft facility. With 150 ft of waterfront dock, the company can offload three vessels at once and immediately process their products at the enlarged facility.
• Primera Foods Corporation, Cameron, Wis., a producer and distributor of value-added dried egg products, has acquired Zumbro, Inc., an ingredient supplier, and IFP, Inc., a custom food processing company.
• Silliker bioMérieux Inc., Homewood, Ill., acquired Conex B.V., a prominent food testing laboratory in the Netherlands. Conex is the most recent addition to the expanding Silliker network. Currently, there are 25 Silliker laboratories with more than 1,000 employees in the U.S., Canada, France, England, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
• Universal Foods Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., has acquired Monarch Food Colors, Inc., High Ridge, Mo. John Mudd, founder of Monarch Food Colors, was elected president of the company’s Color Division to replace Michael A. Wick, who retired in February 2000.
by BETSY BAIRD
Assistant Editor