Collection

Food process & packaging engineering

Views: 5230

Strategic Planning for Food Processors: 4 Elements Your Business Plan Must Address

Does your food processing company have a strategic plan? Failing to plan is planning to fail—especially when it comes to your business. Earlier this year, Stellar hosted the Food Engineering webinar, 3 Key Elements in a Successful Strategic Plan for Growth. That webinar is now available on-demand, so you can still catch up on our discussion about how strategic planning can benefit food manufacturing plants, and how you can get started with developing your own strategic plan.

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Views: 5104

Gluten-Free Manufacturing: How to Capitalize on the Market’s Growth Opportunities

Last week, we explored how to overcome four common bakery challenges for implementing gluten-free products into your offerings. As the IBIE Baking Expo kicks off this weekend, we’ll continue exploring the growth of the gluten-free market and how bakeries can safely integrate these niche products into their facilities.

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Views: 2641

Gluten-Free Processing: How to Overcome 4 Common Challenges in Your Bakery Plant

Stellar is gearing up for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) in October, and gluten-free baking continues to be one of the hot industry topics this year. The gluten-free food segment is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2021. So, where does your plant fit into the gluten-free market?

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Views: 2833

Cold Storage Distribution: How Caspers is Utilizing Packaged Refrigeration Systems

Photo courtesy of Shecco Media

 

One of Florida’s oldest third-party logistics companies is introducing one of refrigeration’s newest innovations into its new cold storage facility: low-charge packaged refrigeration systems. With a focus on moving to eco-friendly refrigerants, McDonald’s franchisee Caspers Cold Storage and Distribution will be cooling its new warehouse with an ammonia/ CO2 and low-charge ammonia DX system. Because Stellar will be designing and building the new systems, Accelerate America editor Andrew Williams interviewed Stellar’s Brandon France to learn more about the project. Check out the feature article, “I’ll have CO2 and ammonia with that” in this week’s blog post to learn more about how the company is using low-charge refrigeration systems to lower costs, reduce installation time and utilize green refrigerants.

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Views: 2781

3 Benefits of a Food Plant Observation Deck

Food plant tours can serve as a valuable sales tool for your company. An observation deck, or viewing gallery, is a sanitary design solution that allows you to roll out the welcome mat to visitors. This moderate, added cost solution can be ground level or elevated, offering a behind-the-scenes look at your plant’s critical processes or packaging. Let’s review design best practices in addition to three benefits these structures can offer your food plant.

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How to Evaluate Market Trends to Grow Your Food Business

As Henry Kissinger said, “If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.” But how do we develop an effective roadmap when the industry is in a state of transformation? During our Food Engineering webinar last week, co-host Diane Wolf and I discussed the importance of a strategic plan when preparing for your food manufacturing business’ future.

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Views: 4872

Hog Chilling: Why Quick Chill Systems are Worth the Investment

There are more than 68,000 pork producers in the United States alone—competition is fierce. So how can your hog facility remain competitive? By producing the highest quality product possible for consumers, efficiently. And an effective chilling system is key to facilitating the most premium product for your consumers: a flavorful cut of meat with appealing color, firmness and moisture levels. The faster a carcass is cooled after slaughter, the better quality the meat will be. Quick chill systems, specifically, reduce chill time and produce a better cut of meat. While they may be a significant upfront investment for your food plant, this method offers significant advantages and long-term ROI.

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Views: 3161

7 Ways to Integrate Gluten-free Manufacturing Into Your Bakery Plant

Stellar recently exhibited at the American Society of Baking’s (ASB) annual BakingTech conference in Chicago. “Gluten-free” continues to be a topic on the rise among the attendees. This isn’t surprising, as more and more companies are incorporating gluten-free products into their offering arsenals. However, a common challenge for food manufacturers going gluten-free is preventing cross-contamination, whether it’s modifying existing plants or embarking on greenfield projects. Gluten-free products also require specific distribution and processing considerations that may differ from what manufacturers are used to, from mixing methods to storage. So, how do you safely integrate gluten-free manufacturing into your bakery plant?

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