When I was an electrical engineer building emergency wireless communications networks, I learned about the importance of having backups—sometimes the hard way, with a 3 a.m. phone call reporting a system is down and the backup system didn’t kick in.

There’s a helicopter on Mars.

It’s still pretty amazing to be able to type those words. 

We had a minor snag with one of the feature stories for this issue.

What Keurig Dr Pepper and Cuisine Solutions—and the other submissions we received for this year's Engineering Plant of the Year and Sustainable Plant of the Year award—do have in common is the level of innovation and creative solutions present throughout the plants.

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.

The Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) held its fall membership meeting October 28-30 at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida, drawing approximately 120 industry representatives. The gathering featured an impressive lineup of expert speakers addressing economic trends, regulatory matters, and market analysis.

This November and December, designers and flooring professionals come together for a fun, festive competition where they create themed Christmas trees based on ideas appropriate for kids in J+J Flooring’s 8th annual Helping Hands initiative. 

Moisture management can make or break a flooring installation. But with countless moisture meters on the market, how do you choose the right tool for your projects? Floor Trends & Installation has published a comprehensive guide that cuts through the confusion, helping flooring professionals select the ideal moisture meter for their specific needs.

New possibilities for projects where weight is a concern.

Schluter-Systems introduces Schluter-Ditra-PS peel and stick uncoupling membrane and Schluter-Primer-PS, a brand-new primer specifically designed for use with Schluter peel and stick membranes.

The threats facing food processing facilities are already here, and there is no longer any time to delay implementing minimum protections for these sites.

Treatment systems must demonstrate robust performance while handling both varying volumes and changing wastewater compositions.

Despite reporting a 28% decline in its second quarter, it also witnessed considerable improvement in global sales volume as lockdown eased.

Although the top 5 companies stayed the same, there was extensive movement throughout Food Engineering’s 2020 list of the Top 100 food and beverage companies.

A volatile year for food and beverage companies of every size has seen a reshuffling of Food Engineering’s Top 100 food and beverage companies.

The Coca-Cola Company witnessed net revenues accelerate by 42% in Q2 this year, driven by ongoing recovery from the pandemic in several markets.

The Coca-Cola Company reported strong second-quarter results, posting a 6% rise in net revenue to $12.0 billion, after its results were boosted by price hikes.

The newest flooring accessories for 2023 check all the boxes: they are great looking, easier to install, and have better functionality than ever before. 

Shower installation and accessories technology for 2023 combines design elements, ease of installation and innovation in this roundup.

Jack Ulstrom with Artistic Finishes answers a few common questions about profiles, trims and transitions.

Laticrete’s Ben Lampi offers advice on pairing color and finishes to take a tile installation to the next level. 

The PowerPak 1000 has been specially developed as an entry-level machine for the thermoforming segment and offers advanced functions previously reserved for machines in the higher performance range.

In the updated guideline, FSIS strongly encourages the use of third-party certification to substantiate animal-raising or environment-related claims.

The 5.0% ABV lager comes in a 16-oz. glow-in-the-dark can designed to add a bit of fun for those using a festive hiking trail this fall and winter.

While the vocabulary doesn’t have to be large, each machine should know about stops and starts upstream and downstream.

Delve into the origins of checkweighing systems, how the technology evolved and why these machines continue to remain integral.

The advantages of choosing refurbished or hybrid conveyors, especially when considering bottle conveyors, are numerous and extend beyond simple cost savings.

What Hispanic Cheese Makers is doing with its wastewater and with its sustainability efforts overall makes it a model for producers looking for ways to be sustainable and good neighbors, and it’s why Hispanic Cheese Makers is being featured as a Fabulous Food Plant.

Producing more than 1.4 billion pounds of pork and turkey annually, the Prestage Farms family of companies employs more than 2,700 associates and is affiliated with more than 470 farm families across the U.S.

Clif Bar's Twin Falls bakery was named Food Engineering’s Sustainable Plant of the Year in 2017. The Indianapolis bakery has a different—although equally successful—story to tell.

Pod Pack, a Baton Rouge, La.-based coffee processor, turned to the DELMIAworks ERP system to help keep up with demand. The new system has allowed to company to adapt quickly to changing conditions and be prepared for future growth.

As the pet food industry has grown, so has the need for quality ingredients. Pet food brand owners seek natural foods with high protein and clean label options as owners treat their dogs and cats as family members.

Plant of the Year entrants are automatically entered into the Sustainable Plant of the Year competition. All entries are due by December 29, 2023.

Conagra Brands’ ‘Green Jay’ and Graeter’s ice cream production facility take diverging paths for production, but both facilities meet the aims of their respective companies.

The JBS Principe facility is FOOD ENGINEERING’s 2024 Plant of the Year for its daring modern take on traditional Italian-style dried meat production.

Even though there were only six months in between iterations, FA&M still delivered on the networking and educational content.

Kaurina’s Kulfi could take shortcuts with its ‘Indian ice cream’ for more product and profit, but instead chooses a scaled up process first used in the family’s kitchen in order to stay true to the frozen treat’s heritage.

Has anyone bought Carl Fredrik luggage? I've always been a Rimowa customer but there is no support in Norway anymore, the prices have gone balistic and the quality of the product I was looking at in Hamburg in September didn't look as good as what I...

It’s no surprise that alternative meat products are popping up everywhere these days. In fact, they have grown so much that Ernst & Young data predicts alternative meat could see 40% market share by volume by 2040 in the United States.

Read up on the bits and pieces of flavor trends and product innovation in this installment of Nuts & Bolts

Current supply chain woes have made nearly every aspect of processing an ongoing guessing game, from forecasting ingredient availability to ensuring finished foods arrive at their destinations on time. One way to help make sense of the situation is to invest in track-and-trace technology that can monitor every step of a product’s journey.

Chances are, you’ve probably been using the same HMI, MES or SCADA program for some time in your operation, and you’ve been through several version upgrades too. Providers of these products work hard to make their software backward compatible with equipment and operating systems as well as create new features users want.

From its early beginnings, the Krispy Kreme company has designed and built the proprietary machines that have given “rise” to their equally safeguarded doughnut recipe.

S2G Ventures, a multi-stage investment firm focused on the food, agriculture, ocean and seafood markets, reveals 10 food and AgTech trends that will shape the future of food in 2022.

The TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation is scheduled to be released in April.

NTCA presented Martin Howard of the David Allen Company with the 2016 Tile Person of the Year award.

Q.E.P. recently completed the acquisition of AC Products and Southern Cross Building Products.

The incredibly demanding operating application and washdown conditions, along with food safety concerns and regulations, have driven a shift toward IP69K-rated products.

The agency concluded that the intended use of BVO in food is no longer considered safe after the results of studies.

Machine vision technology is emerging as a transformative force in driving productivity, enhancing quality control and revolutionizing packaging inspection processes.