< Previous10 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netFast-fold slimline food crate range launched A new range of fast folding slim crates for fooditems has been launched by UK-based plasticpallet supplier Exporta Global. The range contains one of the slimmest crateswhen folded flat, with a height of 27.7mmcompared to the industry standard crate at35mm. With capacities ranging from 23 litres to55 litres, these crates maximise storage capacitywhilst minimising storage space when not in use. The F-crate™ products are also some of thequickest crate products to assemble and folddown, making it suitable for quick jobs wheretime is of the essence. Other features include smooth plastic finishes to support hygiene, soft locking/opening systems to help prevent injuries, superergonomic grip handles for safety and easy lifting as well as a cross stacking capability to improve palletisation. Dale Paterson, Exporta Global Group managing director said: “We introduced the F-crate™ range in response to requests from our farming and food processingclients. We believe the range offers real flexibility as it contains one of the thinnest crates when folded flat, whilst also containing options for large capacity.”SICK Powers into Industry4.0 with the All-seeingPowerProx® SensorSICK has set a technology milestone in sensingcapability for food and drink process and packagingautomation with the new PowerProx®, offeringunprecedented versatility to detect any object on ahigh-speed production or bottling lines with just onerange of sensors.It represents a step change in sensing performanceand value by packing the benefits of laser Time-of-Flight(ToF) technology into PowerProx’s compact housing todeliver high-performance distance sensing, proximity and object detection. A sensor in the PowerProx range can be used to replace most distance and proximity sensors ina production plant. Engineers can choose from a range of just four sensors to achieve highlyaccurate results over a wide distance range between 50mm and 3.8m.David Hannaby, SICK UK’s product manager for presence detection, said: “The sensors cancommunicate their signals and results to a centralised factory network or be monitored, re-set ortaught to perform new sensing tasks across a whole range of applications.” Weidmüller presentsFreeCon ContactlessThanks to FreeCon Contactless from Weidmüller,customers who employ industrial robots on theirproduction lines can now avoid contact relatedfailures and cut maintenance costs considerably. Contactless power transmissions are maintenance-free and up to 240 W with high power density,maximum efficiency.Burnt, bent or dirty contacts can often be thecause of time consuming and costly productionfailures. This is all the more true of applications thatrequire frequent plugging cycles. FreeConContactless allows power to be transmitted via an ‘airgap’ by means of an inductive resonance coupling.This is a solution that’s completely wear-free andespecially efficient. Weidmüller is a leading international provider ofsolutions for the electrical connectivity, transmissionsand conditioning of power, signal and datatechnologies in industrial environments. United Biscuits relaunches iconicTriobrandUnited Biscuits,an internationalmanufacturer ofbiscuits, snacksand cakes, isrelaunching its popular Trio chocolate biscuit bar (CBB). The return ofthe iconic brand, famed for its catchy advertising jingle, followsoverwhelming consumer demand to see the ‘Best British Biscuit of the90s’ back on UK shelves. The milk chocolate biscuit bar will be available in all major grocerysupermarkets from 1st March 2016. Fans of the original Trio – as wellas those that didn’t try it first time around - will be able to enjoy thechocolate biscuit bar’s distinctive look, feel and taste for a limited timeonly. Rebranded under the McVitie’s Masterbrand, McVitie’s Trio will rejointhe ranks of other household favourites in the CBB segment within UB’sportfolio including McVitie’s Club, McVitie’s Penguin and McVitie’sGold. Available in multipacks of six, McVitie’s Trio will be supported by adigital and PR campaign, alongside strong in-store shopper activity toraise consumer awareness and drive purchase. UK cider maker revives traditionalart of keeving Somerset-basedPilton Cider hasrediscovered theage-old method ofkeeving, with makerMartin Berkeley nowproducing asparkling whole juiceartisan cider inShepton Mallet, atown that has recently witnessed large scale cider mill closures. In a market awash with farmhouse, fruit, flat and fizzy ciders, a handful ofartisan producers in the West Country are now breaking the mould with thekeeving process that dominated cider-making in Britain over 400 years ago.Containing no added sugar or water, keeved cider is naturally sweet and hasan amber gold colour, with its delicate and distinct flavour achieved bypreventing full fermentation of the natural apple sugars. Low nutrient apples aremilled into a pulp and left to oxidise for 24-hours, a method known asmaceration, which results in the release of naturally-occurring pectin. Essentialnutrients are removed in this separation process and the wild yeastfermentation gradually dies out, leaving residual apple sugars to sweeten thecider as it matures slowly for six months before bottling.10_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:25 Page 1www.ifm.com/uk/lmtSeveral new variants of ifm's popular LMT point level sensors have been added to the range. Longer probes, up to 250 mm, are particularly useful in overfill applications. Internal timer functions can be set using standard IO-Link accessories.Level probes - extendedifm Telephone 020 8213 222211_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:25 Page 112 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIntrepid Fox launches ‘ownbrand’ optionWine Innovations is now offering its customers the option ofpurchasing ‘wine-to-go’ goblets in their own customised brandedpackaging. The decision to offer an ‘own brand’ option followsthe success of an existing arrangement with Marks & Spencer,who currently use Wine Innovations’ patented packaging processto seal their Froglet grab-and-go wine product. The option of using custom branding is now being offered toall customers placing orders over 1,000 litres. This will beparticularly attractive for corporate hospitality events andgiveaways, where the main value is in the publicising of a brand. For volumes over 10,000 litres, customers can also arrange forthe branded glasses to be filled with bespoke wine blends.Customers opting for an ‘own label’ order will be provided withcutting guides for their designers to work from.Lead time for own brand labelling is expected to be 12 weeks from the point of order. GCS’ sustainable, senior friendly solution anatural choice for Volvic Danone Waters has chosen Global ClosureSystems (GCS) to cap the latest 1L bottle of itsVolvic brand of natural mineral water. GCS has developed a new screw cap with a TPEstripe to provide a perfect grip, making it easier forconsumers of all ages to open and close. The bi-injected cap, coloured white and green, also offerson-shelf appeal. The custom-made cap wasdesigned and developed by Zeller Plastik in France,one of GCS’ 21 production plants around the world. “This closure is very innovative in terms of screwcaps fore Volvic, offering both increase convenience for consumers and on-shelf differentiation. Thiscap is well perceived by consumers, solving the micro-stresses we identified in the day-to-day usage,”said Eric Maffert, international marketing manager for Volvic.”Frank Doucet, key account manager at GCS, added: “This bespoke project demonstrates how GCSis able to respond to market trends thanks to our customer-focused innovation process and best-in-class manufacturing facilities.”Beatson’s embossed standard isfirst choice for RidgewayBeatson Clark’s first standardembossed beer bottle has been chosenby Ridgeway Brewery of Oxfordshire tobottle its extensive range of craft beers.The new smaller 330ml amber bottlehas the words ‘Craft Beer’ embossedaround the shoulder and is ideal for thenew generation of ales which often have ahigher alcohol content by volume. Alison Hughes, business developmentmanager at Beatson Clark, added: “Ournew embossed standard 330ml beerbottle is ideal for small breweries whowant to differentiate their product on theshelf, and if you’re looking for a uniqueembossed container our designers canproduce a bespoke bottle tailored to theproduct.”“We can also customise our standardcontainers by having the brewery’s name,logo or strapline embossed onto thebottle. This is more cost-effective than investing in a fully bespoke designand it allows for the bottle to be manufactured in smaller volumes.”Morrisons Estate lists No.G range No.G, the award-winninggluten free pies, quiches andtarts brand by Too Good To BeGluten Free, has landed a newmajor retail listing, hittingshelves in 355 Morrisons storesthroughout the UK.Following the successfullaunch of No.G’s sausage rollin a selection of Morrisonsstores, from 1st February 2016the supermarket chain haslisted a range of eight pie,quiche and dessert SKUs in itschilled aisles nationwide, withall listed stores offering its No.Gproducts online also.The selected No.G products have been launched at various main estateMorrisons stores throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. Samuel Benjamin, brand manager, said: “This listing is a major coup forNo.G and Morrisons’ customers who now have greater availability to a fullrange of chilled gluten free products, both savoury and dessert.“Our brand is committed to the ongoing development of quality glutenfree products to meet the continuing demand for free from foods in thiscountry.” Fresh thinking in tomatoand berry packing withFreshseal technologyFreshseal, the latest pack format for tomato,berry and fresh produce packing is now availablein the USA, Canada and Mexico. Developedjointly by an Anglo Canadian partnership, thistechnology offers the fresh produce market aquick and easy means of transitioning into filmsealed punnets and trays from clam shell or flowwrapped packs. Film sealed packs use less packaging thanclam shell packs and are more space efficient forstacking and transportation. Due to the versatilityof the packaging available, fresh producesuppliers can quickly and easily create an eyecatching pack with colourful custom shapedtrays and pre-printed branded film. The optionsfor different tray materials include plastic, board,foil and compostable board. Freshseal heat sealing machines are thefastest most energy efficient on the market todaytherefore producing the lowest cost per packwith a number of models available to suit thedifferent levels of automation and productionspeeds in the market. 12_Layout 1 02/03/2016 12:48 Page 1BEVEXPOBFBI2016REPRESENTING THE entire SUPPLY CHAIN15th & 16th June 2016Manchester CentralTo visit or exhibit go to:www.bevexpo.com BevExpo 2016 is kindly sponsored by:Meet, learn and discover the excellence of products and services within the entire beverage industry 13_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:27 Page 114 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTFor many food producers and suppliers,the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is acornucopia for food trade and export. Theregion has cemented itself as a premierfood powerhouse, and nowhere is this asobvious than with the Gulfood exhibition.Aside from the obvious, Gulfood is areliable indicator of the region’s healthand its flourishing market place as awhole; it also offers an insight into manyof the region’s must successful suppliersand producers. Add to that the fact thatmany companies across the globe arelooking to break into the region, and itcan be used as a litmus test for the stateof global food trade. Over 160 Egyptian companies attendedGulfood in a bid to promote their foodexports and tap the region’s fertile foodmarket. Commenting on the country’sattendance, Trixie LohMirman, seniorvice president, exhibitions and eventsmanagement, Dubai World Trade Centre,said: “Though a long-standing Gulfoodpartner, Egypt is bringing a much wider,multi-commodities exhibitor profile to theevent in 2016, covering suppliers offreshly frozen fruit and vegetables,chocolate biscuits, dairy and dates.”She added: “There appears to berenewed impetus among Egyptianproducers given that food exports areincreasingly accounting for increasedrevenues in export earnings.”Indeed, the figures show that in 2014,Egypt shipped $26.8 billion worth ofgoods around the globe, with vegetables,fruits and nuts featuring among thecounty’s top five exports. Furthermore,between the 2010 and 2014, its exports ofvegetables reached $1.2 billion andaccounted for 4.6 per cent of all exports.Those of fruits and nuts, on the otherhand, rose to $1.1 billion, representing 3.9per cent of total exports. Although the focus for Egyptianexhibitors at Gulfood was very muchconcentrated on striking new supplierDevelopingEXPORTS As in previous years, the Gulfood exhibition was a barometer for emergingexporters both inside and out of the United Arab Emirates, and proved thatsuppliers in the developing world are evolving into major exporters. 14-16_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:29 Page 1Food & Drink International 15www.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTconnections and emerging source markets for further exportpotential, international suppliers both exhibiting and attendingthe show were targeting the county’s food and beverage industrycompanies driving the county’s expanding food production sectorand catering to its large domestic consumer base. In between wasa fertile realm of opportunity to secure new trade and contractsfor the future. Similarly, Pakistan is enjoying something of an exportrenaissance, with its food exports to the UAE increasing by 27 percent over the last two years alone. Dr Saeed Qadir, commercialcounsellor at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai, says:“Pakistan’s food and agro-sectors exports to UAE in 2015 havetouched the half-a-billion dollars mark, which compares extremelyfavourably to 2012 sales of $362.4 million.”Dr Qadir said that the growth is driven by a combination ofPakistan boosting sales of its traditional product whilst alsoexpanding its reach into new product areas, including processedmeat and poultry products, tea, concentrated milk and cream, aswell as spices, herbs and confectionaries. As in the case of Egypt,Gulfood proved to play an important role in providing a majorexport push for Pakistan’s rejuvenated food and beverageagricultural industry. The representation of Pakistani companies atthe exhibition has grown significantly since 2008 and encompassed1,000 square metres at this year’s exhibition. It reflects thecountry’s burgeoning exporting sector which is now challengingtextiles as Pakistan’s main foreign exchange earner. WorldwidePHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/LUCIANO MORTULAJapan’s price gap withdomestic rice likely to boostimports Japanesedemand forimported rice isforecast to growand is driven bytwo fronts – theprice for a majorforeign-grownvariety iscontinuing to fallwhile the domesticsupply is growingincreasingly expensive. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has revealed thatthe export price of medium-grain polished rice grown in California (whichmany Japanese restaurants incorporate into their domestic supply) was $775per ton in January 2016 – down 17 per cent from the previous year.Translated, the figure is around 92 yen (82 cents) per kilogram – 20 per centlower than the peak in autumn 2014.It’s believed that the supply of California rice is set to increase which isresponsible for driving the lower price. Rainfall has also picked up following asevere drought across California, which was having a negative effect on bothagriculture and food exports. Japanese rice, however, has become more expensive, with more rice farmsgrowing the crop as animal feed in 2015. The average wholesale price ofpolished Japanese rice is around 227 yen per kilogram. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/NIRAN PHONRUANG16 Á14-16_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:29 Page 216 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTsales topped $5 billion last year andare only forecast to grow. As with the aforementioned,Bangladesh is poised to become amajor exporter of food, due largely toits vast alluvial farmlands which isbeing gradually brought under anenhanced protection productionprogramme in order to deliver threeconsistent crops per year. Similar toEgypt and Pakistan, the UAE has aninteresting relationship withBangladesh. Somewhere in the regionof a million Bangladeshi expats liveand work in the region, which, ofcourse, has played a pivotal role inpromoting Bangladesh cuisine andpopularising it in the UAE, which inturn drives consumption andexportation. The majority of the $300million worth of Bangladeshi exportsto the UAE region (around 60 percent) is made up of foodstuffs such asrice, pulses, tea and processed food. S. Bodrizzaman, BangladeshConsul-General in Dubai andNorthern Emirates, says: “Bangladeshsets a good example in the developingworld for attaining self-sufficiency infood production. The countrysuccessfully increased its agriculturalyields manifold in the recent pastdespite a huge population pressure oncultivable lands. These days,agriculture is not only a foodgrainPHOTO: BIGROLOIMAGES / SHUTTERSTOCK.COMBrexit would endangerUK food and farmingexports, stresses UKEnvironment Secretary UK Environment Secretary Liz Truss has said that votingto stay in the EU in the forthcoming referendum wouldallow the UK to drive reform in the food and farmingsector. Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union annualconference, Ms Truss said: “I believe that by voting toremain within a reformed EU we can work to reducebureaucracy and secure further reform while still enjoyingthe significant benefits of the single market which gives usaccess to 500 million consumers.“We are able to export our high quality products freelywithout the trade barriers we deal with elsewhere and witha say in the rules.”The vote to leave the EU, or Brexit, has divided the foodand farming sector in the UK with key industry leadersexpressing concerns for both sides of the argument. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that thereferendum will be held on 23 June. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/SYMBIOTprovider in the country, but it hasalso emerged as one of the mostimportant export-orientatedindustries.” Bangladesh’s exportable food items,such as frozen fish, processed greenvegetables, have a huge marketdemand in export destinations acrossthe globe. These recent trendsdemonstrate the viability and vastpotential of Bangladesh’s processedfood industry in the globalmarketplace, which is worth around$4.5 trillion with exports of processedfoods growing at an average rate of26 per cent.20 Bangladeshi food and beveragemanufacturing companiesparticipated in this year’s Gulfoodexhibition, with assistance from theBangladesh Export Promotion Bureauto showcase produce like drinks,snacks, spices as well confectionaryand bakery items. As is the case withEgypt and Pakistan, Gulfood breaksdown international barriers andbolsters export trade meaning thatpockets of the developing world canposition themselves as major exportplayers on the world stage. On top ofthat, the exhibition serves tohighlight that the world still spins onexport and import and the ebb andflow of trade is having a dramatic,drastic and positive effect. 14-16_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:29 Page 3MAKE YOUR EXPORT RESULTS DO FULL JUSTICE TO YOUR EFFORTS ACHIEVE SO MUCH MORE WITH THE RIGHT SOFTWARE BEHIND YOUExportmaster’s range of three software products matches the needs and budget of every exporter from the smallest trader to the largest multinational. Whether you’re out to PTWYV]LLMÄJPLUJ`J\[JVZ[ZVYPUJYLHZLZHSLZ[OL`WYV]PKL[Y\S`JVZ[LMMLJ[P]LZVS\[PVUZto real-world problems. Check out what Exportmaster has to offer your export operations. SOFTWARE THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE FOR THE SERIOUS EXPORTER!TAKE YOUR EXPORTS FURTHER7KHZRUOG·VPRVWSRZHUIXODQGFRQÀJXUDEOHH[SRUWGRFXPHQWDWLRQSDFNDJH7KHFRPSOHWHPDQDJHPHQWDQGDGPLQSDFNDJHIRUH[SRUWVDOHVDQGVKLSSLQJ7KHWRWDOEXVLQHVVSDFNDJHIRUH[SRUWWUDGHUVDQGLQWHUPHGLDULHVCall: 020 8681 2321ZZZH[SRUWPDVWHUFRXN17_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:30 Page 118 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netSUPPLY CHAINThe supply chain must now move fasterthan ever before, due in no small part, toincreasing demands from consumers andretailers. As competition hots up betweenthe large supermarket brands and newforeign alternatives, the pressure oftenfalls onto those who work behind thescenes, to allow supermarkets to bringfood to shelves fresher, faster – and mostimportantly - cheaper. The flipside of this is that costs forthose in the supply chain sector are ever-increasing, and with fresh demands fromcustomers the investment cannot stop yet.On top of this, warehouse space is at anall-time low, pinching an industry whichis already under a lot of strain. With the issues of cost and efficiencyunder the spotlight like never before,multimodal solutions are becoming moreand more attractive to supply chainmanagers. It’s certainly the case that manycompanies aren’t following routes thatcould be more effective – for example,while 63% of containers arrive in the UKthrough ports in the South East ofEngland, only 10% of large distributionwarehousing is actually based there. Thevast majority of the items therefore haveto travel across the country in trucks thatwill inevitably ramp up the carbonemissions.The introduction of more warehousingin the right areas will make a difference,as too will the co-operative logisticsschemes whereby numerous companiescan work together to fill up one lorry witha number of products rather than havedozens travel around half-empty. Howevercompanies can make a huge differencewith the introduction of a moremultimodal approach. One example is theservice provided by PD Ports to Asda,which includes a shipping service betweentheir two facilities at Felixstowe andTeesport, providing added convenienceand ensuring products get closer, faster, totheir intended destination.Those in the industry are also having tolook within the warehouse as well, intheir never-ending efforts to squeeze everylast drop of efficiency from the chain.Effective warehouse management hasmade a major difference to the smoothrunning of a supply chain – and can helpcompanies meet the stringent traceabilityand security requirements of the majorretailers. But the question soon becomes,for how long can this continue? Is there alimit to how far warehouses can beUp to thechallengeAs the demands of retailers increase, those in thesupply chain who can adapt to the challenges will bethe ones reaping the rewards.18-21_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:33 Page 1Food & Drink International 19www.fdiforum.netSUPPLY CHAINpushed, before the industry reaches someform of critical mass – where the demandsof customers will simply be impossible? If there is, then we have not reached ityet, as there is still room forimprovement. One such example is thepossibility of moving to part – or maybeeven full – automation. Repetitive, time-consuming tasks that were traditionallycarried out by warehouse workers can nowbe completed quickly and efficiently bymachines. As such, supply chainautomation makes it much easier to meetdeadlines for throughput. This has alwayscome with an associated investment costhowever, and when it comes to large-scalewarehouses, the ROI was something thatwas a little too difficult to stomach.The good news for companies is thatautomated solutions are becoming cheaperand more flexible by the day. From roboticpickers, to conveyor belts – but alsoincluding automated pallet wrappers –companies like Kite Packaging are doingwhat they can to meet the demand. An added benefit of such concepts isalso the increased levels of worker safety,partly through the possibility of removingworkers from the equation altogether. Butmore realistically because it is the complexPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/MIKE LAPTEVGo Plastic Pallet’s new SF 800 H RetailPallet, which can be stacked easily whennot in use – saving on space, and themanpower needed to move it. PHOTO: GOPLASTICPALLETS.COM£20m green scheme toboost fish supplyfor food chain Work is due to start on a new £20 million hatchery withinvolvement from Pick Everard - helping to put 14 million indemand Scottish Salmon into the food chain per year. The new Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) will help to tackle thechallenge of providing food for the world’s ever growing population.Multi-professional construction design consultancy Pick Everard in Glasgowtackled the unique energy balance problem for Marine Harvest – the world’s largestproducer of Atlantic salmon, who are about to construct a new RAS hatchery at Inchmore, inGlenmoriston, Scotland.The firm will also be delivering mechanical engineering design on the new recirculation hatchery onthe site of Inchmore’s existing facility – the demolition of the former facility has now taken place prior to thestart of work.The new hatchery will consist of a steel frame building housing the fish farm, water processing equipment, offices, labs and welfare facilities for staff,along with a viewing gallery for visitors. It will have a bigger green footprint as Pick Everard has worked to achieve lower day to day energy costs forMarine Harvest with associated energy requirements reduced by 50 per cent and cost by 65 per cent.20 Á18-21_Layout 1 01/03/2016 11:33 Page 2Next >