< PreviousFaerch Plast & Colpac develop duel ovenablepack for new Tesco food-to-go range Faerch Plast and Colpac recently joined forces todevelop an exciting pack design in conjunction withleading fresh prepared foods manufacturer,Bakkavor, for a new Tesco food-to-go range. The eye-catching yet functional pots areproduced from a winning combination of CPET andpaperboard which allows a choice of six appetisingmeal options to be heated in-store before beingdisplayed in hot cabinets for purchase. The food-to-go market continues to flourish withincreasing demand for portable meal options,especially breakfasts and lunches which are more commonly consumed off premises. As a result,retailers are demanding new packaging formats that make eating on the move easier whilst alsoreflecting authenticity, premium quality and healthier choices. Ideal for convenience and ready meal products, Colpac’s C-vis® packaging solution was originallydeveloped in 2012, firstly as a microwaveable option, and then using Faerch Plast’s CPET potprovide a dual-ovenable version. bottlegreen drinks extends into plasticM&H Plastics has recently completed production ofa new 50ml bottle for SHS Drinks’ brand, bottlegreen.Initially produced to allow added value as an inclusionof a 50ml cordial serve in a twin pack of 750ml glasssparkling pressés for Waitrose meal deals, the use ofthese new plastic bottles has opened up a range ofbenefits to the company.The PET bottles were developed, tooled, mouldedand finished by M&H Plastics at its Beccles plant,working closely with SHS Group’s fillers and marketingdepartment. An exceptionally fast turnaround enabledSHS Group to benefit by getting the product to marketin record time. Alongside this, SHS found that, as thecompany was now using lighter plastic for the bottles,more could be put on pallets, reducing distributionand logistics costs. An added benefit to using plastic for this product has meant that new markets are opening up infoodservice, transport markets (especially aviation) and on-the-go.Box opens up a luxurious experience A premium presentation box fromluxury packagingmanufacturer PollardBoxes is providing a newrange from HotelChocolat with an air ofindulgence andestablishing it as aluxurious gift. Theinnovative box, used for themarket-leading brand’s Cabinetrange, offers customers amemorable opening experience,through the use of two openingdevices – a ribbon pull drawer and ajacket style magnetic lid closure. The premium quality image of Hotel Chocolat is conveyed through theuse of a heavy coverage deboss repeat pattern of the jacket lid, while thelogo is foiled in black, white and clear foil onto two different shades of greycolourplan, one for each of the Classic and Dark pack varieties. Contrastingblack gloss foil is used on the two box sides to further enhance the luxurypositioning.Pollard’s in-house print finishing expertise was critical in meeting thecombined challenges of debossing and foiling.Bensons JOOSED! Junior grows upBensons the Juicers’ JOOSED! Juniorwill now be available in multipacks.JOOSED! Junior, a mixture of just fruitjuice and British Spring Water, wasoriginally launched in 2012 and dueto popularity they have nowbrought the multipacks to themarketplace.Supporting British orchards andusing only Red Tractor accreditedapple juice like all of the Bensonsrange, JOOSED! Junior is officiallyone of ‘Your 5 a day’, containsonly naturally occurring fruit sugarand with the sports cap bottle isalso entirely compliant withschools’ guidelines. The multipacks (4 x 250ml) will be availablein Apple, Blackcurrant & Apple and Orange & Apple flavours and will bestocked throughout 150 Waitrose stores in the UK.JOOSED! Junior is also available from the following retail outlets:Waterstones – Café W, Eden Project, The TATE, The National Trust, RoyalShakespeare Company, as well as garden centres and farm shops andother retailers throughout the UK.PA help Arthur MallonFoods increaseproduction speeds Award-winning Irish sausage producer, ArthurMallon Foods, needed to upgrade their top sealtray sealer and were looking for a machine thatwould offer an increase in output in line with theirproduction target. Since the introduction of a PAtray sealer, Mallon Foods have been able toincrease their production speeds by approximately40%. Mallon Foods purchased a fully electric eclipseSL4 tray sealer which has been designed toaddress the environmental impact of packagingoperations by reducing the user’s powerconsumption by up to 90%. The in-line, fullyelectric SL4 is a small footprint machine capableof sealing 75 packs per minute. Featuring PA’s Powerdrive™ technology, theSL4 is a fully electric machine and operateswithout using any compressed air, thereforeoffering savings of up to 98% of the running costsof conventional pneumatically operated traysealers. This enables food producers todemonstrate a real commitment to environmentalissues, whilst delivering a competitive operatingcost.10 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.net10-11_Layout 1 29/07/2016 09:26 Page 1Food & Drink International 11www.fdiforum.netEHL Ingredients unveil twonew organic stuffing mixesTo celebrate Organic September, EHL Ingredients islaunching two new organic stuffing mixes, bringingalternative tastes and textures to traditional stuffingingredient blends.The first is a Middle Eastern-style organic sultana,lemon and spice stuffing. With a distinctiveMediterranean flavour, the second addition is an organicgarlic, tomato and herb stuffing.Food manufacturers can include the blends in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean ready meals andaccompaniments to spice up pork, lamb, chicken or turkey dishes, as well as meat-free foods suchas vegetarian mince, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls and baked mushrooms.Available in bulk, the blends are ideal for packers, retailers and food processors to package intosmaller bags or boxes to be sold on supermarket shelves for consumers to use at home.The leading importer, blender and packer of food ingredients from around the world already offerseight organic ingredient blends and these new stuffing mixes bring authentic flavours and textures toMediterranean and Middle Eastern style dishes.World’s hottest chilli pepper to go on sale in UKsupermarketTesco stores across the UK have begun sellingthe world’s hottest chilli pepper, the CarolinaReaper, which is now being commercially grown inthe Britain for the first time. The new additionfollows the launch of the Komodo Dragon chilli byTesco last year. It’s officially the hottest chilli pepper in the worldaccording to the Guinness Book Of Records,measuring an average 1.5 million Scoville units (the measure by which spiciness is gauged). Howeveranother independent test is reported to have recorded the heat level of the Carolina Reaper at anincredible, mouth numbing 2.2 million Scovilles.The Carolina Reaper is 400 times hotter that the jalapeno, the chilli pepper commonly used onspicy take away or supermarket made pizzas.Phoebe Burgess, Tesco chilli pepper buyer, said: “The Carolina Reaper is absolute meltdownmaterial – it’s one for absolute hot food connoisseurs. Despite it being astonishingly hot it also has awonderful fruity taste. Only a sliver is needed to add exciting flavour to your favourite curry.New Arla milk ensures fair price forits dairy farmersArla has launched ArlaFarmers Milk, a new milkrange created to giveshoppers the opportunity topay a little extra on each bottleto help Arla farmers.The launch from the farmer-owned dairy company isbased on research showingthat almost two thirds ofconsumers (63%) said they would pay more for dairy products if they knowthe extra money goes back to farmers.Arla Farmers Milk will be available in ASDA stores from 12 July in a four-pint format, with both semi-skimmed and whole milk options at an RSP of£1.20. ASDA brand four-pint milk RSP is 95p and the extra 25p for ArlaFarmers Milk will be returned to directly to Arla farmers. In line with Arla’scooperative’s principles, this extra money will be shared amongst its 12,700farmer owners.Arla Foods amba Farmer Board Director, Jonathan Ovens, said: “Peoplewant to know more about where their food comes from and who benefitsand are willing to pay more if they know it goes directly to the farmers thatproduce it. As we’re part of a cooperative, the money we receive goes backto the farmers who supply our milk.”Sodexo and Iceland to stock &source cage free eggs by 2025Sodexo has joined frozenfood retailer Iceland by makingthe pledge to source only cagefree eggs by 2025. “For a company likeSodexo, with operations in 80countries at more than 32,000sites, and who sourcesapproximately a quarter of abillion shell eggs worldwide onan annual basis, addressinganimal welfare is a significant undertaking, due to the complexities of oursupply chain and differences in agriculture practices around the world.Given our commitment to sourcing responsibly, we are focused onbuilding partnerships with suppliers, authorities and farm animal welfareNGOs, to achieve progress and educate stakeholders about the issue,”said Neil Barrett, Sodexo Group SVP Sustainable Development. Iceland is making the move to cage free eggs following customerfeedback and extensive consultations with the company’s egg suppliers,which have confirmed the feasibility of moving entirely to alternative barnand free range production methods by 2025. The decision from Sodexo and Iceland follows Tesco’s announcementthat it is to stop sourcing eggs from caged hens by 2025. Sauces get a hot newlookA custom-designed squeezy PET bottle fromRPC Superfos is helping the UK’s No.1 Hot PepperSauce brand achieve greater visibility on shelf.The new bottle for the Encona ‘Taste Explorers’range from Grace Foods UK is part of arefreshment of the packaging to help the brandstay competitive. Slightly taller and narrower than its predecessor,it holds the same volume as before but is morevisible on shelf thanks to a greater label surface.“Squeezy bottles are ideal if you look for a cleanway to dispense sauces,” comments Sam Bidgood,brand manager at Grace Foods. “Plastic bottles areeasy to use so they are perfect for sauces thatconsumers enjoy more frequently than others.”He finds that the cooperation with RPC Superfoson the project has been excellent, including timingand delivery. “Retailers have given us really positivefeedback to our new customised squeezy bottle.We offer both glass and plastic bottles for ourproducts to cater for as many customers aspossible. Plastic continues to grow in popularity.” PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/SEA WAVE10-11_Layout 1 29/07/2016 09:26 Page 2Cranswick sells sandwich business in £15m dealUK-based fresh food company Cranswick has sold off itssandwich business for £15 million in order to focus on itscore protein businesses. The Sandwich Factor Holdings Limited has beenacquired by Irish food business Greencore for a total cashconsideration of £15 million. Adam Couch, CEO of Cranswick, said the sale was inline with the company’s strategy of focussing on its coreprotein businesses. He added: “I am particularly delightedthat the new sandwich division is being acquired by aproven global leader in Greencore who will bring new opportunities and strengths to this business.” In the year to 31 March 2016, the sandwich business generated revenues of £54 million. The 650people employed by the business will be transferred to the Dublin-based business. The announcement coincided with Cranswick announcing that its revenues in the three monthsto 30 June 2016 were 11 per cent ahead of the same period last year. Patrick Coveney, Greencore Chief Executive, said: “The sandwich Factor will extend our reachinto customer channels in which we are currently under represented, notably convenience storesand the travel sector, and will also bring new product types into the Greencore portfolio.”12 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netEC outlines new €500msupport package worthfor European farmersThe European Commission has presented a newpackage of measures worth €500 million from EUfunds to support farmers in the face of ongoingmarket difficulties, particularly on the dairy market.The measures were presented to the Council ofEU Agriculture Ministers by Commissioner forAgriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. Hesaid: “Coming at a time of significant budgetarypressures, this package provides a further robustresponse, and means that the Commission hasmobilised more than €1 billion in new money tosupport hard-pressed farmers. “Our ultimate goal is to see the much neededrecovery of prices paid to farmers, so that they maymake a living from their work and continue toprovide safe, high quality food for citizens, as wellas their contribution to rural areas and rural jobsand the provision of public goods.”The precise details of all the different measureswill be finalised in August, in consultation withMember State experts. The budget implications ofthe proposed measures will be incorporated in anamending letter to the draft budget 2017 in theautumn.SIG Combibloc qualifies downstream equipmentfrom Mariani For SIG Combibloc, a smooth productionprocess does not end after the filling machineor the applicator. Without the correspondingdownstream equipment that can keep pacewith production, a technologically brilliant, fast-filling machine is virtually worthless. To enablecustomers from the food and beverageindustry to utilise the potential of the SIGCombibloc filling machines, the process mustcontinue reliably beyond the filling process. With Italian downstream manufacturerMariani, SIG Combibloc now has an additional partner to enable it to offer complete solutions forfood and beverage industry customers – from the filling machine right up to the palletising. Stefan Mergel, Head of Downstream & Procurement Engineering at SIG Combibloc, said: “We’reconfident that with Mariani, we’ve found an excellent manufacturer whose range and experience willbenefit our customers and ourselves. Together with our partners, we will continue to drive forwarddevelopment in the area of downstream systems.”New tray sealer ‘meats’ Rhug’squality requirements Heat sealing specialists Prosealhas launched the world’s first semi-automatic tray sealer for skin deeppacks.The new Proseal GTR-E is able toseal products that sit up to 100mmabove the edge of the tray, making itideal for large pieces of meat andjoints. As with all types of skin packs,the film wraps tightly around the meatto extend the shelf life without theneed for gas flushing, and providesenhanced presentation.The GTR-E has been developed inassociation with the first customer forthe machine, Rhug Estate, an award-winning organic farm in Wales,owned and run by Lord Newborough.To meet Rhug Estate’s need formaximum flexibility, as well as being able to handle skin deep packs, theGTR-E can seal a wide variety of other pack types, including standard, gasflushed, and vacuum gas flushed trays, and ordinary skin pack trays. Toolchanges between standard, skin pack and skin-deep formats take just fiveminutes.Flexible Ishida systems supportefficient poultry operation Ishida Europe has installed a flexibleand space efficient high-performancesolution for the accurate weighing andpacking of chicken legs and drumsticks atone of the UK’s leading food companiesFaccenda Foods.A second Ishida installation atFaccenda’s new £35 million poultryportioning plant in Telford is weighingchicken fillets into trays which then passthrough an Ishida Vision System and SealTester before being automatically pickedand placed into crates via the Ishida IPSsystem.Both systems utilise Ishida’s pioneeringscrewfeeder multihead weighingtechnology which features the familiarcircular multihead weigher layout but incorporates rotating corkscrews toreplace the traditionally-used radial feeders. The screws provide a powerful,controlled and fully automatic product feed to the hoppers. The weighers arecombined with Ishida’s versatile Rotobatchers, with accurately weighedportions despatched to a series of packing stations on a batching table,where an operator places the product into a tray and styles it for effectivepresentation prior to the tray being sealed.PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ALEXANDER CHAIKINPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/MICHAEL C. GRAY12_Layout 1 29/07/2016 09:27 Page 1Food & Drink International 13www.fdiforum.netDon’t forgetyou can now readFood & Drink International Digital Editionsnow available on iPad & iPhonewww.fdiforum.netIdeal for those who spendtime away fromthe officeonthego!Lorien adds to businessdevelopment team Engineering design and projectmanagement firm, Lorien EngineeringSolutions, has appointed a BusinessDevelopment Manager to further growits established reputation in the foodand drink sector. Matthew Hidderley, an AstonUniversity MBA graduate, has joinedLorien’s UK office in Burton on Trentfollowing various commercial rolesincluding a holiday park generalmanger in the Peak District and over10 years at a leading science andtechnology park, where he headed upa marketing and sales team. He will be working with Lorien’s team of engineers to strengthen andestablish relationships with both existing and prospective clients in theindustry.Lorien specialises in capital projects for food, brewing, drinks, lifesciences, biotech and safety compliance, and sustainability. It is a divisionof GP Strategies Corporation, a global engineering & technical servicesorganisation headquartered in Maryland USA.Lorien has also recently recruited a senior project manager and a furtherbusiness development manager to focus on life sciences manufacturing anddiscovery. To advertise your services onthe news pages contact us on01472 310302Unicorn Ingredients extends FarEast operations UnicornIngredients, aleading Britishsupplier ofingredients forthe bakery andspeciality breadsmarket, hasextended itsoperations inChina and Indiawith two key newprofessionalpositions.Unicorn maintains offices in China and India to handle its import andexport operations. In China, Han Jia Jia has joined the company in the roleof China Quality Assurance. This is a technical role focusing on producercontrol, ensuring standards are met, compliance with relevant audits andthat product quality is assured.In India, Unicorn Ingredients has created a new role for a CommercialOfficer to deal with logistics, shipments and other operational activities, thusfreeing up time for Country Manager, Hemant Gupte, and others to developcommercial opportunities within India.Frank Horan, Joint Managing Director of Unicorn Ingredients commented:“We have experienced eight consecutive years of growth and one of thechallenges of managing growth is ensuring the resources are in place tomaintain our very high standards of product quality. These new positionshave been created to do just that.”13_Layout 1 29/07/2016 09:29 Page 114 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTPulses have a key role to play in theongoing battle against global malnutrition,improving human health and enhancingagricultural sustainability. This will provecritical with the world populationexpected to top 9 billion by 2050. Despite the pressing need for pulses inthe overall strategy in ensuring a safer,stronger and more dependable food supplychain, the consumption of pulses has beensuffering from a slow and steady decline,certainly compared to other staples suchas maize, wheat, rice and soya. Thedownturn has been attributed to thechanging patterns in diets and consumerpreferences, especially in developingcountries where a strengthening economyturns consumers from vegetable proteinsto more expensive meat and dairy options.Despite the shift away from pulses,farmers aren’t able to keep up with thedemand, as the population growing at arate that exceeds agricultural output andcountries are forced to turn to imports toRUDRA NARAYAN MITRA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COMFinger onthe pulseAs the world’s largest importer of pulses, India is currentlyreliant on other countries to supplement its dwindling domesticproduction, but a new government panel seeks to reverse thatfortune. 14-17_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:12 Page 1Food & Drink International 15www.fdiforum.netIMPORT AND EXPORTfulfil their national quota. This has led toa surge in the international trade ofpulses, while production itself is lagging.This trend is already showing warningsigns in both China and India – theworld’s largest producer and importer ofpulses, which is experiencing huge pricehikes due to a poor harvest this year. Tohelp address and alleviate these issues,The International Year of Pulses is raisingawareness of production, encouraging newresearch and development, and helping toensure that pulses are widely availableglobally. Part of India’s strategy in scaling up itsdomestic pulse production, moving awayfrom imports and positioning itself as anexporter in this arena, led to thegovernment forming a panel headed upChief Economic Advisor, ArvindSubramanian. He said that pulse priceshave risen dramatically due to theirunder-cultivation and inadequatedomestic production and compared it tothe spike in vegetable prices, somethingthat has more to do with market forcesthan production. Speaking at aninternational conference in June,Subramanian said that this inadequateproduction has led to a spike in prices in acontext of a shift in dietary habits,wherein pulses have become a core part ofthe Indian diet. With the aim of boostingthe production of pulses, the centralgovernment has incentivised theircultivation by raising the minimumsupport price alongside encouragingfarmers to produce on a preferential basis.This initiative, and others like it (such asthe deployment of technology), will helpto scale back the country’s dependence ofimports, cater to the growing domesticneed and help to create surplus pulseswhich could then be exported elsewhere. Technology will prove pivotal inreducing India’s dependence on imports.Biologists in Southern India, led by KiranSharma (who has spent the last six yearspursing this development), are testing anew variety of the 3,000 year old pigeonpea by adding a gene to the seed’s DNA.They hope to make the pea pest proof andboost output by 30 per cent, making it avaluable asset and opening the floodgatesfor similar initiatives. Sharma says:“Insects are one major problem – if youwant to increase the productivity of thepigeon pea, then genetic engineering isthe one way of doing it.” But despite the development of thepigeon pea (known in India as tur dal),many of the country’s states are opposedto genetically modified crops and,subsequently, won’t allow for field trials,putting up a significant roadblock to whatcould be an otherwise necessary solutionto the country’s production woes. Although demand has risen far fasterthan agricultural output can keep up with,it’s only one of several contributingfactors in India’s reliance on imports.Back to back doubts have meant that thecountry’s production of pulses hassuffered, falling from 19.25 tonnes in2013-14 to 17 million. To fill this gap,India imported some 6 million tonnes ofpulses (worth around $6 billion) in 2015-16. As pulses are reliant on rain-fedmarginal lands, the threat of droughtprovides a level of uncertainly that canhinder India’s growth as a producer.Recalibrating its agricultural practices and16 Á14-17_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:12 Page 2IMPORT AND EXPORT16 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netincentivising farmers away from wheat, paddy andsugarcane to pulses will prove absolutely paramount. Theadvantages for switching to pulses are certainlycompelling, as they are typically less water intensive andrequire less land than that of other crops. Therelationship between the government’s newly formedpulse panel will be crucial in brokering the incentivesthrough which India will move away from imports andscale up its production. As the world’s largest importer of pulses, drivenexponentially by its own production suffering, India iscontributing towards the increased global demand. Butthis is also a means of opportunity, with countries likeCanada aiming to produce more to help stem the need.Speaking at the Pulse and Special Crops Convention inJuly, Murad Al-Katib, President of the Canadian SpecialCrops Association, said: “When I look at the demandfundamentals from a product development standpoint anda consumer trend standpoint, this is actually anirreversible trend. It’s not one that I think is grounded ina fad or some type of a temporary phenomenon where weare going to see pulse consumption and ingredients riseand then potentially taper off. We are ultimately lookingat a high-protein, high-fibre, non-GMO, gluten-freePHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/JOATRussia extends Western foodimport embargoesAccording to Russia’s own TASS news agency, Russian President VladimirPutin has signed a decree to extend the existing ban on agricultural foodimports from Western countries. The ban is part of sanctions put in place bythe country in retaliation to the EU’s own sanctions following the Ukrainecrisis in 2014. The ban, which covers meat, dairy and vegetable productsfrom the United States, European Union, Australia and Norway, has now beenextended to the end of 2017. The extensions are of particular concern to Denmark, especially for itsstruggling pork sector, which will continue to go without access to the vastRussian market for a further 18 months. The EU had previously stated that itssanctions would be dropped when Russia lived up to its ceasefire agreementthat it signed with Ukraine last year. Russian officials, however, are to meet with their Turkish counterparts todiscuss lifting the food import ban placed on them by Russia after one of itsbombers was downed near the Syrian border in November 2016, indicatingthere is plenty of room for negotiating in the coming months and years. Registration required for foreignfood exporters, importers into KoreaForeign food manufacturers exporting to Korea or food importers are nowrequired to register food facilities of their products in order to continueserving the market.Registration is to be done with the Korean Ministry of Food and DrugSafety (MFDS) at least seven days prior to their first importation, with a viewof renewing registration every two years. “The food products from foreign facilities which fail to register may berefused entry into Korea by MFDS,” said the Department of Trade andIndustry (DTI)’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB).The registration requirement of foreign food facilities is mandated byKorea’s Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management which takes effecton August 3.It applies to persons who intend to import food products into the Korea orthose who establish and operate a foreign food facility, with registrationavailable via mail or online. Manufacturers who are not willing to provide the facility information toimporter can directly register to MFDS system. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/REIDLPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/SEAN PAVONE14-17_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:12 Page 3IMPORT AND EXPORTFood & Drink International 17www.fdiforum.netproduction, with a very strong and environmental story totell.”It’s no easy feat to boost domestic production, scale upagriculture and move away from imports, and it will taketime to deploy. During this changeover, India will continueto rely on imports. During his visit to Africa, India PrimeMinister Narendra Modi signed a memorandum ofunderstanding to double the country’s current annualimport of 1 lakh tonne of archar and tur dal fromMozambique to 2. At the time of going to print, India wasalso considering importing pulses from Afghanistan.Eternal Affairs Ministry Secretary (Economic Relations)Amar Sinha is quoted as saying: “Farmers fromAfghanistan will grow pulses if they have an assuredmarket, while importing pulses will ensure our foodsecurity.” He added that these imports could start with aquantity of around 1 lakh tonnes. The Ministry of NationalFood Security and Research has recently prepared asummary to be considered by the Economic CoordinationCommittee which recommends the import of 25,000tonnes of black pulses to meet demand, indicating thepressing need both to fill the pulse gap, but also ramp upits own production. If 2016 is indeed the ‘year of pulses’then it will prove to be a transformative one for India. Annual Agri-food tradereport 2015: EU numberone exporter worldwideThe European Commission has confirmed that the European Union is thenumber one agricultural food exporter worldwide.EU exports for agricultural products reached €129 billion in 2015, anannual increase of 5.7%, securing the EU’s position as first world agri-foodexporter with a net trade surplus of €16 billion.The entire output of the European Union’s agricultural sector was valuedat €410 billion in 2015. Agriculture and the food and drink industry togetheremploy millions of people, accounting for 7.5 % of employment and 3.7 % oftotal value added in the EU.Although some Member States and sectors still suffered from the Russianban and from low world market prices, the overall EU agricultural tradeperformance was positive in 2015.Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development,said: “Our trade performance continues to be a real good news story for theEU agri-food sector. Our high production standards and commitment toquality food and drink products ensure continuing global demand.”PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ARTJAZZ14-17_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:12 Page 4FORKLIFT & PALLET TRUCKS18 Food & Drink Internationalwww.fdiforum.netThe demand for fresher food has placedan incredible strain on the supply chainindustry, with manufacturers rushing tomeet the stringent time frames of largerretailers. In many cases there are just afew days allowed between the completionof a product, and its delivery to theretailer – so it should come as no surprisethat distribution centres and warehousesare feeling the pressure. With such irregular schedules to followand a wide variety of products to shift, themanual element of the workforce remainsas important as ever. While factories aremoving towards almost full levels ofautomation, within the warehouses it isstill individual staff shifting goods about.Be it through forklifts, trolleys, conveyorbelts or other materials handlingequipment – the focus is on speed,efficiency and ultimately, safety. Materials handling within the supplychain rely heavily on forklifts and pallettrucks, which have long been the mainstaytool of the supply chain and warehousingindustry. The wide array of forkliftsavailable on the market can causeconfusion however, especially with whatroles they might best be suitable towards.Industrial reach forklifts are best suited totaller racking systems, very commonwithin the food and drink industry due tothe sheer quantity of stock that is kept ina warehouse, often necessitating thatoperators stack their products tall as wellas wide. If your warehouse has unusuallythin aisles, possibly because of evenhigher levels of stock, then a 3-wheelforklift can offer more manoeuvrability,allowing it to operate in these thinneraisles.What a company needs can depend ona hundred different factors, from thewidth of the aisles, the height of thestacking, weight of palletised goods – oreven how far back on a rack they arestacked. Almost all forklifts will comewith health and safety precautions such asshielded roofs as standard, but theremight also need to be considerations interms of user accessibility, or evenergonomics. While many may scoff at theidea that ergonomic design should warranta more expensive forklift system, oneshould remember that in an average dayan operator might move their arm over athousand times an hour, and their headtwice that number. Dragging that out overan eight hour day is going to cause seriousstrain and fatigue on workers, and whilethis might not lead to injury – it willcertainly have an impact on efficiencylevels, as workers begin to pause to loosenmuscles or take quick rests. This is a clearThe not-so-humble forklift is a keycomponent in the materials handlingworld, and with so many models tochoose from, there’s a solution tosuit your exact requirements.Kingof thewarehouse18-21_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:14 Page 1Food & Drink International 19www.fdiforum.netLinde Material Handling optimises itsT20/T25SP rider pallet trucksLinde Material Handling has launched a newlyimproved version of its highly successful rider pallettruck models T20SP and T25SP.These updated models, first showcased at Linde’sWorld of Material Handling exhibition, incorporate astrengthened chassis to allow a 2500kg rated capacitymodel to replace the previous 2400kg machine. Thereis an improved left hand grip for additional operatorcomfort and security as well as a range of exciting newoptional equipment.David Bowen, Product Manager – WarehouseProducts at Linde Material Handling (UK), said: “Wehave sold over 33,000 T20SP and T25SP trucks sincethe launch in 2004 making us the leaders in the riderpallet truck market. We are pleased to reveal these newfeatures especially the fully suspended stand-onplatform and steering control module. This new featurehas led to a 30% reduction in Whole Body Vibration forthe operator increasing comfort and safety.”For more information, visit www.linde-mh.co.uk.example of the differences between speedand efficiency within the materialshandling industry and to a degree canmimic the story of the tortoise and thehare. And while no one can endorsetortoise-like speed in the warehouse, it ispreferred to be able to maintain a pace ofindustry through the day, rather than lagtowards the end due to fatigue. The restraints and limitations of awarehouse will also play a big factor,though these can also be taken advantageof in some circumstances. Forkliftsspecifically designed for narrow aisles andtall racking systems might enable aPHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/DMITRY KALINOVSKY20 Á18-21_Layout 1 29/07/2016 11:14 Page 2Next >