High pressure processing leader Avure Technologies has been honored with a 2013 Spirit of Excellence Award from Hormel Foods Corp. The award recognizes the significant role the HPP equipment supplier played in Hormel Foods’ continuous improvement process throughout the past year. Spirit of Excellence recipients “truly go above and beyond in helping us achieve our goals,” noted Hormel Director of Purchasing Tyler Hulsebus on announcing the award earlier this month.

According to Avure Director of Services Dave Fuller, the recognition is closely tied to the world-class HPP Equipment Services and Support (ESS) platform the company introduced last October. The new program is designed to help customers take advantage of opportunities to boost productivity and profitability.

“It is an honor to be included in Hormel’s elite group of suppliers, who must meet high standards in conformance, scheduling, price, documentation, and communication,” Fuller comments. “We were evaluated for performance in areas like system productivity, throughput, and on-time parts shipment, all of which are enhanced by the ESS commitment to help our customers experience the full benefits of their HPP deployment.”

Based on new service agreements, Hormel and Avure are now actively engaged in a partnership effort to drive down operating costs, generate greater productivity, and streamline knowledge transfer.

“Like Hormel, Avure is dedicated to continuous improvement,” says Matt Rutherford, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Global Sales. “Our new ESS platform, which reflects the full breadth of our 50-plus years in the production of ultra-high pressure presses, is a value-added tool to maximize uptime, reduce risk, optimize productivity, and accelerate customer return on investment.”

Headquartered in Austin, Minn., Hormel Foods is a highly respected multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products. The company itself was recently honored as one of “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine.

HPP is the post-packaging lethality treatment that uses ultra-high pressure instead of heat to inactivate foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms in products as diverse as raw and RTE proteins, deli meats and salads, fresh fruit and vegetable beverages, and seafood. The non-thermal, all-natural pasteurization process is increasingly applied around the globe to enhance safety, extend shelf life, enable innovation, and improve the nutritional value of food. Hormel Foods has successfully implemented HPP programs to its brands for offering customers all-natural, clean-label premium products.

For more information about high pressure processing, visit Avure’s website at www.avure.com/HPP and www.twitter.com/avureHPP.