The 2017 PROCESS EXPO wrapped up in Chicago, after a week of exhibitor showcases, educational workshops, and networking events for the food processing industry. This year PROCESS EXPO reinvented the show experience with an interactive show floor, rich attendee engagement, packed production line demonstrations, a Virtual Reality Showroom, meetups and education programs. The new experiences, a sold-out show floor, powerful programming, and aisles and aisles of tech innovation helped to attract nearly 14,000 industry professionals, with a 25% increase in international attendees, to a sold-out show floor with over 500 exhibiting companies covering 220,000 square feet of exhibit space.

"We would like to thank our exhibitors, attendees, sponsors, partners and all of the FPSA committees for their hard work and dedication in making this year's PROCESS EXPO an important gathering for the food and beverage processing industry," said Tom Kittle, Chairman, FPSA. "After two years of planning, it was nice to see everything come together, and even better to see attendees and exhibitors enjoy a very productive and successful show. We would also like to thank our exhibitors and members who helped us reach our goal of contributing 400,000 meals in our DEFEAT HUNGER campaign, to the Greater Chicago Food Depository."

PROCESS EXPO delivered an exciting and informative four-day event at the McCormick Place Convention Center attracting a qualified group of attendees who took advantage of the various educational tracks including food safety, hygienic design and FSMA regulations. Attendees were also able to see three full working production lines right on the show floor, and even explore state-of-the-art technology in the Virtual Reality Showroom.

There was also plenty to celebrate at PROCESS EXPO this year. Cakes and awards were presented to SPX Flow, Inc., and G.J. Olney, Inc. for their 100th anniversary of membership with the FPSA. PROCESS EXPO also welcomed IFFA/Messe Frankfurt officials with a Beer Garden reception complete with oompah music. The FPSA's newest initiative, the FPSA Women's Council, held a leadership breakfast with a keynote presentation from Jane Grote Abell, board chair and member of the founding family of Donatos Pizza.

The seven Innovation Awards winners were announced out of the 21 nominees, selected for their innovative, cutting-edge technology and equipment and judged by a panel of food processor judges on the first day. Congratulations to the most innovative new product winners:

•  Bakery, Grains, Seeds and Snacks: Brimrose Corporation of America, Luminar 4070 AOTF-NIR Process Analyzer
•  Meat, Poultry and Seafood: Zubex USA LLC, ZUBIOX Biodegradable Cooking Casings and Shrink Vacuum Bags
• Pet Foods: Remco Products Corporation, Color-Coded Lobby Dustpan and Broom Set
• Prepared Foods: Multivac Inc., Portion Pack with Snapsil Opening Feature
• Beverage: RGF Environmental Group, Inc., IMSB Ice Machine Sanitizer
• Confectionery, Candy and Sweets: Banner-Day, TraceFREE Electric Impedance Pipe Heating
• Dairy: Powder-Solutions, Inc., MAGNATTACK MAG-RAM Self Cleaning Magnet

The People's Choice Award was selected by PROCESS EXPO attendees out of the 21 Innovation Showcase nominees. This year's People's Choice Award went to Blentech Corporation for its CookerCloud™, a cloud-based historian that remotely monitors and collects secure data from food and beverage operations.

The 2019 PROCESS EXPO is scheduled for October 8-11, 2019 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL. For additional information, visit www.myprocessexpo.com

Source: Process Expo