Mixer

Available exclusively in the U.S. through Nu-Meat, the Inotec Vario Mix features a constant smooth movement for optimum and gentle mixing, which conserves the food structure without squeezing. The mixing result is achieved due to the geometry and movements of two interacting spirals which move in opposite directions. The Vario Mix is designed in particular for salami and ground meat products, mixing diced products or dry ingredients into meat mixes, fish and seafood.

Nu-Meat Technology: (908) 754-3400, or visit www.nu-meat.com

Conveyor Belt

Wire Belt Company offers Flat-Flex XT belting, providing “XTra” strength and support for longer belt life. XT’s unique spacing is designed to outperform competitive style belts, especially in bread crumb and flour applications, where typical belts are greatly stressed and damaged during this process. Flat-Flex XT’s additional strength enables conveyor circuits to run at higher speeds, allowing product to get where it’s going faster and increasing production.

Wire Belt Co.: (603) 644-2500, or visit www.wirebelt.com

Ashworth has been granted U.S. patent 7,735,637 for manufacturing Omni-Pro conveyor belts featuring Zero-Tension, 360-Degree Buttonless Welds, which are stronger and easier to clean than conventional bridge-welded belts. They are produced with an automated process that precisely positions each rod and then completely melts and fuses the rod and link together, creating consistently strong and smooth welds. By eliminating traditional bridge welding, all Omni-Pro belts are capable of withstanding the highest loads in their class.

Ashworth Bros.: (800) 682-4594, or visit www.ashworth.com

Former

Larger, fluffier hamburger patties are easy to produce with the Maxum700 or Ultra26 forming system from Formax, thanks to its new HomeStyle Patty System and Tender-Form tooling. These high-capacity forming systems provide greater versatility and a lower cost of entry versus dedicated units. The HomeStyle Patty System promises superior weight control of +/- 0.5 percent and includes a built-in paper feed system offering direct product to paper flow.

Provisur Technologies/Formax.: (708) 479-3500, or visit www.formaxinc.com

Packaging System

At Pack Expo 2010, Multivac debuted its new B610 belted vacuum chamber packaging system, the largest and highest-capacity machine of its kind available in North America. With its patented tilting lid, the B610 offers a host of state-of-the-art features for superior performance, easy maintenance, cost savings and energy conservation.

Multivac Inc.: (800) 800-8552, or visit www.multivac.com

Cooker

Material Transportation Co.’s SmartCooker substantially increases production by operating seamlessly. One of the cookers is always working while another discharges finished foods into the surge hopper. As soon as the finished food is discharged, the other can resume cooking. The result is a continuous flow of foods in increased volumes with improved consistency in taste and texture. To achieve the same output, this system also occupies considerably less floor space than conventional equipment.

Material Transportation Co.: (800) 433-3110, or visit www.mtcworldwide.com

Beef Deboning/Trimming

StreamLine, Marel’s beef deboning and trimming system, enables processors to online monitor and control the production from carcass intake to product dispatch. Carcasses from stock are weighed-in on an overhead track scale, and information about each animal — ID, age, slaughter date, farmer, PH value, etc. — is captured by the Innova production control software system. Primals are distributed to work stations and deboned, trimmed and skinned, according to individual specifications indicated on each operator terminal.

Marel Food Systems Inc.: (913) 888-9110, or visit www.marel.com/usa/

Scissors

Jarvis Products produces three different models of power-scissors. All three models provide effortless cutting, and dramatically reduce operator fatigue resulting from repetitive operations. Jarvis’ Models 15, 35 and 70 Airsnip pneumatic powered scissors greatly improve any operation currently done with regular scissors, knife or a hand clipper. Besides being lightweight and easy to clean (tool is totally immersible), they are suitable for a variety of poultry applications and trimming operations.

Jarvis Products Corp.: (860) 347-7271, or visit www.jarvisproducts.com

Crate Erector

Smarte Automation has developed the Smarte RPC Crate Erector, which automates the labor-intensive task of manually erecting returnable collapsible plastic crates used to ship meat, produce and food items. It assembles up to 27 crates per minute and eliminates repetitive motions and injuries associated with the manual erection process. Made of 304 stainless steel and food-grade components, the RPC Crate Erector is easy to clean, and it can be placed to run in-line or standalone.

Smarte Automation: (770) 331-0208, or visit www.gosmarte.com

Containers

Nelson-Jameson is offering Bronco Containers in additional sizes and color. The round, heavy-duty containers from Carlisle Sanitary Maintenance Products are now available in orange and 10-, 20-, and 32-gallon sizes. All colors are NSF Std. 2 for food contact and cleanability, including white, red, yellow, blue, green, grey and now orange. Matching, reinforced, stackable lids are also offered in the new sizes and color.

Nelson Jameson Inc.: (800) 826-8302, or visit www.nelsonjameson.com

Labels

Bizerba offers multifunctional labels, as the company notes that today’s labels serve a much greater purpose than providing information on contents or origin. RFID labels can facilitate transparency throughout the entire transport chain and protect against plagiarism. Labels with seal function enhance protection against theft. A VPI (Variable Product Information) label features a basic layout, pre-printed within company specific parameters. Variable data such as product name, date, weight and price can be printed by customers.

Bizerba Label Solutions: (410) 879-8220, or visit www.bizerbausa.com

Polymers

DuPont Performance Polymers is launching a new family of products, designated “FG” (Food grade) that meet demanding requirements for use in food contact applications. The materials make the DuPont offering one of the broadest portfolios of engineering plastics and thermoplastic elastomers for food contact applications. The DuPont FG portfolio includes DuPont Hytrel TPC-ET, Delrin POM, Zytel HTN (High-Performance Polyamide), Crastin PBT, Zytel 6, 6/6 and 6/12 Nylon (Polyamide), Rynite PET and Sorona EP PTT.

DuPont: (416) 545-0407, or visit www.dupont.com

Supplier News

The Food Equipment Division of Cozzini Inc. has been acquired by the Middleby Corp. and will be merged into the Middleby Food Processing Equipment Division. Middleby owns a food processing equipment platform comprised of Alkar, Rapid-Pak and MP Equipment. Middleby maintains a firm policy of continued brand recognition of the companies it acquires together with a commitment towards continued growth in the industries it serves. With the addition of the Cozzini Food Equipment Division, the combined strengths of the expanded Middleby Food Processing Equipment Division will create a single source for food processing equipment from design, engineering, manufacturing, integration and support of complete food process lines, cooking systems and packaging systems for the meat and food industries worldwide.

Cantrell, a poultry and food processing equipment sales and service company, has unveiled a new image and brand identity. The company also is expanding into new food processing industries. Tony Rice and Dane Woods acquired Cantrell in 2008 and began adding food processing equipment to its product line while maintaining its extensive poultry equipment product line.

Elanco Animal Health is sponsoring a new blog, “Plenty to Think About—the thinking person’s guide to feeding a hungry planet” ( http://www.plentytothinkabout.org ). The blog was inspired by global response to a 2009 white paper, “Food Economics and Consumer Choice,” authored by Elanco Animal Health President Jeff Simmons. The paper focused on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s statement that the world needs to produce 100% more food by the year 2050 and that 70% of that food must come from efficiency-enhancing technologies. Plenty to Think About is not a corporate blog, but rather an open forum where anyone can share their thoughts and ideas about solving the problem of hunger.

NSF International has appointed Donna Garren, Ph.D. to president and general manager of NSF Davis Fresh, a leading provider of food safety audits, consulting, training, and testing services for the produce industry. Garren will work closely with the NSF Davis Fresh team to verify safer, consistent produce practices utilizing NSF Davis Fresh’s technical expertise. She has more than 14 years of experience working in the food industry.

PolyConversions Inc., manufacturers of VR Protective Wear, has developed The PolyWash Cleaning and Sanitizing System that promotes “reuse” of limited-use apparel thus extending a garment’s useful life. After terminal use, VR garments are cleaned in the PolyWash System and packaged for recycling. From cradle to grave, VR Protective Wear processed in a PolyWash System meets the optimum requirements for natural resource conservation and sustainability.

Handtmann Inc. has named David Johnsen as territory manager responsible for the Northwest United States. Based out of Redmond, Ore., Johnsen will be responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. He joins Handtmann from Key Technology where he was a product specialist for various size grading and defect removal equipment. David has lived in the Northwest for more than 30 years and has more than 19 years of experience in industrial food processing machinery sales and sales management.

Wixon Inc., a manufacturer of seasonings, flavors, and ingredients for the food and beverage industry, has named Kim Holman as director of marketing. She has been serving as a marketing consultant for Wixon since 2007. Holman’s responsibilities include managing all marketing, advertising and promotional activities and staff, overseeing business development activities and trade shows, and providing analysis of customer research, market conditions and competitor data.

W.A. Brown and Son is now under full ownership of Southern Stainless Equipment of Waynesboro, Va., completing a partnership that allowed the century-old Salisbury company to reopen early this year. W.A. Brown, which specializes in walk-in coolers and freezers, resumed operations in January. Since then, its workforce has grown to 41 and development of national sales has expanded. “We are here and intend to grow,” said Bob Rouse, CEO of Clark Mfg., parent company of Southern Stainless Equipment, which makes industrial restaurant equipment. “We will not change the name or the personnel, and we will continue to grow and be a vital part of the community.”

Industry News

The North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP), the National Chicken Council (NCC), the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), and Auburn University (AU) have organized a “Salmonella and Campylobacter Reduction Conference” during the International Poultry Exposition, January 26-28, 2011, in Atlanta, GA. The conference will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center from 8:30 am until noon on the 26th and 27th.

Dr. Dan Engeljohn, Assistant Administrator of the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development, will be the leadoff speaker the first day. Trade media sponsors include the National Provisioner. For more information about the other speakers, schedule, and to register online, go to www.IPE11.org.

Reservations are being accepted for exhibit booth space at the 72nd American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers’ Exhibition. The trade show and educational meeting for U.S., Canadian, and Foreign operators of small and very small meat, poultry, and food businesses will be held June 16-18, 2011 at the Peppermill Resort ~ Spa ~ Casino.

The Suppliers’ Exhibition will be part of the three-day annual event sponsored by the American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP). The exhibit halls will be open on June 16, 17, and 18, coordinated with, but not conflicting with, concurrent educational sessions and demonstrations. For more information about exhibiting in the trade show, contact Jodi Bartlett at (877) 877-0168, or e-mail jodi@aamp.com.