Every other year, the global dairy industry converges in Chicago for North America’s largest display of food and beverage industry suppliers in one location – Worldwide Food Expo. That time is now. Worldwide Food Expo ‘05 arrives at McCormick Place October 26-29 as the industry’s premier showcase of processing, packaging, equipment, ingredients and services.

Sponsored by the American Meat Institute (AMI), the International Association of Food Industry Suppliers (IAFIS) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Worldwide Food Expo offers dairy industry professionals an opportunity to find solutions spanning the manufacturing process, from receiving and blending, to processing and packaging, to material handling and distribution. Attendees come to the show to find the things that help dairy companies to run more efficiently, offer new products and improve profitability.

“The idea of a U.S.-based show spanning the entire global food industry has come to fruition in Worldwide Food Expo,” says IDFA President & CEO Connie Tipton. “The show has evolved dramatically since it began in 1997, and I think this year will be our strongest outing yet, with a comprehensive education program and the latest innovations featured on the show floor. It’s the one show nobody in the dairy industry can afford to miss.”

Worldwide Food Expo also offers a comprehensive educational program that includes 45 workshops on topics such as food safety, marketing, plant operations and engineering, retail operations and regulatory issues.

Manufacturing solutions

Another major element in the Worldwide Food Expo educational program is “Manufacturing Solutions Continuing Education Courses,” a special track of sessions focusing on the production side of the food industry.

“The Manufacturing Solutions sessions are designed specifically to help food and beverage plants implement leaner, more efficient and more profitable processing and manufacturing operations,” says IAFIS President Steve Schlegel. “This program offers plant operations, product development and engineering personnel critical problem-solving experience they can take home and apply immediately.”

Additionally, credit for Continuing Education Units (CEU), Professional Development Hours (PDH) and Learning Units (LU) is available from IAFIS for all Manufacturing Solutions sessions. The program is sponsored by the IAFIS Foundation.

The following four sessions make up the Manufacturing Solutions program:

Improved Plant Efficiencies through Smart Engineering

In this session, attendees participate in solving actual cases from food processing manufacturers in which time and money were saved as a result of smart engineering. The session is led by HAGEN & Co. CEO Trevor Cusworth, who shares with attendees his 26 years of experience with helping manufacturing firms improve operational performance. This session is sponsored by HAGEN & Co.