Stratford, Wis.-based A&B Process Systems has acquired Reliable Cheese Cutting & Equipment, an innovator in the engineering and fabrication of cheese handling equipment. Under the new name of Precise Cutting & Conveying Systems LLC (PCCS), a subsidiary of A&B, PCCS will operate independently out of its current office and manufacturing facility in Westfield, Wis. Though PCCS will continue to develop and support cheese handling equipment for its current customers, A&B also plans to integrate PCCS technology into their process system offerings.

Consumer and industrial goods companies will increase their packaging machinery expenditures 4.0 percent over the previous year to $5.479 billion in 2004, according to a survey of packagers conducted by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s (PMMI) latest findings. PMMI's seventh annual Purchasing Plans Study suggests that six of eight market segments (beverages, chemicals, durables, foods, personal care and converters) will grow during the year. These segments account for about 81 percent of the U.S. and Canadian packaging machinery market. More companies (33 percent of those responding) plan to increase spending for packaging machinery in 2004 rather than reduce spending (28.7 percent). Of significant note, the proportion of respondents planning to allocate roughly the same dollar amount as last year fell to 32.5 percent from 34 percent in 2003.

For the seventh year in a row, Zip-Pak’s Orangeburg, N.Y., plant has received a superior rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) following its annual food-safety inspections in February. AIB audits provide food manufacturers with an important benchmark for measuring the quality and safety of supplier facilities. A superior rating is given only to a small percentage of plants inspected by AIB which are found to significantly exceed regulatory requirements.

Blythewood, S.C.-based Spirax Sarco Inc. recently marked the grand opening of its fifth Steam Technology Training Center in the United States, located at the company’s Mid-Atlantic regional facility in Center Valley (Allentown), Pa. The training centers are part of Spirax Sarco’s commitment to support education in all areas of steam energy, believing that knowledge and understanding are the keys to energy conservation and resource utilization.

Addison, Ill.-based Frain Industries, a provider of high-quality used packaging and processing machinery to the packaging industry, has moved to a 1 million-square-foot building in order to accommodate more projects. The new building, located in Franklin Park, Ill., allows the company’s entire inventory of more than 5,700 machines — in stock and ready to ship — to be available under one roof. It also allows for the future expansion of inventory.

Flowserv® Corp., a provider of fluid motion and control products and services, has named Birmingham, England-based Wyatt International, as its agency of record to lead the company’s brand re-launch. The marketing agency will direct the strategy to distinguish Flowserv as a “branded house” that leverages the multitude of heritage product lines the company acquired from its activities as an industry consolidator over the past seven years.