This Annual Buyers Guide and Sourcebook is your one source for information about suppliers of ingredients, equipment, packaging and services. You also will find updates from several of the leading purchasing groups, the most current listing of associations supporting dairy processing and FISA’s list of distributors serving sanitary processing.

But the bulk of this special edition is comprised of hundreds of companies wanting to help you be successful. They provide products and services to assist in your dairy processing operations. Start with our Product Index on page 22 and go from there. When you go online (dairyfoods.com/buyersguide), you will find even more information from and about these companies, including catalogues, videos and social media links.

By supporting these companies we can provide you with the quality you have come to expect.

A short version of Dairy Foods’ editorial mission reads: “Be accessible and available everywhere to meet the information needs of dairy professionals.” By being accessible, we are able to reach more than 134,000 dairy professionals every month. That number consists of the print and digital circulation of Dairy Foods, the unique monthly visitors to dairyfoods.com, subscribers to our twice-monthly newsletter, our LinkedIn group, Twitter and Facebook followers, the mobile app and webinar attendees.

Allow me to tell you a little bit about our recent Membrane Technology Forum (membranecourse.com) in the Twin Cities in June. We sold out the event again with over 300 attendees representing more than 20 countries. Speakers presented over 26 topics about membranes. Six sessions were broadcast in real time over the Internet to more than 400 virtual attendees. View the sessions at webinars.dairyfoods.com. Day Two’s keynote presentation was streamed live on Facebook. (Watch it at facebook.com/dairyfoods.) Many of the attendance numbers were possible due to our new event partner, the American Dairy Products Institute (adpi.org).

We also toured these companies: Dow FilmTec, Ecolab, GEA, GE Water & Process Technologies, Tetra Pak and The Joseph J. Warthesen Food Processing Center (pilot plant). The event offered networking opportunities and the chance to ask detailed questions to the seminar leaders. Look for even a bigger and better Forum in 2018. We will continue to grow our numerous access channels so we can be there for you wherever you are. Stay tuned.