The Peerless Group, a division of the ITW Food Equipment Group, launched a new brand identity and tagline in support of its long-term positioning and renewed dedication as an innovative, customer-focused manufacturer of premium quality food equipment. The rebrand includes a refined mission, vision, website, domain name and product literature, as well as additional social media sites to connect with customers.  The new company tagline—Like No Other—embodies the company’s commitment to provide superior equipment and service to customers to move their business forward. The new logo brings together the three iconic brands of Peerless, Peters and Fedco in a bold symbol that highlights the uniqueness of each brand while harmoniously reflecting the corporate family.

Southern Belle Refrigerated, LLC opened its newest location, a state-of-the-art, racked, refrigerated and dry storage warehouse facility in Martin, Tenn. This 147,600-square-foot facility offers 19,975 total pallet capacity positions of product storage and has the flexibility to meet 10 different segregated temperature areas at any given time.

Orbis Corp. completed the acquisition of Cartonplast LLC’s interest in the CORBI Plastics joint venture. This acquisition expands Orbis’ service capabilities with additional locations to serve a wider group of customers. CORBI Plastics operates a manufacturing facility in DeForest, Wis., and 11 service centers across the United States. In addition to manufacturing solid and plastic corrugated sheet packaging, CORBI Plastics owns and manages pools of plastic reusable pallets, top frames and divider sheets that protect food, beverage and aerosol packaging products during storage and distribution.

Flavorchem Corp. acquired Marnap Industries, a manufacturer of kosher-certified food spices, flavors, oleoresins and essential oils. The acquisition expands Flavorchem’s product offerings in key categories such as confection, beverage and seasonings.

Internationally Known

Kemin received Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000), a GFSI-recognized scheme, certifying all food ingredients manufactured in its Belgian facility. 

Barry Callebaut signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the privately owned Spanish nut manufacturer La Morella Nuts S.A. With the acquisition of La Morella Nuts, Barry Callebaut will become a European leader in nut products, extending its existing nut offerings with a wide spectrum of high-quality products, including almonds and hazelnuts, as well as specialty nuts like cashews, pecans, pistachios, macadamia and others. La Morella Nuts manufactures about 8,000 tons of nut specialties per year and generated approximately $42 million in sales in 2011 with 90 employees. La Morella Nuts will be integrated in Barry Callebaut's Region Europe as of January 2012.

Valio, Finland’s largest producer of dairy products, reached an agreement with DSM to use its microbiological test, Delvotest, for detecting antibiotics in milk. The contract allows Valio to use Delvotest used throughout its supply chain, including its dairies, laboratory facilities and affiliated farms. Delvotest is a highly consistent and effective testing solution that is easy to handle with clear color readings, which reduces the number of tests, rate of false positives and potential risk of variable results to safeguard milk quality.

On the Move: Personnel Changes

Davisco Foods International, Inc., Le Sueur, Minn.

Jon Davis was named president and CEO, succeeding his father, Mark, and grandfather, Stanley. Previously, Davis was chief operating officer, responsible for all aspects of the cheese and whey ingredient manufacturing facilities.

Food Safety Net Services, San Antonio, Texas

Patricia Wester has been appointed vice president of regulatory affairs. Wester is a veteran of food safety in both domestic and international firms, and recently, focused on the further development of global, third-party certification auditing programs and their use under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

American Wholesale Marketers Association, Fairfax, Va.

Steve Shing, corporate vice president, sales and marketing at GSC Enterprises, Inc., and James Colucci, recently retired as executive vice president of sales and marketing at Altadis U.S.A., will be the first recipients of the newly established AWMA Hall of Fame Awards, which recognize individuals at both distributor and manufacturer companies who have demonstrated a lifetime of service to AWMA and the industry at the very highest