Dairy supplier news briefs

Ingredion Inc., a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to diversified industries, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of TIC Gums Inc., a privately held, U.S.-based company that provides advanced texture systems to the food and beverage industry.

Ingredion Inc. also entered into an agreement with SweeGen, Inc., a company dedicated to the development and manufacture of stevia-based sweeteners, to be SweeGen’s exclusive global distributor of the company's novel, nature-based stevia sweeteners in all markets except China. Ingredion will be a nonexclusive distributor in China.

Ingredion also announced nine addtions to its key sweetener, texturizer and nutrition solutions that have achieved Non-GMO Project Verified status, bringing the total Non-GMO Project Verified ingredient solutions to 57.

DIC Corp. will expand the production capacity of its California-based subsidiary Earthrise Nutritionals LLC for Linablue, a natural blue food coloring derived from edible algae Spirulina. Investment in this project is estimated at approximately U.S. $13 million. The planned increase in production capacity is undisclosed. New facilities are scheduled to commence operation in 2018.

Steviva Ingredients, makers of all-natural sweeteners and sweetening systems, earned organic certification under the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) for its Portland SQF Level 2 manufacturing facility.

A new version of the Tetra Pak Standardization unit has lifted the precision of the process to a new level, helping dairy manufacturers produce their products with optimal fat content and achieve savings. The new Standardization unit is available to customers worldwide. The unit is capable of handling a wide variety of dairy products such as white milk, cheese milk, milk powder, fortified milk and flavored milk at a capacity of up to 75,000 liters per hour.

3-A Sanitary Standards Inc. released 3-A Sanitary Standard Number 103-00, 3-A Sanitary Standard for Robot-based Automation Systems. This is the first industry standard for the minimum sanitary (hygienic) requirements for design, materials, and fabrication/installation of robot-based automation systems (RBAS). This new standard applies to the hygienic applications of industrial robot systems integral to food processing, preparation, or other applications or industries where process equipment cleaning and sanitization is required.

Bunting Magnetics expanded their global operations with the acquisition of UK-based Master Magnets Ltd. The acquisition of Master Magnets will expand the line of magnetic separators and metal detectors presently manufactured by Bunting.  The acquisition significantly increases Bunting's manufacturing capabilities in the UK and Europe, while opening up opportunities in new industrial and geographical markets.

Parker Products, a leading provider of inclusions and other specialty ingredients for the dairy, beverage, confectionery, baking and RTE and snack industries, broke ground on a new 90,000-square-foot facility. The food ingredient and flavor systems company has been located in Fort Worth, Texas, since it was founded in 1926, and its new facility will remain in the city at 3001 Strawn Drive. Parker will move all of its operations to the new location once construction is completed, slated for early 2018. The new facility will triple the company’s total production capacity and serve as the hub of Parker’s kill-step validation and food safety initiatives.

Cargill has pulled together its resources and expertise across broad areas in food, including animal protein, edible oils, sweeteners, starches, cocoa and texturizing solutions, to start Cargill ONE, an innovation center designed to create innovative food products and new flavors for its customers in China. Located in Shanghai, Cargill ONE employs nearly 50 researchers, scientists, nutritionists and chefs who will work with customers to develop nutritious and safe food that meet the changing tastes of consumers.

Q Laboratories Inc.  added another tool to their microbial identification capabilities by acquiring the Bruker MALDI Biotyper. This technology allows for rapid, cost-effective, accurate identification of thousands of microorganisms (including yeasts and filamentous fungi) using state-of-the-art technology. It can be used for environmental, product and/or research and development applications. Classification and identification are based on proteomic fingerprinting using high throughput mass-spectrometry.  

In 2016, Double H Plastics achieved, for the fourth consecutive year, an SQF Level 3 Certification for all packaging facilities by the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Institute. This certification is in recognition of its food safety and quality assurance practices.

DuPont Nutrition & Health will expand its probiotics production capacity in the United States. The investment is the second phase of a broader probiotics expansion project due to the rapidly growing global demand for probiotics. Phase One, supporting current growth, is ongoing in Madison, Wis., and Rochester, N.Y., and will be partially complete by the end of 2016. The second phase is scheduled to span two-years, represents an investment of approximately $100 million, and increases the company’s probiotics production capacity by an additional 70%. Production will be optimized with the installation of new, high-volume fermenters and other processing equipment.

Flexicon (Europe) Ltd, leader in bulk handling equipment including: flexible screw conveyors; tubular cable conveyors; pneumatic conveying systems; bulk bag filling, etc., opened a new office in Aschaffenburg, Germany to provide factory-direct engineering services and technical sales support to customers throughout Germany.

First Choice Ingredients, one of the largest dairy flavor specialists in the United States, added major new manufacturing space with the acquisition of an additional 83,000 sq. ft. production facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis. The new plant will more than double First Choice Ingredients’ footprint and will become their third large-scale production facility in Wisconsin.

Belgium-based Verstraete IML, the in-mold labels company, will begin construction for the new production site in Clarksville, Tenn., together with its parent company Constantia Flexibles. The new site will allow Verstraete IML to get closer to its customers in the largest growth market for IML labels outside Europe. The site will begin production in the second half of 2017 and will have multiple printing press and finishing lines. Some 55 jobs will be created. The company expects to invest EUR 18 million (USD 20 million) in its new U.S. plant within a period of three years.

HERMA GmbH, a Germany-based provider of labeling machinery and self-adhesive labels and materials to the global packaging marketplace, launched a U.S. subsidiary. HERMA U.S. Inc. is headquartered in Fairfield, N.J., and will initially concentrate on sales and servicing in support of the company’s wide range of labeling machines. The company will be led by Peter Goff, the longtime director of sales for the company’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., a leading innovator of sensory experiences, acquired David Michael & Company Inc., a privately-held flavors company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa.

JBT Corp., global technology solutions provider to high-value segments of the food & beverage industry, acquired Tipper Tie, a leading supplier of protein processing and packaging solutions.

Krones, a leading manufacturer of filling and packaging technology, purchased 80% of the business of Trans-Market Sales & Equipment Inc. Trans-Market is based in Tampa, Fla. and is a leader in providing process engineering and automation solutions for the liquid food industry.

Rovema North America, a subsidiary of Rovema GmbH, which designs and supplies packaging machinery for the food industry, launched a new content-rich website, www.rovema-na.com, designed to assist a wide variety of industries in developing and maintaining highly efficient vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) bagging operations.

SternMaid America has been certified for contract manufacturing of foods and food supplements in organic quality. The seal of approval from Quality Assurance International guarantees adherence to the NOP standards for the production of organic foods. Besides processing, blending and filling organic products in powder form, the company can procure raw materials from controlled organic farming at the customer’s request.

DuPont Nutrition & Health and Hygiena, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, announced that Hygiena will acquire DuPont’s global food safety diagnostics business. The acquisition includes all of DuPont Diagnostics business assets, including the BAX and RiboPrinter Systems and associated test kits; a global and technically trained sales, R&D and manufacturing organization; and in-house production capacity.