“This year’s show promises to be our strongest ever, featuring several activities that help our audience gain a much better understanding of our technology and how it can best be used to improve production in the plant,” said Jarrod McCarroll, chairman of FPSA and president of Weber Inc. “Every aisle at Process Expo will boast experts from all different segments of the industry, providing attendees a value-add they just won’t find at other shows. Our exhibitors will be presenting new ideas, insights and technologies that can help customers gain a competitive advantage.”

FPSA said attendees cover a range of food production and manufacturing responsibilities, including CEO, owner, corporate management, sales and marketing, production, operations, sanitation, maintenance, research and development, quality assurance, engineering, chefs, contract manufacturers and more.

Production lines

New for this year’s program are five live production/packaging lines, which will showcase equipment from industry suppliers. The lines include sliced cheese, frozen pizza, sliced pepperoni, ground beef patties and pet food kibble, FPSA said. Demonstrations will run three times daily from Oct. 8-10; one additional demonstration was added to the day-four schedule (Oct. 11) due to popular demand. A full schedule of the production line demonstrations can be found at https://tinyurl.com/y4gk69ek.

“This is the largest endeavor in which Process Expo has ever engaged,” said McCarroll. “This year’s production lines involve 32 equipment manufacturers, four food processors and several trade publications in support of this massive effort to highlight the latest in processing and packaging technology, live and in action, to the food processing industry. Each production line was carefully determined with the goal of bringing value to our audience by showing new and innovative technology that can create opportunities for them in some of the industry’s most popular products.”

The production line demonstrations are free of charge with Process Expo registration. The dairy production line is sponsored by Dairy Farmers of America.

“The production lines are the perfect complement to the wide range of manufacturing solutions attendees will find on the Process Expo show floor,” said David Seckman, president and CEO of FPSA. “These solutions are for all segments of the horizontal food and beverage industry and thus provide opportunities that food industry professionals won’t find at other industry events. The lines, combined with the exhibits and our first-class educational program, make this a package that you just can’t miss this fall.”

Innovative technology

FPSA said the augmented reality showcase also is making its debut at this year’s tradeshow. The showcase will provide attendees with innovative new ways to experience processing and packaging equipment with augmented reality holograms and training demonstrations.

Organized by Harvin AR, the showcase will feature demonstrations by participating exhibitors that will highlight equipment features holographically and guide interested attendees through augmented reality training simulations,.

“This is definitely going to be one of the highlights of this year’s show,” said McCarroll. “Whether it be empowering maintenance personnel on the plant floor or engineers envisioning processing floor adaptations from the actual plant floor, this technology has the potential to revolutionize how suppliers work with food processors.”

Seckman said the showcase will help attendees identify issues within the food processing industry and brainstorm solutions.

“The augmented reality showcase is one of the many innovative show floor activities that attendees will find at this year’s Process Expo,” he added.

Honoring women

Process Expo will continue its networking opportunities for women in the field with its third FPSA Women’s Alliance Network Breakfast. The event, which will occur on Oct. 10 at 7:30 a.m., will feature keynote speaker Suzanne Strassburger, aka Suzy Sirloin, the CEO of Strassburger Steaks. The breakfast will also play host to the first-ever Red Circle Honors Awards, FPSA said.

“It is truly amazing to see what the women of FPSA have accomplished in the past two years,” said Mary George, Women’s Alliance Network co-chair. “What started as an idea has grown into a network of more than 140 women who work in the food and beverage industry. This was the right time to launch the Women’s Alliance Network Red Circle Honors.”

Through the honors program, FPSA’s Women’s Alliance Network will recognize the achievements of women from the food and beverage industry, as well as an FPSA member company for its role in promoting workplace gender balance, FPSA said.

“The official launch of the Women’s Alliance Network was during the 2017 Process Expo, and we were overwhelmed by the turnout and enthusiasm at the kick-off breakfast,” said Kate Rome, Women’s Alliance Network co-chair. “The addition of the Women’s Alliance Network Red Circle Honors, which spotlights women’s careers and companies that put extra effort into supporting gender balance, takes the event to the next level.” 

Cheese line schedule

This year’s fully operational cheese line will feature everything from the separator to post-packaging inspection, producing a variety pack of cheese. The line is sponsored by Dairy Farmers of America. Booth No. 251.

Tuesday, Oct. 8–Thursday, Oct. 10: 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m.                   

Friday, Oct. 11: 10:00 a.m.