Saputo Inc. announced the appointment of Leanne Cutts as president and chief operating officer (International and Europe), effective in the second half of calendar year 2021.

Cutts is currently global chief marketing officer at one of the world’s largest banks. Previously, she held senior management positions in Australia, Asia and the U.K., where she was responsible for overseeing marketing, new product development, manufacturing and operations for global companies in the food and beverage industry and in the consumer healthcare industry.

Cutts will be based in Melbourne, Australia, and report to Kai Bockmann, president and chief operating officer, Saputo Inc. Her appointment will allow Bockmann to focus on his global corporate and strategic functions, Montréal-based Saputo Inc. said. Tom Atherton, president and chief operating officer, Dairy Division (U.K.), Marcelo Cohen, president and chief operating officer, Dairy Division (Argentina), and Richard Wallace, president and chief operating officer, Dairy Division (Australia) will report to Cutts.

Cacique LLC, a Los Angeles-based producer of Mexican cheeses, creams, chorizos, salsas and yogurts, said the independent analysts at Great Place to Work once again honored the company with Great Place to Work Certification (for the fourth year running). The company earned this honor based on extensive ratings provided directly by its employees through anonymous surveys.

Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, including many in-person company traditions being disrupted, leadership at Cacique made it a priority to ensure its employees continue to feel valued, appreciated and proud to be a part of the team, the company said. Beyond the implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols to ensure the health and wellbeing of all of its employees, Cacique found new ways to foster workplace culture, including activities ranging from a virtual Halloween costume contest to a socially distanced drive-in movie experience and more.

Arena Cheese said it received the highest rating of AA food safety certification under the stringent guidelines of Brand Recognition through Compliance Global Standards, formally known as British Retail Consortium, under the Global Food Safety Initiative. This is the 10th consecutive year the company has earned highest ratings under the guidelines of the Global Food Safety Initiative. 

Reducing its environmental footprint is a major initiative for Arena Cheese. In 2020, Arena Cheese installed a reverse osmosis system, allowing the Arena, Wis.-based company to put back into the Wisconsin watershed clean “polished” water. This new system further reduces Arena Cheese’s environmental impact by removing lactose and other minerals from its whey, the company said.

The team at Arena Cheese and the company’s certified Master Cheese Maker, Bill Hanson, have won more than 30 national and international medals.

Irvine, Calif.-headquartered Golden State Foods (GSF), a diversified supplier to the foodservice and retail industries and the parent company to Wichita, Kan.-based dairy company KanPak LLC, announced the promotion of Campbell Cooper to GSF corporate vice president and president, International Business Group. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Campbell will continue to plan, direct and coordinate the company’s international operations in Asia, Australia, Egypt and New Zealand.

Saint-Hubert, Quebec-headquartered Agropur Cooperative announced the sale of its bulk milk hauling operations in Quebec to companies whose core business is transporting liquid food products. The cooperative will also discontinue its milk transport activities in Nova Scotia.

"To streamline its business model and focus on its most strategic assets, Agropur is withdrawing from milk hauling in those two provinces," said Agropur CEO Émile Cordeau.

The Martin Bauer Group, a manufacturer and provider of quality tea and botanicals, announced the installation of a bottling line in its facility located in Bethlehem, Pa. The system matches the one in operation at the recently acquired Power Brands — a beverage innovation company based in Los Angeles — thus providing dual-coast coverage for its customers, the Secaucus, N.J.-based company said.

Cherney Biological Services, headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., said it purchased the Foremost Farms headquarters building in Baraboo, Wis. There is a long-term partnership between the two organizations, with Cherney providing services to Foremost Farms for over a decade.

This purchase will enable Cherney’s expansion and continued growth; the company will take over operations of the milk-testing and microbiology laboratory located within the building. Foremost Farms will remain a tenant in the building, which they have occupied for 26 years.

Solenis, a Wilmington, Del.-based producer of specialty chemicals, said it launched a new online hub to help consumer brand owners and packaging converters with sustainable formulations for fast-food packaging, corrugated board, single-use cups and other food and beverage packaging elements. The webpage can be found at www.solenis.com/ecopackaging.

Nellson LLC, manufacturer of branded and private label nutritional bar and functional powder solutions, said it recently completed enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration. Anaheim, Calif.-headquartered Nellson partnered with 9EDGE Inc. and Oracle to deploy Oracle’s JD Edwards 9.2 ERP system throughout the organization.

The global ERP model brings all Nellson manufacturing and corporate systems under a single umbrella, supporting rapid growth with streamlined processes. It should provide Nellson’s brand partners with controlled costs and a competitive edge in the marketplace, the company said.

Marin Bozic, Ph.D., one of the leading dairy economists in the country, joined Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative’s board of directors as an adviser, the Green Bay, Wis.-based cooperative said. Bozic is an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. His study areas include analysis of dairy policy, risk management and demand for dairy products. Bozic is also a co-creator of the USDA’s Dairy Revenue Protection.

Bozic will help the Edge board consider the effects of the various complex issues affecting farmers and processors as the co-op forms its federal advocacy positions, Edge President Brody Stapel said.

The Massman Companies, a Villard, Minn.-based manufacturer of industrial packaging machinery, announced the promotion of Mark Suchy to the new position of senior vice president, sales and marketing. Suchy will be responsible for the sales and marketing efforts of all of the Massman Companies, which include Massman Automation Designs, EDL Packaging, Ideal-Pak Pase Group and DTM Packaging and Custom Automation. With more than 20 years of experience in industrial packaging solutions, the last 14 as sales manager for Massman Automation Designs, Suchy is ideally positioned to coordinate the sales efforts of the entire group of companies, the Massman Companies said.

Smurfit Kappa, Dublin, said its 3-liter bag-in-box packaging design received Amazon’s “Frustration-Free Packaging” (FFP) certification. This is a world first for a generic packaging design, applicable for a wide range of products, including juice and wine. The company unveiled this unique Amazon FFP pre-certification to thousands of customers at its recent invite-only virtual Better Planet Packaging event.

Businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace may now use this ready-to-go, pre-certified design, avoiding the need to go through costly and time-consuming testing at a specialized ISTA certified laboratory to gain FFP certification.

Trucent Inc., Dexter, Mich., announced its acquisition of Mooresville, Indiana-based Separator Restorations LLC. Separator Restorations specializes in disc stack centrifuge/separator maintenance, repair, rebuilds, bowl balancing and more. These services enhance the capabilities of Trucent’s Centrifuge Parts and Repair business.