The IDFA Leadership Award is given to members of the legislative and executive branches of the federal government who have shown outstanding leadership in support of U.S. dairy, IDFA said. The event recognizing the lawmakers and policymakers was held on Dec. 1.

“On behalf of our members across the dairy supply chain, it is my honor to recognize these six outstanding officials with the IDFA Leadership Award for their important contributions to a healthy, vibrant U.S. dairy industry,” said Dykes. “From the development of farm, nutrition and feeding programs to advancing market access for U.S. dairy exports around the world, the work done by these officials helps to support millions of good-paying jobs making nutritious, sustainable dairy foods.

“The U.S. dairy industry generates $41.6 billion in direct wages and $753 billion in overall economic impact for communities across the country,” he added. “That sort of impact takes real champions. That’s why IDFA and our members are so pleased to honor these individuals for their tremendous work on behalf of U.S. dairy.”

The Celebration of Dairy welcomed members of Congress, as well as key staff, officials from the Biden administration, ambassadors and representatives from trading partner countries, and leaders from throughout the food and agriculture industry. The Celebration of Dairy, IDFA’s annual holiday reception, also showcased an array of gourmet cheeses, eggnog and ice cream products from IDFA member companies, including HP Hood, The Ice Cream Club, Agropur, Bel Brands USA, Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc., Hilmar Cheese Co., Lactalis Inc., Valley Queen Cheese and High Road Craft Ice Cream Inc. IDFA said it also donated additional dairy products to the Father McKenna Center, an independent 501(c) in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 6 serving those struggling with homelessness and food insecurity.

The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI), Elmhurst, Ill., said The Strong Inside campaign — a member-supported and -managed messaging campaign focused on “Proteins from Milk” — received a strong and unanimous endorsement and mandate to drive forward during 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 from its board of directors at their recent meeting.

The Strong Inside Campaign Steering Committee, as part of the go forward mandate, executed an request for proposal process for marketing agency services. After a vetting/selection process, the committee named The SRW Agency of Chicago as its agency of record for 2022, ADPI said.

The Strong Inside Campaign Steering Committee also will be adding a Member Development Task Force for 2022, in addition to its Marketing Task Force, ADPI noted.

The next Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) Young Professionals event is set for Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, in Marshfield, Wisconsin. WCMA said member employees aged 40 years and younger are invited to register now at WisCheeseMakers.org/Events.

“Through education and connection, WCMA is working to retain our best and brightest,” said John Umhoefer, executive director of Madison, Wis.-based WCMA. “Our Young Professionals events are designed to offer emerging industry leaders knowledge and new connections with peers.”

The Jan. 21 outing begins at 10:00 a.m. (CT) with a tour of WCMA member Nasonville Dairy, a family-owned business committed to excellence in cheesemaking for more than a century, WCMA said. Participants will learn the Heiman family’s story, review their varied product line and check out the facilities from intake to shipping. Following the tour, participants will enjoy a networking lunch and a bit of fun at nearby Rose Bowl Lanes.

Registration, which includes the cost of lunch and activities, is $30 per person. Only 35 spaces are available, so early sign-ups are encouraged. Visit WisCheeseMakers.org/Events for complete details. Questions may also be directed to WCMA Events Manager Kirsten Strohmenger at kstrohmenger@wischeesemakers.org.

Cosun Beet Company, Ingredion Incorporated, Matsutani Chemical Industry and Samyang Corp. announced a new consortium to help bring allulose to the European and U.K. markets and support the ingredient’s nutritional labelling as a carbohydrate. The new consortium is called the Allulose Novel Food Consortium (ANFC), Westchester, Ill.-based Ingredion said. Companies seeking approval of allulose in Europe who are interested in joining the consortium are encouraged to contact Shigehiro Hayashi, Matsutani Chemical, at shayashi@matsutani.co.jp.

Beneo, a manufacturer of functional ingredients with U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, N.J., announced a multi-million investment program for the coming years to expand capacity for its prebiotic chicory root fiber production sites in Pemuco, Chile, and Oreye, Belgium. The first step will see more than USD$33 million invested. The entire program will ensure a significant capacity increase of more than 40% of Beneo’s global chicory root fiber production to meet rising customer demand and drive further growth within the market. The work on both production sites will begin in 2022.

Futura Automation, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based provider of automation solutions for robotics, material handling, automated assembly and AI-driven machine vision applications, announced a strategic partnership with Ready Robotics, Columbus, Ohio. Using Ready Robotic’s universal operating system for industrial automation, Forge/OS, Futura Automation will provide robot agnostic automation solutions that help manufacturing customers in the Western U.S. states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, to alleviate labor issues and solve production challenges. The Futura Automation solutions team will expand rapidly by providing demonstration equipment, training and inventory of Forge/OS-powered solutions.

Cimcorp, a Grimsby, Ontario-headquartered manufacturer and integrator of intralogistics automation, announced the relocation of its U.S. office to a larger, expanded space designed to better serve customers and support continued growth in the U.S. market. Thanks to a rapidly growing customer base in the United States, Cimcorp outgrew its existing Alpharetta, Ga., office and moved into a new space in Alpharetta on Oct. 1, 2021. The new location accommodates more storage, parts and employee offices.

Somic Packaging Inc., a manufacturer of end-of-line packaging machine technology based in Eagan, Minn., said Peter Fox was appointed as CEO. A 30-year packaging industry veteran, Fox has served as the senior vice president of sales since joining the company in 2014. EAS Consulting Group, Alexandria Va., said it welcomed Maged Sharaf, Ph.D., to its management team. As senior director, labeling, cannabis and claims consulting services, Sharaf will be responsible for managing and providing label review and claims substantiation consulting services for conventional foods, animal foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics. In addition, he will oversee client projects related to product detentions, NDI submissions and cannabis.

Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC), part of Barry-Wehmiller, announced the opening of a new packaging innovation center located at its headquarters in Green Bay, Wis. The multi-purpose space is more than 4,700 square feet and will serve as a hub for demonstrations, training, education, industry trials and research and development.

The center will be the home of a Fusion C flexographic press, Hudson-Sharp’s Ares 400-SUP stand-up pouch machine, a Meridian Elite laser anilox cleaner, an ELS-MAX inline press and the ION digital printing platform. These machines will be available for demonstrations, as well as for hands-on learning and training opportunities. The state-of-the-art center also features industry-leading tools and supplies for anilox sleeves, plate-mounting, color-proofing, plate and print inspection, sleeve-cleaning and plate sleeves and tapes, the company said.

Donaldson Company Inc., a Minneapolis-based provider of filtration products and solutions, said it acquired Solaris Biotechnology Srl. Solaris — headquartered in Porto Mantovano, Italy, with U.S. operations based in Berkeley, Calif. — designs and manufactures bioprocessing equipment, including bioreactors, fermenters and tangential flow filtration systems for use in food and beverage, biotechnology and other life sciences markets. Solaris’ product portfolio ranges from benchtop systems for research and development to pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing systems.

Watson-Marlow, headquartered in Falmouth, England, announced the groundbreaking of its new state-of-the-art, 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Devens, Mass. A celebration ceremony was held on Nov. 18. The new facility will be dedicated to Watson-Marlow’s range of products, including peristaltic pumps, tubing, fluid path solutions and BioPure components.