Arla Foods
The cost-of-living crisis has had a devastating impact on communities across the UK, with more than 11m people facing food insecurity, 3m of which are children. In response, Arla Foods and Nestle have collaborated to donate breakfast meals to schools, nurseries, breakfast clubs and community groups.
The regular supply of milk and cereal is enabling the partnership to rapidly approach its pledged target of 1.25m breakfasts, with the firms having redistributed products to more than 2,000 charities so far, supporting an estimated 236,000 people. The breakfasts have been provided through donations from both Arla and Nestle to food redistribution charity FareShare.
Each week, Arla donates 20 trollies stacked with 2L containers of Cravendale semi-skimmed milk, which translates to an annual donation of 170kL. The Cravendale milk has an extended shelf life of three weeks when unopened so it can be easily redistributed and not pose any food safety risk. Meanwhile, Nestle donates surplus Shreddies cereal on a quarterly basis.
In addition to providing people with food, the collaboration has also sought to reduce food waste, with a particular focus placed on delivering positive environmental outcomes such as minimising the scheme’s carbon footprint.
Promtek
Project partners Promtek and Trigg Electrical have worked together in the past year to help install and commission a new state-of-the-art food ingredient manufacturing production facility for Fuerst Day Lawson, now part of ADM, in Staffordshire. The new production facility has allowed Fuerst Day Lawson to enhance its capability for innovation, while enabling the firm to improve its standing within the food and drink sector.
Promtek and Trigg Electricals partnered closely with FDL on the provision of its new process control system and electrical PLC architecture, supporting the customer to help bring the vision into reality.
Leveraging decades of experience delivering projects within the food industry, Promtek was able to complete the project to FDL’s stringent quality and sustainability requirements, going above and beyond the remit of a standard SCADA based process control system. Promtek was also able to rapidly design, test and deploy solutions to meet these new standards, while commissioning the new factory.
Meanwhile, Trigg Electrical provided Promtek with the opportunity to present new and emerging smart manufacturing technologies to FDL while the firm was exploring options for the process control in their new factory.
Raynor Foods
Raynor Foods and Software Imaging acted as the main industrial partners on the ‘Smart People + Smart Process = Smart Factory Project’ or S3 as it is known, while also receiving support from The University of Lincoln and University of Cambridge.
This £2.5m project was partly funded by Innovate UK and aimed to make CO2 emissions visible to staff by utilising cutting-edge technology and then, through gamification, reducing the firm’s emissions by 30% and empowering employees to act in the name of positive sustainability outcomes.
Both Raynor Foods and Software Imaging share similar values and the relationship has evolved throughout the project from a customer to supplier relationship to one of partnership and strategic alliance. This is demonstrated through the ongoing creation of a joint venture between the organisations, with the foreground IP generated through the project being equally shared and adopted.
Part of the relationship’s success can be put down to the fact that both parties respect each other’s knowledge, experience and expertise and are also accepting of the other party’s viewpoint and constructive feedback.
It also serves as an example of the types of strategies that the industry should employ moving forward as it seeks to tackle climate change – the embrace of shared values and goals, enabled by technology with a culture that facilitates innovation and personal growth.
RideTandem
The partnership between RideTandem and Banham Poultry has exemplified the transformative potential of collaboration within the food and drink industry. Together, the partners have gone beyond traditional employer-employee relationships, creating a transport solution that directly addresses recruitment and retention challenges, operational inefficiencies and sustainability goals.
Banham Poultry, part of 2 Sisters Food Group, is the biggest employer in the mid-Norfolk constituency, but a number of potential workers within a reasonable commuting range were out of reach due to a lack of affordable or reliable transport options. The firm was also struggling to retain staff because they faced an expensive and difficult commute.
In response, Banham Poultry approached RideTandem to offer an alternative transport route to its site in Attleborough. Now, employees can use the RideTandem app to book tickets for single journeys or can block book for several days ahead.
They then receive a QR code in the app, which is then scanned by the driver as the passengers board. RideTandem’s 24/7 operations team also takes the lead in communicating with passengers in the event of traffic or other incidents.
By introducing a reliable and efficient shuttle service, RideTandem has not only improved employee punctuality and reduced turnover for Banham Poultry, but it has also reduced carbon emissions associated with individual commutes.
The winners for next year’s awards will be announced at a gala dinner held at the London Hilton Bankside. Tickets are available to purchase here.
The Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2025 are kindly supported by headliner Menzies and event sponsors Niras, Quor, and Watermill Press.