Industry 4.0

Kate Clawson (in blue dress, left), following the announcement of her win of Factory Manager of the Year at 2024's award, will join the judging panel for 2025

News

What's up for grabs at the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards 2025?

By Bethan Grylls

Whether you're a start-up or an industry leader, the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards invite food and drink processors to showcase their capabilities and celebrate the efforts and achievements of their companies and teams. Here, we summarise each...

The Food Data Transparency Partnership has been tasked on untangling the challenges of data gathering and sharing. Credit: Getty/Yuji Sakai

Short read

The Food Data Transparency Partnership roadmap explained

By Bethan Grylls

After a year of engagement and discussion which sought to understand the gaps in the current and varied processes industry uses to gather and share environmental data, a Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) paper has been published outlining the...

More than 81% of end users said that automation was their main challenge in 2023. Image: Getty

News

Automation biggest challenge for manufacturers

By Gwen Ridler

Automation is one of the biggest challenges for manufacturing businesses in the UK, with frustrations relating to cost, availability of staff and a lack of information major hurdles preventing adoption, according to a recent survey by Automate UK.

Migliozzi: 'Take the time to think ahead. However fast the implementation of technology, it may well not outpace transformations in the industry.' Image: Getty, B4LLS

Opinion

Face your fears over warehouse automation

By Gwen Ridler

The food businesses must face their fears over warehouse automation and rediscover their ‘appetite for risk’ if they wish to keep up in one of the fastest moving sectors in the world, according to supply chain systems provider Invar Group.

How much thought have you given your digital strategy? Credit: Getty/ Floriana

Long read

Creating a digital strategy for your traceability set-up

By Bethan Grylls

Food Manufacture’s webinar on ‘Strategies for improving your supply chain traceability’ raised important questions around technology investments, as well as highlighting some current and emerging tools for enhanced traceability, including 2D barcodes....

Is it time to move away from paper-based logistics? Getty/Monty Rakusen

Short read

3 technologies to help improve visibility across your food factory

By Aptean

Everyone knows technology is the future, but with buzzwords thrown around left, right and centre, what does it all mean? Here, Aptean offers a simplified breakdown of three popular software technologies and explains how each one can be used in your food...

Don't miss our webinar, exploring technologies for improving your supply chain traceability. Credit: Getty/sitox

News

Technology to improve your traceability

By Bethan Grylls

Register for our exclusive webinar which looks at existing and emerging technology to enhance your supply chain traceability, whilst taking you back to basics as our experts explore several case studies, options and the important questions to ask before...

In an exclusive roundtable, Food Manufacture and Infor explored the views of F&B leaders when it comes to technology and reacting to key societal events. Credit: Getty/Andrew Brookes

Feature

We need to refocus where technology plays a part in business

By Bethan Grylls

In an exclusive, strategic roundtable held by Food Manufacture and Infor, a select group of leading food and drink voices came together to knowledge-share and examine the challenges and opportunities on the horizon, including their thoughts on technology's...

How will food factories need to evolve to keep apace with rising consumption? Credit: Getty/kynny

Long read

What will the future factory look like?

By Bethan Grylls

Bethan Grylls explores how food and beverage manufacturers will need to adapt to increased consumption, alongside pressures around sustainability with insight from a range of experts.

Investment in IoT will only mean results if properly managed, says Kavakli. Credit:Getty/Macrovector

Opinion

Drowning in data

By Baris Kavakli

Baris Kavakli, managing director of Portera B.V, looks at why IoT-enabled manufacturers are swimming against a tide of information from the shop floor and how they can begin to reorganise outdated workflows to make better use of data.

Are robots ready to pick up the slack on food production lines, or is the tech still out of reach?

Opinion

Robots get to grips with food processing

By Chris Froud

Are food manufacturers ready for fully automated production lines and can robots be the solution to making this a reality? Chris Froud, partner and patent attorney specialising in robotics and automation at European Intellectual Property Firm Withers...

This year's Food Safety Briefing covered a wide range of areas from data sharing to greenwashing to hygienic design. Credit: Getty/VectorMine

Short read

What’s happening in UK food safety?

By Bethan Grylls

In a recent webinar, Food Manufacture brought together four leaders from industry to discuss the latest tools and systems emerging to help mitigate against our biggest food safety challenges. Here’s the highlights…

Don't miss this year's Food Safety Briefing. Credit: Getty/MiguelMalo

News

Don’t miss our 2023 Food Safety Briefing

By Bethan Grylls

This year’s Food Safety Briefing theme is science and data – with four special guest experts from Mars Global Food Safety Center, the Food Standards Agency, Unibloc, and Imprint Analytics joining us to share their knowledge.

BMPA chief executive Nick Allen served as master of ceremonies for yesterday's exploration into the future of British meat

News

What will the meat processing plant of the future look like?

By Gwen Ridler

Representatives from across the meat processing industry descended on the Butcher’s Hall in London yesterday (June 27) to learn about Meat Industry 2.0 and the role of automation and cultured meat in the future of the sector at the British Meat Processor’s...

ChatGPT has thrown artificial intelligence into the spotlight but how far can this technology go? Credit: Getty/Userba011d64_201

Long read

How far can AI go?

By Marcel Koks

Marcel Koks, Infor’s food industry strategy leader, asks what AI can achieve for the food and beverage industry.

Food and drink brands are getting creative. Credit: Getty / Urupong

News

F&B investing more in NPD and outsourcing

By Bethan Grylls

Despite headwinds, food and beverage brands are spending more in new production development and contract manufacturing, and keen to embrace automation to relieve stress following historic global supply chain challenges.

Have you consider food insecurity within your plan? Credit: Getty / Warchi

Long read

How to implement food security into your business strategy

By Bethan Grylls

Bethan Grylls hears from a variety of thought-leaders working in food and drink, as they detail the intricacies of food insecurity and how business leaders can start to weave robust supply chain plans into their future.

Success in food manufacturing will be about adapting

Long Read

Business Leaders Forum 2023: It’s never been survival of the fittest

By Bethan Grylls

The annual, intimate Business Leaders Forum gave way to a frank and honest discussion, as leaders from the across the UK came together to highlight the many challenges food and drink manufacturers now face, the mistakes made, and what we must do now.

Will drones become the norm in food and drink supply chains? Credit: Getty/baranozdemir

Opinion

Three focus areas for supply chains in 2023

By Bethan Grylls

Nigel Paine, Supply Chain Director at Britvic discusses how the inner workers of the supply chain has altered over the last few years and what that means for food and beverage companies in 2023.

Cyber breaches can cause chaos - we hear real-life stories... Credit: Getty/da-kuk

Short read

Top tips from Business Leaders Forum #1: Invest in cybersecurity

By Bethan Grylls

Last week at our annual Business Leaders Forum, experts came together to discuss the most pressing topics, including the very real threat of cyberattacks. Here we hear how it can impact a business and some top tips for securing your operations.

The Digital Sandwich project received £4m in funding to develop their blockchain-based system for food supply chain security

It’s time for radical change

By Tom Hollands

With the simultaneous pressures weighing down the food and drink system, manufacturers must be prepared to embrace new technologies to ensure safe and secure production. Tom Hollands of Raynor Foods reveals how…

Avara Foods committed an initial £4.7m to getting its Wednesbury facility operational

Digital feature: long read

Me & My Team: Avara Foods Wednesbury

By Phil Davidson

Avara Foods's Wednesbury factory illustrates the company’s parallel priorities of investing in people and transformative technology, both of which are essential in the middle of the skills crisis, operations director Phil Davidson explains.

Danish Crown has just launched a solution to make materials handling safer for staff

Digital feature: long read

Efficient handling & storage trends

By Rod Addy

Materials handling and storage has faced pressures ranging from lack of labour and climate impact to soaring costs and supply chain volatility in the past year, but as always the food industry has proved inventive.

Experts from the dairy and meat categories will offer insights to support your digital journey

Cheese and meat firms share digital insights

By Rod Addy

Digital technology can benefit businesses of all sizes and does not have to cost the earth, delegates will hear at the next free Food Manufacture webinar, which is sponsored by Siemens.

Carvalho: 'We can give the consumer full sight of their products’ journey from orchard to plate'

Why UK almond supplier is implementing blockchain tech

By Rod Addy

Veracruz Almonds is boosting traceability by implementing blockchain technology at its estates in Idanha-a-Nova and Fundão, Portugal in preparation for expanding its exports to distributors and suppliers in the UK and Europe.

Two Yorkshire universities have helped digitalise Rakusen's with the help of a £618k grant

Rakusen’s digitalises business with £618k grant

By Gwen Ridler

Sheffield Hallam’s National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE) and the University of Bradford’s Faculty of Engineering have secured a £618k grant to support biscuit and wafer manufacturer Rakusen’s growth and sustainability plans.

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