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Ease of cleaning, maintenance and access, as well as the ability to produce a wider variety of items, are among the top desires of companies looking to purchase dough laminators and sheeters for production of snack foods and baked goods.

Secondary packaging in the warehouse, a key component of the distribution chain, encompasses a wide range of machinery that performs shrink wrapping, shrink bundling, pallet unitizing and case building. Integrated palletizing and shrink-wrapping systems represent another end-of-line packaging solution that protects and delivers product to customers in a timely fashion.

The food industry is reveling in the digital age with the continual improvement of new technology. More snack producers and bakeries aspire toward alignment with Industry 4.0 ideals

Milk, cheese and eggs are dietary staples. In the U.S., on average, we consume 36.6 pounds of cheese, 268 eggs and 18 gallons of milk per person each year, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. From 2014–16, the consumption of eggs grew 1.9 percent and the consumption of cheese grew almost 6.5 percent.

Passion underpins the dedication to invest the time and resources required to bake bread with unmistakable Old World artisan flavor, appearance and texture. And strong business sense leads such bakers to judiciously capitalize on the technological tools available to help bring those truly artisan breads to a wide customer base without compromising craftsmanship.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, the domestic baking industry consumes an estimated $800 million worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year, as noted in its guide, "Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Baking Industry" (Nov. 2016 update, available on www.energystar.gov).

Automation, advances in sanitary design, greater worker safety and additional flexibility in packaging have been among the top requests that manufacturers of cutting, slicing and portioning equipment say they've been fielding from their customers this year.

Snack mixes and nuts have always been a popular snack because they have a "health halo," and are also usually available in on-the-go varieties. Over the past year, consumers have continued to search for better-for-you snack mixes, but at the same time, they're also looking for new and innovative flavors and varieties that are perhaps more exotic than previous incarnations, with touches of indulgence.

The latest form/fill/seal (FFS) packaging systems are designed to accommodate a wide range of packaging options at high speeds while ensuring food safety via sanitary design. The systems combine flexibility and automation, as they often need to pack different products on the same line. In addition, new designs enable quick changeover.

As more bakeries embrace the trend of distributing frozen product, managing temperatures at key points throughout production has arisen as crucial aspects of success.