Food Processing - January 2008 - (Page 39)

Mar s ForMul ation Convey a process development engineer, nola Bragg works in the lab at Hackettstown, n.J., the main r&d center for mars snackfood U.s. a broad range of bulk solids to/from multiple discharge/ inlet points with Flexicon’s positive pressure or vacuum dilute-phase Pneumatic Conveying Systems. Fully integrated with your process. “We all have pretty good knowledge of what’s being developed in other geographic markets. We often send out samples, prototypes of products for others to comment on. Sometimes, process engineers will switch places for a while. We may want them to learn how a process is being developed in Australia. Or another unit with a problem to overcome may want one of our people with relevant experience. “Several of our engineers were in Europe just last week [mid-December] for some technology exchange because our Russian unit had developed something that sounded very interesting and we wanted to see it first hand,” Jerome says. Mars has a global Wiki, an online dialog that Mars R&D associates can read or contribute to, announcing projects, problems, questions, comments. “People will ask for ideas and solutions. Often, someone will write, ‘Try this, it worked for us,’ ” says Jerome. Mars Snackfood also maintains a vendors assurance group, a formal process of sending Mars people out to suppliers’ facilities, especially of raw materials, to inspect and qualify them. “We have sets of standards they must adhere to,” explains Jerome. The fre- Feed free- and non-free-flowing bulk solids from large pellets to sub-micron powders in any direction, around obstructions, over short or long distances, with no separation of blends, dustfree at low cost, with Flexicon Flexible Screw Conveyors. Batch quency depends upon the nature of the supplied material, but all vendors are certified at least yearly. Focus on snackfoods In the U.S. snackfoods unit, there are three R&D centers. Hackettstown is the epicenter: the corporate headquarters, the home of M&M’S and the place where flavanols were discovered. A twohour drive west, Elizabethtown, Pa., is the center for chocolate and cocoa development, and it’s the site where cacao beans are roasted. The R&D center in Cleveland, Tenn., focuses on baked products, where the cookie centers of Twix and the Combos salty snacks are multiple bulk materials by weight from nearby or distant plant locations, blend the batch and discharge/ convey it automatically with Flexicon Weigh Batching and Blending Systems. Unload free- and non-free-flowing solids from bulk bags automatically with Flexicon Bulk Bag Unloaders. Untie full bags, retie partially empty bags and collapse empty bags— all dust-free. Available with weigh batching controls. note to plant ops one of the keys to mars inc.’s success over the years has been its belief in the competitive edge that superior manufacturing and technological know-how provide. mars has cross-trained its managers for decades, bringing along employees with potential for management through a succession of promotions from r&d posts and shift management to plant management and high-level operations and engineering posts. the mix of product understanding, manufacturing experience and technical understanding pave the way to top management positions. manufacturing has a great deal of input on the product development process at mars snackfood U.s. one key element of manufacturing’s involvement is food quality and safety. “we have a (cross-functional) team in the organization that makes sure that any change in processing or recipes goes through a rigorous review process,” says Harald emberger, vice president of supply chain. the cross-functional grooming of mars personnel makes them “good at understanding the product from both ends,” the supply chain head notes. engineers understand the r&d perspective and, conversely, r&d personnel grasp the engineers’ concerns. www.foodprocessing.com Fill bulk bags with free- and non-free-flowing bulk solids with Twin-Centerpost™, Rear-Post and Swing-Down™ Bulk Bag Fillers. Available with numerous performance enhancements for low to high capacity applications. New CD ROM 1 888 FLEXICON sales@flexicon.com ® U-1014 .com http://www.flexicon.com http://www.foodprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Processing - January 2008

Food Processing - January 2008 Contents Editor's Plate NewsBites The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Product Spotlight Seventh Annual Manufacturing Trends Surbey Product Development Ingredients Plant Operations Plant Operations & Packaging New Supplier Products Toops Scoops

Food Processing - January 2008

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