Food Processing - July 2008 - (Page 12) neWs biTes M A N AG E M E N T Schwan Promotes Flack to CEO reg Flack, who has been Schwan Food Co.’s “interim leader” for the past five months, was appointed president/CEO/ COO of the privately held, Marshall, Minn., food firm effective July 1. The promotion fills the void of the February sudden departure of Lenny Pippin, who had been with greg Flack the company since 1999. A company spokesperson would not say why Pippin left, but the former CEO was quoted in local media earlier this year as saying that, while the departure was amicable, he and the board had different “thinking about the future.” Flack has more than 21 years of experience with the company, including posts as senior vice president and general manager of Schwan’s Food Service; executive vice president for product and mar- G ket strategy; and president of Schwan’s Global Consumer Brands. “In Greg, we have an outstanding leader who has demonstrated considerable knowledge and a keen appreciation of the issues confronting the company,” said Al Schuman, lead director of the board. “He is eager to work with all of the employees and business units to encourage collaboration among them, enhance and strengthen the company’s position as one of the world’s pre-eminent manufacturers and suppliers of frozen food and lead the company into a future with unlimited possibilities.” Chairman Alfred Schwan added, “I am very pleased and proud to see Greg being selected. He has shown tremendous passion, strong business acumen and focused vision in his role as interim leader and has demonstrated the company’s culture and values for over 21 years. With Greg, I know the best is yet to come.” TRADE SHOWS ingredient section Planned for Private label show s retailers focus on ingredient-driven product innovation to expand and differentiate their store brand offerings, the Private Label Manufacturers Assn. (PLMA) will devote a section of its 2008 Private Label Trade Show to ingredients, including raw materials, flavors and fragrances that make up today’s store brands. “Private label in America has reached new levels of quality and consumer acceptance. Future growth will depend on keeping up the flow of the best ingredients, flavors and fragrances, so that retailers can offer consumers the most innovative and creative products possible,” said Brian Sharoff, PLMA president. Ingredients have taken on additional importance as products feature organics, high fiber, low salt, omega-3, zero trans fat and glutenfree, among other new and innovative qualities, the association said. Attendees of the Private Label Trade Show are mostly retailers from Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and the like, while the exhibitors are private label manufacturers, most of them serving the food industry. In addition to educating the retailers with the ingredient pavil- A ion, PLMA will promote attendance at the show for the R&D people and purchasing agents of its private label manufacturers. “PLMA’s new section will permit the private label industry to see the latest ingredients without waiting for national brands to introduce them first,” said Sharoff. The show has been held annually since 1980. This year’s will be Nov. 16-18 at the Rosemont Exhibition Center in suburban Chicago. For information, call PLMA at 212-972-3131. BRiEfly newly independent Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., Plano, Texas, plans to open a $120 million production and distribution center in Victorville, calif., to serve california and parts of the southwest. The company will produce a wide range of soft drinks, juices, juice drinks, ready-todrink teas, energy drinks and other premium beverages at the plant, which will be built on the site of the former george Air Force base. J.M. Smucker Co., orrville, ohio, has offered $2.95 billion to Procter & Gamble Co. for the latter’s Folgers coffee business. The acquisition should more than double smucker’s annual sales, reported in last August’s Food Processing Top 100 © at $2.1 billion. smucker also will assume about $350 million of Folgers’ debt. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh’s H. J. Heinz Co. will build a 225,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility on a 49-acre site in Florence, s.c., to support its growing frozen meals business in north America. ground breaking is scheduled for this summer 2008, with a fall 2009 completion date. it will create 350 new jobs producing frozen entrees for the Weight Watchers, smart ones and boston market brands. FoodProcessing.com PRODUCTS yanks Win Taste Awards Food and beverage products submitted by two American companies won one-star 2008 Superior Taste Awards in June from the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) in Brussels, Belgium. Winners were: • The Very Finest Fish Oil (lemon flavor) from J.R. Carlson Laboratories Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill. • J1 Aloe Pulp Juice with Vitamin C from Jayone Foods Inc., Paramount, Calif. The highest award is three stars. The award acknowledges the excellence of their taste, in particular scoring a high organoleptic evaluation. 12 • Food Processing July 2008 http://foodprocessing.com
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