Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 58)

Innovation Leads to Solutions F by bob gatty ive engineers got together in San Francisco in 1950 and started a new company, Heat and Control, because they recognized many opportunities to modernize and improve the cooking equipment and processes being used by food processors. With one innovation following another, the company's product line of ovens and fryers propelled Heat and Control, still privately owned today and based in Hayward, CA, into a leadership position for designing and building processing equipment for the snack, prepared food and french fry industries. Those innovations, noted Jeff Almond, the company's industry manager, included pioneering the external heat exchanger for industrial fryer systems, patented high-speed processing equipment for potato chips and other snacks, and the invention and patenting of a multi-purpose oven, the MPO Cooking System. "As demand for our products grew around the world," Mr. Almond explained, "the company responded by establishing additional manufacturing centers in the US, Australia, Mexico, China and South Africa." There are also sales offices in India, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Scotland and The Netherlands that, combined with the manufacturing facilities, support projects in their respective territories and provide technology and processes to meet 58 Snack World May 2014 www.sfa.org the needs of Heat and Control's global markets. "Heat and Control revolutionized the packaging industry with our introduction of Ishida's Computer Combination Weigher to North America in 1980," Mr. Almond added. "The precise accuracy of this automatic weigh filler allowed thousands of companies to realize unprecedented labor and product savings." In addition, with the company's established engineering and manufacturing resources, Mr. Almond said it was "a natural extension" to develop the full line of product conveyors and related equipment that it now offers as part of its complete packaging systems. Throughout all this growth, Mr. Almond stressed, Heat and Control remains focused on the snack food industry, the largest industry that it serves globally. "We owe a great deal of our success to the exposure we gain each year from SNAXPO and Snack World magazine," he said. "We have also benefited from our committee service, networking and fellowship with SFA members each year. Our affiliation with SFA has been a key to our continued growth, and we look forward to leveraging that partnership for many years to come." Mr. Almond pointed out that Heat and Control develops and refines the processes, and designs, engineers and manufacturers the machinery required for complete food processing and packaging systems. http://www.sfa.org

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Snack World - May 2014