Advertise on podcast: Food Processing Efficiency & Innovation, presented by ProEx Food

Yes, Nick and Jay are back, this time talking about what's happening and some upcoming shows. There are new improvements coming for our Vibratory offerings, and we are sending the team out on the road. We will be at Pack Expo in Vegas in September and Fruit Attraction in Madrid in October. Happy listening!

Nick sits down with Jay Cryer, our sales lead for vibratory systems, to talk about these new innovative products within the PROEX FOOD portfolio. How they help, what industries are they useful for, and how we are improving our offerings overall.  

Has it been too long since we chatted?  Why yes, yes it has! In this short mini pod, Nick talks about what automation REALLY is, and the current state of material prices.  

Matt is a true fruit and vegetable automation transformation expert.  He has vast operational leadership experience in fruit and vegetable processing plants, knows your pain, speaks your language and know to add value to your operation.   We talk about an array of topics, including about attracting and retaining talent, and how the tech investment in your facility will help with that process.  The discussion also talks about positive trends, including industry collaboration.  Finally, what really sets things apart?  How strong is your integrator and design/process engineering and your partner that helps bring new perspective there?  What are the risks and opportunity costs by doing everything by yourself?

Nick sits down with Andrew Roloff from Intralox to talk about fruit and vegetable lines, hygienic design, reducing sanitation labor and how a proper line is automated when companies such as ours come together for your solution. Automation means a whole lot of things, spanning processing, packaging and general safety and maintenance. New technologies help processors move to the next level.  But what is driving change and when should you make sure QA is involved?  Check it out!

ProEx Food is expanding, and we are excited to announce Adam Kos has joined our team as Director of Sales, EMEA. Adam has been in fruit and vegetable processing for over a decade. He started in IQF lines, and knows fresh and shelf-stable applications very well. Nick and Adam discuss needs in the market, some of the more interesting projects Adam has been working on and where they see things going. Will labor shortages persist?  Take a listen. Oh, and we finish with a brief Polish lesson.  

In this episode, we explore market trends in fresh cut produce. Nick talks with Mary Coppola, VP of Marketing and Communications at United Fresh.  This fascinating chat covers topics such as how work from home is changing demand for produce, with thoughts on what will be a sustained trend.  Nick and Mary also discuss the labor market, and how some roles are transforming as passionate processors challenge themselves to be relentlessly innovative. They also discuss sustainability efforts and how valuable these are to product marketers. It's not just in the packaging! If there is a topic that would interest you, please send your idea to [email protected] 

Nick sits down with Jason Culotta, President of the MWFPA.  Nick and Jason discuss regulatory and labor issues impacting fruit and vegetable processors.  They also discuss operational trends, recent and future impacts of COVID on the industry, shifts in consumer preferences and what technologies and investments are expected to have an impact on processing facilities. 

How many Engineers with a PhD do you know that started their journey by TIG welding? Nick sits down with Daniel Ghadiri, our co-founder, president and CTO. Daniel talks about his passion, including our continual evolution of solutions and automation levels. They also discuss how our engineers engage in a thorough discovery process with our customers for their projects, so we ensure we are delivering the right solution for them. Nick and Daniel also discuss how the digital evolution is becoming a part of fruit and vegetable lines, and where the industry is anticipated to go.  

Nick sits down with CEO and Co-Founder Ross Lund to discuss ProEx Food's specialty: sweet corn processing and packaging solutions. While ProEx Food helps produce processors of many kinds, our bread and butter is sweet corn. Between the origins of where Ross and Dan came from, to when they started their own company, to today, ProEx Food handles the lion's share of global solutions for fresh market sweet corn processors. We also help organizations of all size - all the way from growers who are just starting to perform processing all the way up to large-scale production facilities. With that coverage, we have several levels of automation and designs that our engineers will optimize specifically for each customer. Take a listen, and let us know how we can help you take your sweet corn business to either the first, or the next level.  

In today's episode, Nick sits down with John Swanson, our Customer Solutions Manager. John has over 40 years in manufacturing and additional operational leadership, including over 20 years at GE with plant manager roles.  John knows how operations work, and is focussed on lean. He brings a very unique skill and experience set to our customers, which he applies to the solutions he proposes.  We talk about his background, some of the interesting projects he's worked on, and a bit about budget assistance and our financial partnerships. It's all about value-oriented solutions for our customers.  

We're a little different than the traditional OEMs and engineering groups you've worked with in the past, and want to talk about our foundation - breaking away from a traditional manufacturer to set our own, innovative path.   ProEx Food helps food processors solve for labor and food safety obstacles by bringing equipment, robotic automation and other technologically innovative solutions to food production plants, from infeed through processing through final packaging. While we specialize in fruits and vegetables, especially fresh market sweet corn, we deliver value-orientated solutions for many food processing products and verticals.   We design, engineer, source, integrate and install equipment and turn-key line solutions for food processors around the world, using a combination of in-house and globally sourced equipment and technologies.  We strive to help food processing operations of all sizes and needs achieve high levels of operational efficiency while reducing labors costs.