Through trusted expertise, practical tools and dedicated support, we help businesses navigate packaging recyclability, compliance and changing regulations with confidence.
From recyclability assessments and labelling requirements to legislative updates, industry insights and future-ready solutions, we help you stay informed, prepared and one step ahead.
Because OPRL goes beyond the label.
Discover more about membership : oprl.org.uk/join
Retailers can ask for a full trace in hours, and a BRCGS audit will make you prove it, forward and back. Your records also have to be ready for the FSA on demand. When the request comes, the clock is already running.
Nulogy connects production, quality and compliance on one platform, so a batch's full history, one step back and one step forward, is ready before anyone asks for it.
Proven at scale: 2,000+ supplier facilities governed, 100% supplier adoption, and audits four times faster.
Nulogy has more than 20 years in food and drink manufacturing. See a connected trace on your own operation. Book a quick demo
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Harford Control Ltd. - Specialist Writer
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HRS Heat Exchangers
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Numbergmesse - Powtech 2026
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Rith Wilson PR Stone Junction Think B2B Ltd
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Kimberley Read at: kimberley@foodanddrinknetwork-uk.co.uk or Joanne Murphy at: joanne@foodanddrinknetwork-uk.co.uk foodanddrinknetwork.co.uk
Registration opens for UKPackaging Expo 2026
Thermoformed packaging specialist, Kingsmoor Packaging, has appointed Kieran Thomas as business development manager. The move further strengthens its commercial team as the company continues to invest in customer relationships and support its continued growth.
Reporting directly to MD, James Hill, Kieran will be responsible for developing and supporting both existing and new customer accounts. Working closely with customers, he will ensure their requirements are fully understood while keeping them informed of Kingsmoor’s latest products, services and manufacturing capabilities. His role will include regular customer visits, site meetings and ongoing communication, helping customers maximise the benefits of Kingsmoor’s thermoformed packaging expertise.
Commenting on his appointment, Kieran said: “I’m excited to be moving into a sales role and gaining experience in an area of thermoforming that I hadn’t previously been exposed to, while continuing to build my technical knowledge. Kingsmoor appealed to me immediately because I started my career in a family-owned business and really enjoyed that environment. Everyone I’ve met throughout the interview process and during my first few days has been incredibly welcoming and supportive, making it a team I want to be part of.”
James Hill added: “We’re delighted to welcome Kieran to the Kingsmoor team. His experience across customer service, procurement and production planning gives him a well-rounded understanding of both the commercial and operational sides of our business, which will be a real asset as he works with customers across a wide range of packaging applications.”
Visit www.kingsmoorpackaging.co.uk to find out more.
We are looking for motivated freelance sales agents to help grow our portfolio of magazines, websites and digital marketing services. Flexible opportunities with excellent earning potential.
Whether you are looking for a full-time opportunity or additional income alongside your existing role, we would love to hear from you.
Leading aluminium tray producer, i2r Packaging Solutions, has introduced an innovative aluminium tray designed to eliminate the need for absorbent soakaway pads in fresh meat and seafood packaging.
The new Dimple Base Tray features an engineered base that captures and retains liquid within the tray itself, combining the functions of both the tray and absorbent pad into a single component. The result is a simpler pack structure that improves recyclability, reduces packaging waste and increases pack strength.
Testing has shown the tray retains up to 16ml of liquid, matching the performance of a conventional absorbent pad, while delivering 30% greater strength than a standard equivalent tray.
Tom Cliffe, i2r’s sales director, said: “For decades, absorbent pads have been viewed as an essential part of fresh protein packaging. We challenged that thinking by redesigning the tray itself, creating a solution that delivers the same performance while removing an unnecessary packaging component.
“The Dimple Base Tray demonstrates how intelligent design can simplify packaging, improve recyclability and deliver practical benefits for manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike.”
Manufactured from aluminium, the tray supports circular economy objectives by removing a difficult-to-recycle packaging element while utilising one of the world’s most recyclable packaging materials. i2r’s smoothwall trays already contain 54% recycled content, with a target of reaching 90% by the end of 2026.
The first Dimple Base profile has successfully proven the concept, with further tray formats planned to extend the technology across a wider range of fresh food applications.
Tom Cliffe added: “With billions of fresh meat and seafood packs produced every year, even small design changes can have a significant impact. The Dimple Base Tray offers the industry a practical, scalable solution that improves sustainability without compromising performance.”
For more information and samples, contact +44 (0)845 371 5111, email: sales@i2rps.com.
Krones’ interactive 3D showroom has received two awards at the German Brand Award 2026. The project won Gold in the “Brand Communication - User Experience” category and was also named “Brand Experience of the Year”.
The judges particularly praised the showroom’s intuitive user guidance, layered depth of information and the seamless combination of technical product presentation and brand staging. According to the judges, the showroom makes complex production systems easy to explore and technical content readily accessible.
The showroom was developed in collaboration with Polypic GmbH. The platform supports trade fairs, sales activities, training programmes and customer communications. Its objective is to present complex industrial systems and processes in a way that is clear, interactive and engaging. Users can move freely through the photorealistic virtual environment, experience machines in operation and access additional information via interactive hotspots. The showroom can be accessed both locally and through pixel streaming.
“We want to inspire our customers with innovative solutions. To showcase these solutions effectively, we also need media experiences that inspire,” explains Andreas Wurm, Team Lead Media Solutions at Krones.
“With our new 3D showroom, we are taking Krones’ product and brand presentation to a new level, enabling customers around the world to explore complex production lines in detail without the need for a physical installation.”
The two awards highlight the importance of digital brand communication at Krones. The interactive 3D showroom demonstrates how modern real-time technologies can help communicate complex content in an accessible way and create new opportunities to experience production processes.
It’s important to look beyond the short term, which is why Krones is working on “Solutions beyond tomorrow”. Be it beverage and food production lines, digital services or plastics recycling: Krones’ innovative solutions combine superior performance with sustainability.
PPMA Show 2026
NEC, Birmingham, 22-24 September Hall 5, Stand D86
Functional soft drinks brand Skip will launch its range of Magnesium drinks this week.
The two new flavours follow the successful national roll-out of Skip’s Peach & Ginger, Elderflower & Mint (which won a Great Taste Award) and Lemon & Basil cold-pressed CBD drinks last July, followed by two Lion’s Mane flavours in January.
Skip Magnesium comes in two lightly sparkling fruity flavours: Berry & Cherry and Kiwi & Lime. RRP is £1.99.
Each 250ml can contains 188mg of magnesium as well as vitamins B6 and D (50% of RI). Vitamin B6 contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system, vitamin D helps to maintain strong bones and teeth, while magnesium’s benefits include improved sleep quality, relief from anxiety and stress, and boosted energy production.
Skip co-founder Adam Pritchard said: “We’re really excited to launch our new Skip Magnesium range. We believe that our
Scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHEs) are widely recognised as the best solution for heat transfer applications – such as pasteurisation, cooling or sterilisation – involving thick and viscous food products as removing product from the tube surface prevents fouling and the same scraping action provides thorough mixing and distribution of heat (or cold) in the product. However, what happens when thorough mixing has the potential to physically alter the product, as can happen with some creams, sauces, and products containing pieces, such as fruit purees?
Most SSHEs use a rotating shaft with blades or augers which scrape the surface of the tube, and the popular HRS R Series is based on this approach. However, depending on the nature of the product, the forces created can lead to shearing or splitting. To overcome such issues and preserve the quality and integrity of delicate food products such as cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, meat paste, and products containing whole pieces of fruits or vegetables, HRS developed the HRS Unicus Series of reciprocating scraped surface heat exchangers.
The HRS Unicus Series uses a patented and hygienic stainless-steel scraping mechanism which moves hydraulically back and forth within each interior tube. This movement performs two key functions: it minimises potential fouling by keeping the tube wall clean and creates turbulence within the product. Taken together, these actions increase heat transfer in the material, creating a highly efficient yet gentle process which is ideal for delicate but viscous and high fouling products.
However, because the speed of the scrapers can be controlled separately and a number of different scraper designs have been developed for different products, the action of the Unicus Series and the speed of the scrapers can be optimised for a particular product being processed. This means that products which are susceptible to shear stress or pressure damage (such as creams, custards and sauces) can be handled delicately and at lower pressures to prevent damage while still providing high levels of heat transfer.
The Unicus Series has proven particularly useful in handling viscous food products where texture and consistency are important attributes. The Unicus Series is particularly suitable for evaporation applications, where preventing fouling is particularly important. Because of this, HRS has developed a specific version of the Unicus Series for use in evaporation units where volume reduction of the product is required. The scraping action keeps the heat transfer surfaces clean so that Unicus evaporators can concentrate materials to a level that is unattainable using traditional technologies. Unicus evaporators can be used in multi-effect setups or in combination with mechanical vapour recompression, where suitable.
sparkling magnesium and vitamin-enriched drinks will resonate particularly well with Gen Z who are drinking less alcohol, care about ingredients and want function with convenience.”
Skip Magnesium is available in Home Bargains stores nationwide and online at skipdrinks.com and Instagram Shop. It will also be available from August on Amazon, TikTok Shop and via wholesaler HT Drinks. The brand is targeting listings in retail, convenience, grocery and wholesale. www.drinkskip.com
Isle of Raasay Distillery, the Hebridean single malt Scotch whisky brand, has announced the appointment of GHF as its distribution and brand development partner across the UK on-trade and off-trade, including independent retail and premium grocers. The appointment will also include Feragaia 0.0%, the Scottish non alcoholic spirit acquired by R&B Distillers in November 2025 as part of its Scotland’s New Wave Spirits portfolio.
Under the agreement, GHF will partner with R&B on sales, distribution and trade marketing for Raasay and Feragaia across the UK, delivering against objectives spanning distribution, account management and in-venue product promotion.
The appointment marks the next phase of growth for Raasay and Feragaia as both brands look to double the revenue of their UK business in the near term, with a focus on building presence beyond Scotland, where they already hold a strong following among spirits drinkers, by securing prestigious positioning in iconic outlets across London & The South.
William Dobbie, Managing Director of R&B Distillers, brand owner of Isle of Raasay Distillery and Feragaia, said: “As we look to increase our distribution and brand awareness beyond Scotland, where we have built a solid foundation, GHF’s relationships across the most influential venues and retailers in the UK make them the right partner for this next chapter. Their track record of building premium drinks brands with credibility speaks for itself. We look forward to getting started with them as our focused partner on the trade channel.”
Tristram Coates, Founder & CEO, GHF, added:
“Raasay is one of the most compelling stories in Scotch whisky, a true island single malt with genuine provenance and a quality of liquid that stands up in any company. Feragaia is equally distinctive, offering a genuinely grown-up, uncompromising approach to the non alcoholic category.
Our role is to bring focus and executional intensity to the growth of both brands in the UK, placing them in the right venues and retailers at the right time. London’s most iconic outlets are where reputations are made, and that is exactly where this portfolio belongs.”
Walk down the aisle of any Manufacturing Expo today, and you will be hit with a wall of buzzwords: AI-driven analytics, smart factory transformation, generative maintenance, and autonomous decision-making. Vendors promise that artificial intelligence will magically resolve age-old operational headaches with the flick of a digital switch.
Yet, when we ask manufacturers a simple, direct question: ‘Why do you actually need AI?’ The response is often telling. Silence, or a vague mention of staying competitive.
Too many companies are chasing trendy acronyms rather than focusing on their actual pain points. They are investing in shiny technology to solve problems they haven’t clearly defined. It is no wonder that behind the marketing fluff lies a growing sense of frustration within factories.
Data from recent manufacturing industry insight highlights a dramatic shift in tone over the last few years.
Back in 2024, over 60% of manufacturers admitted they were unsure where to even start with AI. By 2025, that uncertainty had dropped, with nearly half identifying specific use cases. But as we navigate 2026, the question is no longer “What is AI?” or even “What could AI do?”
Instead, leadership teams are asking a far sharper, more uncomfortable question: “Why isn’t this delivering results?” Ford learned this lesson the hard way. Despite installing 900 AI-powered cameras to catch line defects, the automated checks failed to match real-world factory complexities. In the end, Ford rehired
capable as the operational foundation behind it.
2024: “What is AI and where do we start?”
2025: “We found some use cases. Let’s run a pilot!”
2026: “Why aren’t we seeing measurable impact at scale?”
The honeymoon phase of small ‘proof-ofconcept’ projects and internal chatbots is officially over. Manufacturers have spent time and budget on pilots that look impressive in a boardroom demo but fail the moment they meet the gritty reality of the production floor.
Digital transformation has become uncomfortable. Companies aren’t failing because AI lacks potential; they are stalling because they treated AI as a standalone tech cure-all rather than an operational discipline.
AI is an amplifier. If you feed it clean, real-time operational data, it amplifies control and predictability. If you feed it fragmented, dirty data from a chaotic factory floor, it simply amplifies confusion.
Many plants attempting to roll out AI-driven predictive maintenance or advanced scheduling run straight into three hard realities:
• Industrial Data Debt: Data across lines, machines, and multi-site estates is often inconsistent, inaccurate, or locked away in legacy silos.
• The IT/OT Divide: Bridging the gap between operational technology (the physical hardware on the plant floor) and enterprise IT remains one of the quietest but most significant bottlenecks in modern manufacturing.
• Workforce Alignment: Lean tools exist on paper, but standard work erodes under daily production pressures. When operators feel tech is being “done to them” rather than helping them, engagement evaporates.
When an AI model fails to deliver measurable ROI on quality, capacity, or yield, the technology itself is rarely to blame. The culprit is almost always weak underlying data architecture and a lack of real-time process control.
The Hard Truth: You cannot automate quality or digitise performance if your frontline operational fundamentals are inconsistent.
In 2024, automation conversations revolved around labour costs and simple payback periods. Today, quality assurance and operational resilience have become the primary battlegrounds, especially in regulated, safety-critical sectors like food, beverage, and pharmaceuticals.
Manufacturers don’t just need software that predicts what might happen tomorrow; they need systems that actively control and optimise what is happening right now on the line:
• Ensuring Right-First-Time Quality: Preventing giveaway, reducing rework, and eliminating waste before product leaves the plant.
• Establishing End-to-End Traceability: Ensuring regulatory compliance through automated, tamper-proof data capture.
• Closing the Intent-Execution Gap: Empowering frontline operators with clear, actionable insights so standard work is maintained even under severe time pressure.
Productivity in 2026 isn’t a vague strategic ambition. It is an execution discipline. The manufacturers making genuine progress are those stepping back from the hype to focus on realistic roadmaps, systems discipline, and actionable shop-floor control in real time.
At Harford Control, our view has always been straightforward: Technology must serve the process, not the other way around.
Vendors that lead with what their technology will continue to disappoint. The solutions that matter are those that address real operational problems, fit seamlessly into the factory environment, and deliver measurable, repeatable outcomes on quality, compliance, yield and efficiency.
Before jumping onto the next wave of AI buzzwords, ask your team three fundamental questions:
• Do we have accurate, real-time visibility into our production lines right now?
• Is our underlying machine and quality data good enough to trust automated decisions?
• Are our shopfloor teams equipped with intuitive tools that make their daily jobs easier, or are they slaves to the technology?
If the answer to any of those is “no,” then adding another layer of complex AI will only add cost and confusion. Real transformation doesn’t come from chasing trends. It comes from mastering execution on the factory floor.
If you are ready to cut through the noise and focus on real-time visibility, eliminating waste, and driving consistent quality, we are here to help.
• Request a Tailored Demo: Discover how Harford Control’s integrated MES systems deliver real-time control and measurable results on your shop floor.
• Meet Us Live on the Exhibition Floor:
• PPMA Show 2026: NEC Birmingham | 22–24 September 2026 | Stand B80
• Anuga FoodTec India 2026: Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), Mumbai | 29 September – 1 October 2026 | Stand F106 (01225) 764461 harfordcontrol.com
Northern Powerhouse event returns on 10th-11th November at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool
Registration is now open for the second edition of UKPackaging Expo, a groundbreaking packaging trade exhibition which is set to run from 10th-11th November 2026 at the Exhibition Centre, Liverpool.
Visitors can look forward to seeing over 120 exhibitors from across the UK and overseas present their latest packaging innovations and solutions in Hall C of the Exhibition Centre, a fantastic contemporary exhibition space in the Northern Powerhouse city of Liverpool. This inspired choice of venue will offer an exceptional launch platform for packaging professionals across the supply chain to network, collaborate and come up with solutions to every kind of packaging challenge or opportunity.
50 world class speakers and industry experts are also confirmed to participate in the Future Packaging Conference running alongside the Expo, coming together to explore the various trends, technologies and industry directives that are shaping the future of packaging. The conference will offer visitors a golden opportunity to gain insight into sustainable best practice, cutting edge materials,
smart packaging and other emerging technologies that are set to define the decade to come for the packaging industry.
A packed agenda will run throughout the two-day conference, covering the crucial topics of Sustainability & Circular Economy; Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning in Packaging; Smart Packaging and IoT Integration; Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology; Consumer Trends & Market Dynamics; Regulatory Compliance & Standards and Digital Transformation & Industry 4.0.
Find out more about the Future Packaging Conference Agenda: https://www.ukpackagingexpo.co.uk/live/en/ page/conference-agenda
The Co-Founder and Commercial Director of UKPackaging, Mauricio Montes, commented: “Following a very successful launch in Manchester last year, we’re incredibly excited about the show coming up in Liverpool this November, which will really give us the chance to show how much we’ve grown and evolved already. We’ve already got an exceptional roster of exhibitors confirmed and a limited amount of exhibition space remaining. Any other suppliers in this sector that are seeking to expand their customer networks, enhance the
profile of their brand and demonstrate their manufacturing capabilities to new and existing clients should get in touch with us as soon as possible if they want to secure space at the event.”
UKPackaging Expo 2026 will unite international bellwether brands with exciting new entrants to the marketplace, together offering a breadth of solutions that will serve a huge swathe of industry categories. These will range from Food & Beverage through to Automotive and eCommerce, Beauty, Pharmaceuticals and more. Specifiers, buyers and all-round decision makers will discover best-in-class turnkey solutions alongside niche developments and groundbreaking sustainable concepts.
An impressive lineup of exhibitors already confirmed to join the show includes: Unilever, Protek Packaging, Cpack, Fides Reklam, Jowat, Avery Dennison, BRC Proms Ltd / Macmillan Cancer Support, MPMA, Carrick Packaging, Deniz Plastik, Origin Packaging, Vikang Masek, Air Sea Containers, Castle Industrial, Recoup, Beyondly, Markem Imaje, Dura-ID, Tirrit UK, Chubby Gorilla, Cap Coder, Impress, BlueSky, Zevero, Stax Converting, Elried, Sunula / Travetec, Avantade, BPF, Steadfast Tapes, Cerrion, Discovery Flexibles, Abra Pack, Gainsborough Engineering / GSH, Cloud ERP, Rotion, Cradloop, The Label Makers, Omori, Paramount Packaging, Integrated Air Systems, LyonPro, Nelson Wrap Dispenser, Advanced Labelling Systems, River Packaging, Alpi UK, UKRI, Sheffield University, OpenDate, Kotra, North of England Packaging Society, SEFE, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Polypaq, Brook Green Supply, Toreto, New Code, Printpark, mbn Plastik, Simsek Ambalaj, Yenel, Realplast, Marinpack, SARIBEKIR Ambalaj, Lapack Plastik Ambalaj, Polyplas, Ecoplast Film, Mozaik Ofset Ambalaj, EMA Plastik, Kimpak and Sarten.
Kimpak representative, Mustafa Tunk said: We have chosen to exhibit at UK Packaging Expo to strengthen our presence in the UK market, meet existing customers, and establish new relationships with distributors, converters, and brand owners. The UK is an important market for innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, making this exhibition an excellent opportunity to connect with key industry stakeholders.
The Label Makers representative, Sarah Webster, was also enthusiastic about the event, commenting: UK Packaging provides an excellent platform for connecting with brands looking to differentiate their products in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Our goals are to showcase the creative and technical possibilities enabled by modern label production, build new relationships with brand owners and packaging professionals and demonstrate how labels can play a critical role in both sustainability and the consumer experience”
Onder Polat from Ecoplast agreed, saying: The UK market is among the markets we prioritise. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with existing customers and, most importantly, getting new ones”.
Secure your free ticket to attend this essential industry event by Registering via this link: https://register.ukpackagingexpo.co.uk/
Stand enquiries: Email: sales@ukpackagingexpo.co.uk / tel: 020 3038 6292
From breakthrough innovations and award-winning design to world-class insight and unrivalled networking, London Packaging Week 2026 has been reimagined to help packaging professionals discover practical solutions to today’s biggest brand and packaging challenges.
As packaging takes on an increasingly strategic role within modern brands, the need to make faster, smarter and more informed decisions has never been greater. Whether responding to changing regulations, evolving consumer expectations, material innovation or commercial pressure, today’s packaging teams are expected to solve increasingly complex challenges.
London Packaging Week 2026 has been designed with exactly that in mind. Built around the theme of Discovery, the show’s most ambitious programme to date has been shaped to help visitors uncover the ideas, innovations, expertise and connections they need to move projects forward, all in one place.
Among the major new features is the new-look Innovation Gallery, offering a curated showcase of the industry’s most exciting packaging developments, complete with twice-daily guided tours highlighting the thinking behind the innovations shaping tomorrow’s packaging landscape.
Joining it is the Design Hub, powered by Pentawards, a dedicated destination for brand and design professionals that combines expert talks, curated content and networking opportunities. Pentawards’ celebrated exhibition also returns in an expanded
format, showcasing 50 award-winning packaging designs alongside an exclusive networking reception.
The spirit of discovery continues with a series of experiences designed to take visitors closer to the ideas, people and stories behind packaging. In an exclusive first, London Packaging Week will premiere the trailer for an upcoming documentary taking audiences behind the scenes at James Cropper, the UK’s last remaining paper mill producing coloured paper, revealing the extraordinary craft, people and processes behind a material we all think we know.
The new Podcast Studio brings together some of the industry’s leading voices for candid conversations exploring the commercial realities, creative challenges and breakthrough thinking influencing packaging today. Elsewhere, the Start-up Zone and Discovery Theatre provide visitors with early access to emerging businesses, disruptive technologies and fresh ideas that could shape their next project or product launch.
New for 2026, the Trail of Secrets invites visitors to uncover the latest packaging innovations, inspiring exhibitors and must-see features as they explore the show floor. Completing the trail unlocks
a complimentary refreshment at The Inner Circle Bar, rewarding participants for everything they’ve discovered. Throughout both days, visitors can also enjoy dedicated Happy Hours and an end-ofday networking drinks reception, creating even more opportunities to continue conversations, strengthen new connections and celebrate a day of discovery.
Recognising that some of the most valuable conversations happen away from the exhibition stands, London Packaging Week is also expanding its networking programme. New additions include the Women in Packaging Networking Breakfast & Powerhour, delivered in partnership with Packaging News, creating an exclusive forum for senior leaders to share experience, develop connections and inspire the next generation of talent.
Josh Brooks, Divisional Director – Packaging at Easyfairs, said: “A great event isn’t measured by how much there is to see. It’s measured by what visitors take away from it. Every new feature we’ve introduced this year has been designed around helping people solve real problems, discover new ideas and make valuable connections that they can take back into their business.
“We’ve listened carefully to our community and looked at every stage of the visitor journey. Whether someone is searching for their next packaging innovation, navigating new regulations, looking for design inspiration or meeting new suppliers, we want every hour they spend at London Packaging Week to deliver genuine value.”
The new features complement London Packaging Week’s world-class conference programme, bringing together leading voices from across packaging, branding, sustainability and retail, alongside returning highlights including the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards, sponsored by Nuon, the VIP Lounge, sponsored by Hunter Luxury, and The Inner Circle Bar, sponsored by Ecosurety. Together with more than 220 leading exhibitors and over 5,700 visitors, the event offers one of the industry’s most valuable opportunities to discover the people, ideas and innovations shaping the future of packaging.
Register now for your free ticket to London Packaging Week 2026, taking place at Excel London on 16 & 17 September.
Between 29 September and 1 October 2026, POWTECH TECHNOPHARM will bring together experts from a wide range of process industries in Nuremberg and create the ideal conditions for knowledge-sharing and innovation.
Between 29 September and 1 October 2026, POWTECH TECHNOPHARM will bring together experts from a wide range of process industries in Nuremberg and create the ideal conditions for knowledge-sharing and innovation. As the gateway to technologies used in processing powders, solids and liquids, the Exhibition will illustrate how process engineering solutions can be used in multiple disciplines, which provides a crucial competitive advantage – especially in future-oriented fields such as digitalisation and the circular economy.
Process engineering has a lengthy history: Even millers, brewers and blacksmiths put fundamental processes such as comminution, mixing, separation and heating to good use. This has now grown into a highly specialised branch of industry in which new processes are constantly being developed, from agglomeration and granulation to coating, freeze-drying and nanotechnologies. POWTECH TECHNOPHARM reflects this variety and makes it accessible to many different sectors.
The range of products and services the exhibitors offer now covers almost the entire production chain, from processing, metering and transporting raw materials to storage, filling, packing and labelling. At the same time, automated process controls that increase efficiency and quality through the use of state-of-the-art measurement and analysis systems are growing in importance. The focus is also on safety and environmental aspects, thanks to technologies that prevent explosions or enable emission monitoring and sustainable treatment of material flows, for example. Extensive laboratory fittings, sensor technology, software solutions and scale-up systems are available for use in R&D.
The Exhibition appeals to a broad spectrum of industries: About three quarters of the exhibitors provide solutions for the chemical and food industries, while more than half also focus on sectors such as cosmetics, construction, glass, plastics and rubber. Development in the pharmaceutical sector is particularly dynamic: This field is benefiting from new inspiration thanks to the revival of TECHNOPHARM and support from the Working Group for Pharmaceutical Process Engineering (APV), the honorary sponsor of POWTECH TECHNOPHARM. The focus is on GMP-compliant production systems, innovative cleaning and tabletting processes, and end-to-end documentation systems. About two thirds of the exhibitors in 2026 will display solutions for the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry.
A key feature of POWTECH TECHNOPHARM is its interdisciplinary nature, since many exhibitors simultaneously serve multiple industries. Visitors benefit from this broad spectrum by gaining insights into trends and solutions from adjacent sectors and transfer
them to their own processes. At the same time, exhibitors develop new markets by presenting their technologies to a broad base of industry professionals. Dynamic environments are the ideal places for new approaches and business models to develop in this way.
The circular economy and digitalisation are among the most important drivers of innovation. Legal requirements such as the Packaging Regulation, the Ecodesign Regulation and the newly planned Circular Economy Act (CEA) increase the pressure to develop sustainable production processes. Many processes being presented at the Exhibition are essential in this regard, from comminution to material separation and cleaning through to further processing of recyclates. There are tried and tested processes for glass, plastic, metals and paper, and there is growing potential in the recycling of batteries and electronic equipment, in addition to fibre-to-fibre recycling in the textile industry.
More than half of the exhibitors already offer solutions for recycling processes. In 2026 this theme will be further bolstered by the new Recycling in Focus pavilion, which brings specialised providers together. Complementing this pavilion are the themed areas of “Smart Industry in Focus” for automation and digitalisation and “Pharma in Focus” for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Exhibition is accompanied by an extensive trade forum, which provides space for participants to discuss real-world use cases. The subject areas range from pharmaceutical and food processing to plant construction and process engineering, Smart Industry and sustainability. Presentations on energy-efficient production and innovative recycling processes are also on the agenda, together with examples of best practice from industry.
Consumer trends are changing, plants are becoming more flexible, portfolios broader. BrauBeviale showcases solutions along the entire value chain of the beverage industry – from innovative ingredients and smart process technologies to sustainable packaging concepts.
Now is the time to actively shape opportunities –visit BrauBeviale
The international trade fair for the beverage industry. 10–12 November 2026 Exhibition Centre Nuremberg
In the fast-paced, competitive world of food & beverage, pumps are not just tools – they are strategic assets, enabling manufacturers to meet evolving consumer demands while upholding the highest standards of quality and safety.
Verder Liquids is recognised for its diverse range of pump technologies, designed to meet the unique needs of this industry by offering tailored solutions for virtually any fluid handling requirements. Whether you are pumping liquids, viscous materials, chocolate, dough, sauces, syrups, or fruit pumps - our multiple pump brands can meet your fluid handling demands.
Food-certified hygienic pumps
• Packo Centrifugal
• Packo lobe
• Packo twin-screw
• Verderair HC-PURE
• Verderair HI Clean).
Peristaltic pumps for dosing colouring, preservatives and dyes
Peristaltic pumps for dosing colouring, preservatives and dyes
These design features support effective and reliable clean-inplace (CIP) or sterilize-in-place (SIP) operations, reducing risk of contamination and helping to meet regulatory requirements.
For many food processors – especially dairy, beverage, sauces, chocolate, bakery – the assurance that the pump itself won’t contaminate the product is non-negotiable. Verder Liquids hygienic pumps are especially well suited for this and ensure consistent compliance with hygiene standards, reduce cross-contamination risk, and support product safety and quality across batches.
The benefits of pumps in food & beverage applications are clear: enhanced precision, improved efficiency, uncompromising hygiene, gentle handling, and reliable automation. Verder Pump technology is engineered to meet the highest sanitary standards - stainless steel construction, automated efficient cleaning capabilities, and easy-to-dismantle designs - so pumps can be thoroughly cleaned and sterilised between batches, minimising the risk of crosscontamination.
Peristaltic pumps for dosing colouring, preservatives and dyes
Hygienic air diaphragm pumps for transfer of viscous fluids
Hygienic air diaphragm pumps for transfer of viscous fluids
Hygienic air diaphragm pumps for transfer of viscous fluids
Centrifugal pumps with the highest hygienic principles
Centrifugal pumps with the highest hygienic principles
In their pursuit of economic, technological, and environmental progress, Verder Liquids’ use market insight to develop pumping solutions which rank among the best in the world. With decades of research and development, the company continuously enhances its product range, and incorporates new technologies, such as IoT-enabled remote pump monitoring. Verder Liquids also demonstrates strong health, safety, and environmental stewardship – as evidenced by awards recognising workplace safety initiatives and ongoing commitments to sustainable practices
Centrifugal pumps with the highest hygienic principles
Lobe & twin screw pumps for tricky fluid transfer
Lobe & twin screw pumps for tricky fluid transfer
At Verder we work with clients to understand their operations, identify opportunities for improvement, and deliver solutions that exceed expectations. This collaborative approach offers process understanding, technological expertise, and advanced pumping solutions to help food and drink companies streamline processes, deliver consistent products, and have the flexibility to innovate and grow.
Lobe & twin screw pumps for tricky fluid transfer
OTHER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR PROCESS
OTHER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR PROCESS
Empowering customers to make their processes and products safer
As a leading global pump manufacturer and supplier of fluid handling solutions, Verder Liquids, operating as the pump specialist division of the Verder Group – a family-owned technology company founded in 1959 in the Netherlands – represent the group’s dedicated liquids division, delivering high-performance industrial and hygienic pump solutions to customers across multiple industries.
OTHER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR PROCESS
As we are dealing with food & beverage products, safety and cleanability are paramount – every component that encounters the product – whether pumps, valves, or other equipment – must be certified according to EC 1935/2004 (European legislation), ensuring that the materials used do not affect the physical properties of the product such as taste, colour, or odour.
Verderair HC-PUREVerderflex V5000
Verderair HC-PUREVerderflex V5000
Verder Liquids “food-certified” pumps are built to meet these needs: many of their hygienic lobe pumps have careful surface finishing, self-draining design and flush-fitting rotors so there are no dead zones where product can stagnate or bacteria accumulate.
Through a global network of more than 27 local offices and distributors, Verder Liquids ensures that customers receive not just high-performance pumps, but responsive local service, and technical support –making it a preferred partner for industrial pump solutions worldwide to enable progress
Verderair HC-PUREVerderflex V5000
LTD, CASTLEFORD +44 (0)1924 221 000 MAIL info@verder.co.uk WEB www.verderliquids.co.uk
VERDER LTD, CASTLEFORD +44 (0)1924 221 000 MAIL info@verder.co.uk WEB www.verderliquids.co.uk
VERDER LTD, CASTLEFORD +44 (0)1924 221 000 MAIL
The leading pump manufacturer
www.verderliquids.co.uk
The leading pump manufacturer
On 16–17 September 2026, more than 16,000 environmental professionals will gather at the NEC Birmingham for Environmental Services & Solutions (ESS) Expo – the UK’s leading business and knowledge exchange for the environmental sector.
Bringing together seven specialist shows under one roof, ESS Expo has become the meeting place for professionals working across the full environmental services sector, from areas including resource and waste management, recycling, water, energy, decarbonisation, land remediation, geotechnical engineering, air quality, environmental monitoring and sustainability. Whether you’re looking to source the latest technologies, hear from sector-leading experts, strengthen your professional network or stay ahead of policy developments, ESS Expo offers two days dedicated to tackling the challenges and opportunities within the environmental sector.
The event is home to seven specialist shows covering the environmental sector:
• Resource & Waste Management Expo
• Complete Auto Recycling Show & Metals Recycling Event
• Energy, Fuels & Decarbonisation Expo
• Water, Wastewater & Environmental Management Expo
• Air Quality & Emissions Expo.
• Contamination & Land Remediation Expo
• Geotechnical Engineering & Operations Expo
This unique combination creates a show floor where ideas, technologies and expertise naturally cross industry boundaries. Visitors can move seamlessly between sectors, discovering new products, meeting suppliers and gaining fresh perspectives.
DISCOVER THE LATEST SOLUTIONS FROM 700+ EXHIBITORS
With exhibitors showcasing the latest products, technologies and services, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of the innovations transforming environmental management.
From fleet and processing equipment to digital solutions, environmental monitoring, water technologies, remediation services and low-carbon innovations, ESS Expo enables visitors to compare solutions side by side while speaking directly with the people behind them. It is an opportunity to ask questions, explore live demonstrations and identify practical solutions that can make a real impact within your organisation.
Knowledge sharing remains at the heart of ESS Expo. Across the two-day event, visitors can drop by a comprehensive programme of keynote sessions, technical presentations and panel discussions, all included in the free ticket.
This year’s programme will feature contributions from MPs, policymakers, sustainability leaders, technical specialists and industry experts discussing the latest legislation, emerging technologies, best
practice and the issues shaping the environmental sector today. From practical case studies to strategic debate, the conference programme is designed to provide attendees with valuable insights and ideas they can take back to their organisations.
Alongside the exhibition and conference programme, ESS Expo 2026 introduces a range of new and returning features designed to bring the industry together in different ways.
On the evening of day one, RWM Connect, created in collaboration with CIWM, will welcome more than 900 professionals for an evening of networking, conversation and entertainment, providing a relaxed setting to build new relationships across the resource and energy sectors. Tickets available to book now!
New for 2026 is the ESS Expo Careers Fair, connecting employers, recruiters and training providers with students and graduates looking to begin careers in the environmental sector. Located alongside the Green Skills & Future Talent Hub, it reflects the industry’s growing focus on developing the next generation of environmental professionals.
Visitors can also experience Waste Trucks Live, the UK’s most comprehensive showcase of specialist waste vehicles, where fleet operators and buyers can compare vehicle types, specifications and live demonstrations all in one dedicated feature area.
Returning highlights include the Environmental Monitoring & Measurement Achievement Awards, celebrating excellence across air, water and land monitoring, the 35 Under 35 Awards, recognising the sector’s rising stars and the Environment 100, celebrating the individuals and organisations making a significant contribution to environmental sustainability across the UK.
Whether you’re responsible for delivering sustainability targets, managing infrastructure, specifying equipment, navigating new legislation or exploring future technologies, ESS Expo provides the connections, knowledge and solutions to help you move forward. With seven industry-leading shows, hundreds of expert speakers, more than 700 exhibitors and thousands of professionals all under one roof, there is no better place to discover what’s happening across the environmental sector.
As this year’s ESS Expo brings together industry leaders and experts to discuss the circular economy, net-zero and sustainability strategies, Chris Burns, Group Managing Director of Company Shop Group, looks at how this can be achieved across the food and drink sector.
One of the key themes of Environment Solutions and Services Expo in Birmingham this year is the Circular Economy. While a key focus of this is the reuse and recycling of materials to keep them in use for as long as possible, food redistribution also raises a significant opportunity to deliver circularity, as it reduces food waste by keeping edible surplus in the human food chain.
Each year, the UK produces around 10.7million tonnes of food waste, costing £17billion and presenting a potentially catastrophic threat to our planet, contributing significantly to carbon emissions and the unnecessary waste of natural resources.
There are a few ways to tackle this; the obvious one being to prevent the waste happening in first place. But we know that no supply chain is totally perfect and there will always be surplus produced, so having processes in place to capture and redistribute the surplus, before it becomes unnecessary waste, is crucial.
It’s something we are passionate about at Company Shop Group. We don’t see surplus as waste - we see it as an opportunity. By working
in partnership with over 800 of the UK’s leading retailers, suppliers and food manufacturers, we help them find solutions to stop their surplus stock becoming waste through redistribution. By doing this, we are keeping products in the loop as long as possible; getting them to where they were intended - onto people’s plates.
There are many reasons that food is classed as ‘surplus’, from a manufacturing error, mislabelling, incorrect allergen information, incorrect weight, discontinued or seasonal ranges, new product trials or simple over-production. None of these mean the food cannot be consumed, it just means it needs some form of intervention before it can be redistributed.
In the last 12 months alone, 47,000 tonnes of food and drink were redistributed by the team here at Company Shop Group - that equates to 117million individual units and a saving of 121,0000 tonnes of CO2.
We help our partners meet their own environmental and sustainability targets with trackable results and measurable outcomes. By reselling their surplus through our network of Company Shop
‘Surplus Supermarkets’ we can deliver financial returns for this stock, while through our award-winning social supermarket, Community Shop, we use surplus to deliver long term positive impact for people experiencing food insecurity.
Over the last 12 months our Community Shops, which offer three interconnected spaces, have supported over 36,000 families. The Community Stores provide dignified access to affordable, healthy surplus food, saving members £12.7million on their shopping bills. As a social enterprise, profits from the Community Stores are reinvested into our Community Hubs and Community Kitchens, which are situated in the same building, enabling us to deliver lifechanging personal development opportunities, with 63,000 personal development programmes delivered in the last year. And through our Community Kitchens, we help people to connect with others and learn through food, as well as providing home-cooked meals for the community with kids eating free every day.
All of this is powered by surplus donated from stock partners through Company Shop Group, ensuring that no product needlessly
goes to waste, whilst simultaneously supporting thousands of families each year to live better. With a third (32%) of people experiencing food insecurity saying it has negatively impacted their mental health, and three in ten (28%) saying it has affected their self-esteem, there is an urgent need to address the emotional and psychological impact of food insecurity; yet of the estimated 9.4 million people who have experienced food insecurity, more than a quarter (27%) say they have not used any support system at all.
At a time when the industry continues to face unprecedented financial pressures, the need for reliable and scalable redistribution channels goes beyond just the environmental and social benefits. Commercial redistribution enables the food and drink industry to retain value from their stock by selling it through businesses like Company Shop Group.
This is why we are constantly looking for more ways to improve our redistribution processes and investing in new infrastructure and technology that helps the food and drink industry redistribute more surplus, from any point within the supply chain. Having doubled the amount of frozen surplus we have handled over the last five years, we have recently invested in a new redistribution centre which will specifically handle frozen products. The 73,007 sq ft site adds significant scale and capabilities to our operation, distributing millions of frozen food items across the UK, creating a more efficient system and a platform for continued investment in our product interventions. All of which will help stop even more perfectly good products from going to waste.
We know that even the most efficient supply chains will create surplus. We also know that surplus is unpredictable, happening any time in the manufacturing and supply chain. But if we want to continue moving towards a more circular economy, we must work together and do all we can to keep surplus in the human food chain, reducing negative environmental impacts and getting good food onto people’s plates.
Every food product has a story long before it reaches a supermarket shelf or restaurant kitchen. Behind every finished item is a carefully managed process involving ingredients, suppliers, production lines, quality checks and distribution networks. Keeping track of each stage has become an essential part of modern food manufacturing, helping businesses maintain high standards while meeting the demands of an increasingly regulated industry.
Today’s manufacturers face the challenge of balancing efficiency with compliance. Consumers expect the food they buy to be safe, consistent and produced to the highest standards, while retailers and regulatory bodies expect businesses to demonstrate exactly how products have been manufactured. This is where effective traceability plays a vital role, providing visibility throughout the entire production journey.
Accurate records allow manufacturers to understand exactly what has happened at every stage of production. From the arrival of raw materials through to processing, packaging and dispatch, having clear information readily available helps create confidence across the business. It also enables teams to identify where products have been, what ingredients have been used and how each batch has progressed through the manufacturing process.
Good traceability is often viewed as a safeguard should something go wrong, but its value extends far beyond responding to potential issues. Well-organised production records can support better planning, improve communication between departments and help identify opportunities to increase efficiency. Small improvements in visibility can often lead to better decision-making, reduced waste and smoother day-to-day operations.
As food manufacturing continues to evolve, many businesses are embracing more streamlined ways of managing operational data. Replacing manual processes with digital record keeping can improve accuracy, reduce duplication and make important information easier to access. Having production data available in one place also helps teams respond more quickly when information is needed, whether for internal reviews, customer enquiries or routine inspections.
Consistency remains one of the biggest strengths of a well-managed regulated operation. Standard procedures help ensure information is recorded accurately, products are manufactured to specification and quality standards are maintained from one batch to the next. This creates a stronger foundation for continuous improvement while helping businesses adapt to changing customer requirements and industry expectations.
Traceability also strengthens relationships throughout the supply chain. Reliable information supports greater transparency between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers, allowing everyone involved to work with greater confidence. In an industry where timing, quality and reliability are closely linked, having accurate records benefits every stage of the process.
Looking ahead, the role of traceability is only set to grow. As technology develops and supply chains become increasingly interconnected, manufacturers will continue to seek smarter ways to manage information and maintain visibility across their operations. Those with clear processes and a proactive approach to regulated food operations will be well positioned to respond to future challenges while maintaining the high standards expected across the food and drink sector.
Ultimately, effective traceability is not simply about meeting regulations. It is about creating confidence in every product that leaves the production line. By maintaining clear oversight from raw materials to finished goods, manufacturers can strengthen quality, improve operational performance and continue delivering the safe, reliable products that customers expect.
By Josephine Coombe, Chief Commercial Officer, Nulogy UK
Picture a normal Tuesday. A retailer’s technical team calls and asks you to trace one batch of finished product: back to the raw materials and suppliers that went into it, and forward to every customer who received it. How long would that take you today? Minutes? Or the better part of a day spent pulling paper records, cross-checking spreadsheets and calling people across the site?
For a growing number of food and drink manufacturers, that question is no longer hypothetical. Traceability has quietly become something you can be tested on at any moment, and the test is pass or fail.
The rules themselves are not new. The “one step back, one step forward” principle, set out in Article 18 of the General Food Law and assimilated into UK law after Brexit, has sat at the foundation of food law across the UK and EU for two decades. It asks a modest minimum: know your immediate supplier, know your immediate customer, and be able to show the link between them.
What has changed is what now sits on top of that floor. Retailers and BRCGS certification expect far more than one step each way. They want batch-level traceability inside your own four walls, tested and reconciled, and they want it fast. A BRCGS audit makes you run a full traceability test, forward and back, with the quantities reconciled. Retailers run mock recalls and expect a trace in hours, not days. Your regulator, whether the FSA or Food Standards Scotland, expects the records to be accurate and available on demand. A slow or incomplete answer can mean a failed audit, a delisting, or a recall that spreads wider than it needed to because you could not contain it fast enough.
In my experience, most manufacturers can trace a batch eventually. The real question is what ‘eventually’ means: 20 minutes, four hours or most of the working day. It also matters how many people have to stop what they are doing to help.
The data that proves a product’s history is scattered: goods-in on paper, production records in one system, quality checks in another, dispatch in a spreadsheet. On an ordinary day, that patchwork holds. It fails on the one day it is tested, because reconciling it by hand takes longer than an auditor or a retailer will give you.
Paper itself is not necessarily the problem. The problem is that receiving, production, quality and dispatch often hold different pieces of the answer, and somebody has to join them together under pressure. Full traceability depends on the record being connected across receiving, production, quality and dispatch, so the history of any batch can be reconstructed quickly and completely, without a scramble.
This is the work Nulogy focuses on. Nulogy builds the Operating System, a connected platform for food and drink manufacturing. Our Quality & Compliance solution turns the checks that used to live on paper or in a shared drive into digital records, captured as the work happens and tied to the batch, the line and the shift they came from. Our Supplier Compliance solution governs the other half of the problem: the certifications, audits and standards of the suppliers you depend on, so “one step back” is a query, not a round of phone calls. When someone asks you to trace a batch six months later, the trail is already there.
We are now extending the platform with traceability built specifically for regulated food operations. It draws the supplier, production and dispatch record into one connected trail, so a full one-back, oneforward trace takes minutes rather than a frantic afternoon. A mock recall should be a useful check of the process, not an afternoon lost to chasing records across the site.
The Nulogy Operating System already governs more than 2,000 supplier facilities for a single global food distributor, at 100% supplier adoption. For another UK grocery retailer with 300+ stores, it has made audits roughly four times faster. That is the difference between traceability you file and traceability you can act on.
None of this makes traceability glamorous. It sits in the background until the moment it doesn’t. But in regulated food, that moment decides whether you pass the audit, keep the listing and can still sell tomorrow. The manufacturers who treat traceability as connected data, not filed paperwork, are the ones who answer the phone on that Tuesday without their stomach dropping.
If you are not confident that your current records would stand up to a traceability request, it is better to test them now than discover the gaps during an audit or recall. Nulogy can help you map the process as it works today, identify where the trail breaks down and show what a connected approach could look like in your operation.
Fulton has supplied and commissioned the UK’s first VSRT-125 vertical steam boiler at Bristol Beer Factory’s new Ashton Vale brewery, giving the business a highly responsive steam source that supports its ambitious brewhouse, improves operating efficiency and fits its sustainability-led design.
The brewery chose Fulton after benchmarking major boiler manufacturers and found that, while it was not the cheapest option, the VSRT-125 offered something the alternatives could not: a 10:1 turndown ratio, rapid warm-up, dry steam and dependable performance backed by previous positive experience with Fulton boilers.
The decision was also shaped by Bristol Beer Factory’s connection to Bristol, with Fulton’s local manufacturing base supporting the brewery’s community values and reducing transport-related carbon.
Before installation, the team visited Fulton’s Bristol facility to see the boiler in action and were impressed by its ability to reach operating temperature in around 30 minutes, far faster than the old system.
Since commissioning, the boiler has delivered exactly what was promised: smooth pressure control, quick response to steam demand, low gas use and straightforward daily operation. It supports the mash conversion vessel, copper kettle, hot liquor tank, CIP system and packaging equipment, helping the brewery maintain production flow across the site. The 10:1 turndown means the boiler can modulate across changing loads without losing performance, even when multiple processes draw steam at once.
For Bristol Beer Factory, this combination of efficiency, reliability and scalability is already paying off in lower fuel use, reduced emissions and greater production flexibility. With ample capacity for future growth, the VSRT-125 is helping the brewery brew more beer with less energy while remaining true to its long-term environmental and business goals.
Our class-leading range of fuel- red, electric and hybrid steam boilers and portfolio of aftercare solutions can help with your decarbonisation strategy and put your facility on the Road to Net Zero.
As a complete solutions provider, we can provide your facility with:
fuel- red boiler systems from 160 to 10,000 kg/h
electric steam boilers from 14 to 480 kg/h
hybrid steam boilers up to 10,000 kg/h
ancillary plant / engineered systems
off-grid and point-of-use solutions
repair / service / maintenance contracts
installation / commissioning / upgrades
accredited / certi ed training
steam trap surveys
project management
water treatment contracts
According to Water UK, a dripping tap wastes 5,500 litres of water every year. That same process of quiet, cumulative waste can impact the packaging industry if left unaddressed. Here, Mark Richards, UK sales manager at industrial control and automation specialist Beckhoff, explains how small process deviations, brief production stops and rejected products can quietly generate large amounts of waste across high-volume production lines and what engineering managers can do about it.
Across the packaging industry, sustainability efforts have been largely focused on materials. Manufacturers are exploring recyclable plastics, alternative substrates and new packaging formats. These developments are important. Yet the efficiency of the production process itself can have an equally powerful impact on sustainability outcomes.
Across high-volume industries such as packaging, even minor variations in machine performance can lead to wasted materials, increased energy use and unnecessary production losses. When production lines operate at high speeds, a small disruption can quickly generate large quantities of scrap.
If machines fall out of synchronisation or process parameters drift outside their optimal range, defects misaligned labels and damaged packaging can occur. These defects may lead to rejected items or require products to be reworked. Both scenarios increase material consumption and energy usage. As explained by the global environmental NGO WRAP, “waste is not simply material that is excess to requirements – it represents the loss of valuable assets”. In packaging production, that can mean wasted substrate, wasted energy, lost time and lower yield.
Short production stops can also have a wider impact. Restarting machines requires additional energy and may generate further waste while the process stabilises again.
Reducing these inefficiencies does more than improve sustainability performance. It also increases yield, improves productivity and reduces operating costs. More output is achieved with the same resources, while reducing operating costs that may be associated with waste disposal and downtime.
Modern automation systems now allow manufacturers to monitor and control production processes with far greater precision. Real-time data from sensors machines and production lines can
provide valuable insights into how a process performs. Precision and proximity sensors give insights into packaging location and machine synchronisation which ensures there are no packaging errors, while energy monitoring sensors manage electricity consumption and helps to identify inefficient equipment.
This visibility allows operators to identify problems earlier and adjust before quality issues occur. Maintaining consistent and controlled production conditions helps reduce rejects and prevents unnecessary waste.
Automation platforms also support improved coordination between machines. In high-speed environments such as packaging production, precise synchronisation is essential for maintaining consistent product quality. Open automation platforms combine control, monitoring and data analysis in a single environment to help achieve this. By enabling real-time communication between machines and production systems, manufacturers gain the tools needed to optimise processes and maintain stable operations.
Sustainability in manufacturing is often discussed in terms of material innovation. However, the efficiency of the production process itself can have an equally significant impact.
Reducing rejects, limiting rework and stabilising production lines allows manufacturers to produce more usable products from the same amount of raw material. At the same time, improved process control can reduce energy consumption per unit produced.
A dripping tap might seem harmless, but over time a steady drip wastes thousands of litres. On a packaging line, waste often builds in much the same way, through small inefficiencies that are easy to overlook but significant in aggregate. Reducing these losses through better process control can help manufacturers cut waste, improve yield and achieve more consistent, high-quality output.
At VPK Packaging’s corrugated packaging plant in Wellington, Somerset, a single horizontal three‑pass fire‑tube boiler supplies steam to a high‑volume corrugator that runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, with additional weekend production during busy periods.
Steam is used to heat preheaters, corrugating rolls, steam showers and starch mixers, so any loss of steam would halt production and undermine VPK Packaging’s ability to serve South Wales, the South West and the South of England from this strategically located hub. As VPK Packaging’s Corrugator Engineer Gregory Pow explains: “Uptime is everything on a corrugator, so the boiler simply has to keep running.”
Before Deep Water Blue’s involvement, VPK Packaging’s first boiler at its Wellington site suffered repeated tube issues and ultimately catastrophic failure traced to caustic embrittlement. Despite apparently acceptable monthly results from a previous water treatment supplier, daily checks sat with corrugator operators who recorded data inconsistently, masking episodes where pH drifted outside the safe range.
Non‑destructive testing in year five revealed catastrophic failures of the plant including extensive cracking around the burner tube and tube plates, leaving the boiler beyond economic repair and forcing VPK Packaging to rely on a hire boiler for approximately nine months while a permanent replacement was installed.
When VPK Packaging invested in the new fire‑tube boiler, the business deliberately sought a specialist in steam boiler water treatment rather than a generalist water company. VPK Packaging put Gregory through BOAS training, while also engaging with Deep Water Blue’s water treatment specialists who subsequently visited the Wellington site to assess the boiler house, condensate recovery system and broader compliance landscape.
Gregory explains that Deep Water Blue’s deep involvement in UK boiler guidance through the Combustion Engineering Association gave VPK Packaging confidence that the programme would reflect BG01 expectations and UK‑specific legislation rather than generic European standards.
Commenting for Deep Water Blue, water treatment specialist George Nixon explains: “We focus on steam plant from the ground up, which allows us to design chemistry, testing and digital oversight around each boiler’s risk profile and duty, not around a generic template.”
Deep Water Blue replaced the old single‑pot amine treatment with a three component dosing programme to suit the steam boiler and condensate recovery system, and secure reliable sulphite delivery.
Gregory and his team now complete a comprehensive and disciplined daily water treatment testing routine, as well as visual checks, blowdowns and evaporation tests. All results are entered into Deep Water Blue’s vSteam digital management platform, where the VPK team records every test, chemical adjustment and operational note.
“I particularly value the ability to review ten‑day trends at a glance, check that auto‑blowdown aligns with manual TDS readings and spot issues such as falling sulphite well before they threaten asset integrity.” says Gregory, who goes on to say that, during weekend downtime, the team uses weekday data in vSteam to fine‑tune pump settings so the boiler holds protective sulphite levels in unattended periods without wasting chemical.
George Nixon comments: “We designed vSteam to make detailed boiler testing feel manageable, giving engineers instant visibility of trends and the context behind every reading so that small deviations never snowball into big failures.”
VPK Packaging’s condensate recovery system introduced both an opportunity and a challenge. Large volumes of clean condensate return to the boiler thanks to the installed Baviera system, significantly reducing make‑up water demand to roughly 20 cubic metres per week on a seven‑day firing schedule, but also diluting oxygen scavenger and other conditioning chemicals. Working closely with Deep Water Blue, VPK Packaging installed an additional dosage point for the oxygen scavenger tied to the condensate recovery system’s pump speed, so dosing automatically tracks condensate flow and maintains protection even as production rates change.
This collaborative troubleshooting contrasts sharply with Gregory’s experience of previous providers, where apparently acceptable snapshot readings masked underlying instability. He believes that the partnership with Deep Water Blue, the condensate recovery system manufacturer and steam boiler OEM has given the wider VPK Packaging fresh insight into condensate systems at other sites with similar configurations.
Since adopting Deep Water Blue’s programme and vSteam platform, VPK Packaging’s Wellington facility has experienced a striking shift in reliability. In the six years since the replacement boiler was installed, the only significant issue has been a manufacturing‑related weld defect on the feedwater inlet, unrelated to water treatment and resolved by rewelding a tube. Gregory reports no tube failures at all on the current boiler, describing the difference compared with the original unit as “night and day.”
The benefits reach far beyond the boiler shell. Historically, VPK Packaging’s Wellington site wrestled with frequent gasket failures and steam leaks around preheaters, often repairing a leak every four to six weeks.
“Since partnering with Deep Water Blue, those leaks have almost disappeared.” says Gregory, now struggling to recall the last time he had to tackle a steam leak and estimating intervals of three to four months or more between incidents.
Chemical consumption has also stabilised at what Gregory considers a modest level, with Deep Water Blue adjusting sulphite set‑points to provide a buffer over unattended weekends while keeping pump outputs low.
According to George Nixon, Deep Water Blue aims to tune each boiler so that protection is robust without being wasteful, which is why they see sites like VPK Packaging’s Wellington facility ordering chemical less frequently even as they increase the depth and frequency of their testing.
Supporting compliance and changing attitudes to water treatment
The combination of BOAS‑trained on‑site personnel, Deep Water Blue’s water treatment specialists and the vSteam audit trail has transformed how VPK Packaging views boiler compliance and risk.
As Gregory explains: “Many industrial sites still underestimate water treatment, only discovering its importance when everything has stopped, it is all going wrong and regulators arrive to investigate. My experience of a five‑year old boiler failing through caustic embrittlement has made me acutely aware that cutting corners on treatment or switching to cheaper suppliers can carry a far higher long‑term cost.”
Gregory now openly challenges any suggestion of moving away from Deep Water Blue. “Once you develop the trust that we have with Deep Water Blue, it is very hard to trust anyone else.” he says, highlighting the extensive phone support, shared documentation and joint problem‑solving with Deep Water Blue’s team, especially during the early years with the new boiler.
He also stresses that: “Given variations in local water quality, plant design and duty, water treatment and boiler care must remain site specific rather than being standardised across sites or even countries.”
As George Nixon summarises: “Deep Water Blue’s role at VPK Packaging’s Wellington site is to protect a single, critical boiler that underpins a strategically important corrugated plant, using detailed chemistry, disciplined testing and vSteam oversight to turn a painful past failure into a stable, confident future.”
Maintaining high hygiene standards is fundamental to every food manufacturing operation. From raw ingredient handling through to packing and dispatch, effective cleaning and sanitation help protect product quality, minimise contamination risks and support compliance with increasingly demanding food safety standards.
While cleaning has always been an essential part of production, today’s manufacturers face a wider range of challenges than ever before. Faster production schedules, shorter changeover times and rising operating costs mean hygiene procedures must deliver consistent results while making efficient use of labour, water, energy and cleaning chemicals.
Open processing environments require particular attention, as equipment, work surfaces and surrounding areas can all become potential sources of contamination if cleaning procedures are not carried out effectively. Removing food residues, allergens and microorganisms between production runs is vital in helping reduce the risk of cross-contamination and maintaining product integrity.
Achieving these standards relies on more than selecting the right cleaning products. Well-designed cleaning equipment, effective sanitation methods and clearly defined cleaning procedures all play an important role in delivering consistent results. Equipment designed specifically for food production environments can also improve efficiency while supporting safe cleaning practices.
Regular monitoring and verification are equally important. Documented procedures and routine assessment help demonstrate compliance during audits while identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
Alongside effective cleaning systems, staff training remains a key part of any successful hygiene programme. Ensuring employees understand correct cleaning techniques, chemical application and equipment operation helps reduce variability and support consistent standards across every shift.
As expectations around food safety, sustainability and operational performance continue to grow, hygiene is no longer viewed simply as a routine task. It has become an integral part of production efficiency, helping businesses protect consumers, maintain compliance and safeguard brand reputation.
By combining robust cleaning procedures, purpose-designed equipment and a proactive approach to hygiene management, food manufacturers can create cleaner, safer and more efficient processing environments.
Open Plant Cleaning (OPC) is a core process. You depend on it to establish and maintain the consistent hygiene standards that ensure your food processing is safe and successful.
OPC efficiency depends on several factors to help minimize your downtime between production runs. At its root is the requirement/ expectation of repeatability and hygienic compliance.
The simple repetition involved in OPC is essential toward achieving the consistent results you’re looking for. It’s a simplicity that can create assumptions. These often inform the perception that any failure to achieve the best clean has only minor consequences.
However, inefficient cleaning risks over or under use of resources, which in turn threatens hygiene standards. Any risk to food safety from microbial contaminants also threatens consumer health and can have serious long-term impact on your brand.
You need to know that your cleaning minimizes the potential for cross-contamination between production runs, by providing effective removal of food soils, allergens, and microorganisms from across your open processing environment.
The difficulties of employee retention can also contribute to lack of compliance. Especially if your training is not up to speed, and procedures are not fully understood, or carried out correctly. While the time required for efficient OPC means that strict adherence might come under pressure from the need for a quick turnaround.
Diversey’s OPC drives enhanced food safety. The combination of our global sector expertise, cleaning chemistries, process control, monitoring, and data analysis help ensure that your open production areas are cleaned consistently and effectively.
The System Assured protocol and planning tool underpin your quality, safety, and consistent hygiene performance, also helping to reduce your sustainable footprint. You can be confident of secure, reliable outcomes based on monitoring and validated cleaning protocols. All backed by appropriate chemistries.
Process control and compliance is essential. Our monitoring and assessment tools evaluate whether cleaning processes are performing as intended. By standardising cleaning procedures, concentrations, contact times, and application methods, Intelligent OPC reduces variability between operators, helps identify underperforming cleaning routines, and lowers the risks that could lead to contamination.
Rapid turnaround is crucial to your profitability. Applying the rinse innovations that are key elements of Diversey’s OPC portfolio can help shorten your cleaning window.
Diverclean Sonic is a pre-cleaning step technology that reduces the need for time consuming pre-rinsing with the added cost benefit of application with existing equipment. As utility and labour costs continue to soar, the Diverclean Sonic protocol can significantly reduce overall cleaning time and labour requirements, along with downtime, without impacting hygiene standards, for savings in four key areas:
Time (Cleaning)
Up to 35% savings
Water and Wastewater Up to 20% savings in each Energy
Chemicals
Up to 20% savings
Up to 20% savings
Engineered to meet the specific demands of the industry, in particular for high soil areas, Diverclean Sonic is extremely effective in cleaning stubborn oily soils and deposits of protein, fat and tallow.
Taking the place of assumption, verifying and auditing your cleaning is crucial for food safety. Intelligent OPC drives improved traceability and compliance, enables benchmarking, and identifies continuous improvement opportunities through data and expert assessment.
With documented evidence of cleaning performance, it’s easier for you to demonstrate compliance with regulatory needs satisfy customer audit requirements. Consequently, risks from allergens, residues, and microorganisms are reduced.
Intelligent OPC addresses your key challenges by consistently measuring the variability of cleaning parameters - rinse time, pressure, product concentration, and contact time - to create a detailed record of each clean. This ensures cleaning is performed using the correct chemicals and methods to contribute to your peace of mind.
With Diversey’s OPC approach, you can also be sure that you are using a system that is the result of a complete ground-up reappraisal of traditional OPC. Our knowledge and sustainable innovations help you meet the increasing challenges to the industry head on and let you plan for the future, confident that your food safety is itself in safer hands.
Looking to expand your production capacity without the
Peristaltic pumps for dosing colouring, preservatives and dyes
Hygienic air diaphragm pumps for transfer of viscous fluids
Centrifugal pumps with the highest hygienic principles
Lobe & twin screw pumps for tricky fluid transfer
OTHER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR PROCESS
VERDER LTD, CASTLEFORD +44 (0)1924 221 000 MAIL info@verder.co.uk WEB www.verderliquids.co.uk
The leading pump manufacturer
Find out more about our solutions for food & beverage processing here,
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