Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting eight FPSA members in their offices with the goal of learning more about their businesses and the current state of the economy. These lessons would probably not surprise most food industry professionals. Growth has slowed in 2022. Supply chain issues are a concern. And perhaps the most
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My son recently graduated with a degree in Marketing and initiated his job search. Without a clear path, he considered a variety of industries that were familiar to him – gaming, social media marketing firms and a few other avenues. Based on my experience and what I know about this industry, I tried to push
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Today I’m preparing my first road trip to visit clients since the start of the pandemic. I’m excited to go meet with our people face to face for the first time in a few years since by and large, the food industry is very much about the relationships we cultivate, more so than in some
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I just finished a recent article in Forbes (“Three Best Practices for Structuring Right-Skilling and Professional Development”), where the author lays out the case for right-skilling – equipping your workforce with the right skills to tackle the tasks they’re facing. With how quickly today’s workforce has been digitally transformed thanks to new technologies and improved
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I grew up the son of a chocoholic. In fact, no matter how bad times were (I’m thinking mid to late 70’s), there was always some chocolate for me and my four siblings after dinner. It might not have been the best quality and it might not have been much, but it was something. Fast
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Today I was interviewed by a wonderful individual working on a study for the National Science Foundation. While we talked about a wide range to topics going on in the food industry, her main focus was on sustainability in packaging and more importantly, what were the drivers pushing the industry towards greater acceptance of sustainability.
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It’s the longest day of the year, at least that is what I informed my colleague who had not yet attended the FPSA Annual Conference. For staff, Day 2 of the Conference starts before 7am and finishes up after 11pm. At the end of that 16-hour work day, you are simply numb as you try
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This morning, I read a piece on investments in the food industry from a panel at the Future Food-Tech Conference held last week in San Francisco. According to panelists, with investments into food industry technology doubling in 2021 to $13.8B, there is still much room for additional investment as cutting-edge technology is required to explore
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Ampco Pumps promotes Chad Hawkins to National Sales Manager and hires Mike Brandt as Business Development Manager February 24, 2022 GLENDALE, WI — Ampco Pumps announces the promotion of Chad Hawkins to the newly created position of National Sales Manager. Hawkins is a processing equipment industry veteran of 30+ years. He
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I want to say I’ve seen it all. Maybe that’s true. I read today that Hostess is now making caffeine infused donuts. What’s wrong with a donut AND a coffee to go along with it? Was there really such a call to combine the two? And then you read that this is only the latest
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