If you had asked me several years ago to predict the future content of our June 2020 issue, I may have said it would be about robots, cobots, remote machinery access, and other Internet of Things topics. I never would have imagined our content would involve a virus pandemic that has the world on its knees and holding its breath.
I also would not have dreamed I’d be holed up in my home for more than two months in order to remain safe. A few months ago, I still had hopes of visiting The J. M. Smucker Company’s new state-of-the-art facility in Colorado, this month’s cover story and top winner of ProFood World’s 2020 Manufacturing Innovation Awards. After scores of emails, phone interviews, and a few late nights, the story became a reality. I was able “meet” the facility’s key players and “see” the inside of the plant through their eyes. The article begins on Page 20.
In addition to covering the new Smucker facility, ProFood World has conducted several surveys to understand the greatest challenges facing the food and beverage industry during this time of turmoil. For the most part, our readers remain optimistic even as supply chains are disrupted, personal protective equipment is still hard to come by, and an already-tight labor force has more than 5,000 meat workers infected with COVID-19. As a result of labor losses on the plant floor, several processors are investigating how the use of increased automation technologies can keep production lines running, according to PFW’s reader polls.
