Some of the big players in the industry have announced positive financial results, based on profitable transactions made in the past financial year, but also due to the introduction of new equipment and technologies for the industrial freezing market.
BT Corporation, one of the leading global providers of solutions and equipment for the food processing industry, has recently announced its full-year results for 2013. Of particular interest, JBT FoodTech’s record fourth quarter revenue of USD187.8m increased slightly over the fourth quarter 2012. Strong sales of fruit and juice equipment was offset by lower freezing equipment sales, while segment operating profit of USD 21.5m decreased 10 percent from the same period in 2012, driven primarily by higher execution costs in Europe. According to company representatives, strong order activity for freezing and protein processing equipment, particularly in Asia, drove the increase in inbound orders.
“Our business is healthy and we expect to drive moderate revenue growth in the year. We also have taken several steps for long-term value creation beyond 2014, including operational excellence initiatives and restructuring actions. While associated costs are expected to impact 2014 earnings, we are confident the actions will drive significant future earnings growth,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Giacomini.
According to the company’s latest financial report, for the first quarter, it expects revenue to increase by about 10 percent over the first quarter of 2013. Due to an unfavorable sales mix and higher corporate expense in the quarter, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is expected to be slightly above breakeven, compared to USD 0.14 in the first quarter of 2013. This estimate excludes restructuring charges the company plans to incur in the first quarter. The same report states that for the full year, the company anticipates a revenue growth in the mid-single digit range. JBT expects total segment operating margin in 2014 to remain flat relative to 2013, excluding benefits from operational excellence and restructuring initiatives. While these initiatives will impact 2014 earnings, the actions are expected to drive future margin expansion and significant earnings growth.
Also, JBT FoodTech issued a statement saying that it has recently signed a contract valued in excess of USD 4m, with an international bakery company for proofing and freezing equipment. The company will supply and integrate its Frigoscandia® GYRoCOMPACT® M10 proofing and freezing technology into a North American-based bakery facility. “We are very pleased with the confidence expressed in both JBT’s leading bakery solutions and proven track record for field service and technical support,” said Steve Smith, vice president and division manager for JBT FoodTech. The project is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.
Millions invested in freezing equipment
Marketer and manufacturer of specialty food brands, Inventure Foods, has recently announced major investment plans in 2014, which include the purchase of two state-of-the-art IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) freezing tunnels for an estimated total purchase price of USD 3.9 m this year. The company expects to install the new tunnels in the second quarter 2014, prior to the harvest season, at its berry processing facilities in the United States, in Lynden, WA and Salem, OR. With manufacturing facilities in Arizona, Indiana, Washington, Oregon and Georgia, Inventure Foods produces specialty food brands in better-for-you and indulgent categories under a variety of company owned and licensed brand names, including Boulder Canyon Natural Foods®, Jamba®, Seattle’s Best Coffee®, Rader Farms®, T.G.I. Friday’s®, Nathan’s Famous®, Vidalia Brands®, Poore Brothers®, Tato Skins®, Willamette Valley Fruit CompanyTM, Fresh FrozenTM and Bob’s Texas Style®.
“We continue to look for opportunities to meet growing demand for our frozen fruit products, while also improving margins in our frozen fruit segment by increasing our internal freezing capabilities,” said Terry McDaniel, Chief Executive Officer of Inventure Foods, Inc. “This intended investment is our latest move in that operational strategy. When this equipment is coupled with the freezing assets we acquired this year at Willamette Valley Fruit Company and Fresh Frozen Foods, we will have made significant progress toward meeting our frozen fruit processing requirements internally.”
New precision solutions
With its GEA Omni™ control panel, GEA Refrigeration Technologies introduces a new, user-friendly, and highly versatile control system that features a high-definition, multi-touch screen. With the true high-definition (1366 x 768 pixels) color display, the GEA Omni human-machine interface provides simple and well-organized visualization. In addition, GEA Omni incorporates single- and multiple-finger gestures. Since the display has been designed as an open system, it can monitor and control not only the relevant components of a refrigeration or gas-compression system made by GEA, but also those from other companies. In addition, quick on-screen access to documentation can prove highly valuable during system commissioning and troubleshooting.
Manufactured in North America, Europe, and Asia, GEA Omni consists of a uniform design engineered to meet the needs of a global customer base. Preconfigured in more than 25 languages, the display carries the benefit of global sales and support. Included with every GEA Omni control panel is GEA OmniLink™ – a stand-alone Microsoft Windows© operating system application designed to automatically find GEA Omni panels on the same Ethernet network, read panel status, and view the present panel screen as if viewing the panel on-site. Finally, the panels allow the creation of up to 25 different user profiels, which can each be customized in terms of operating data, control parameters, and panel screens. Each unique user’s login history and actions are recorded in the panel for auditing purposes, while all changes are logged in the panel’s history for security and administrative review. GEA Omni is developed, manufactured, and backed by GEA Refrigeration Technologies