Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 1/9/12

The march of technology promises better products made at higher speeds for lower cost — most of the time.

The future has been a while coming to the meat processing industry, which revolves around a famously non-standard product that stymies much of the technology that has revolutionized other manufacturing sectors.

But change is coming — and what the industry will look like, technologically, in the years ahead is the topic of an upcoming webinar, “Process Automation:? Better, Cheaper, Faster: Can you have all three?” scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. CST.

Consider that most processors have automated most steps of production, from slicing or forming to cooking to packaging. But those are islands of automation, largely unconnected to one another. The next dimension in process automation in the meat industry is to fully integrate them, connecting the entire production line — and the electronic data it creates — from intake to shipping.

Our panel of operations experts will discuss the idea of beginning-to-end process automation, its promise, its current reality and next steps. Our panelists include:
• David D. Gustovich, Founder and President, Iqity Solutions, LLC. Consultant Gustovich spends his time in factories around the country, and will provide his insights on the state of process automation based on what he’s seen in practice.
• Gary McMurray, Director, Food Processing Technology Division, Georgia Tech Research Institute. McMurray leads the university’s research into technologies that process will be using in the near future. He’ll explain what some of those developments are and how processors are likely to be affected.
• Lee Johnson, VP of Technical Operations, West Liberty Foods. West Liberty is one of the country’s largest processors of turkey and ready-to-eat meats. Johnson will talk about the real challenges he’s faced in introducing new types of automation to the factory.

For more information and to register for the webinar, click here. 

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