The GS1 US Board of Governors elected JULIA M. LANDRY—vice president, commercial operations at The J.M. Smucker Company—to join the Board. Landry joins an accomplished group of leaders who help guide the GS1’s U.S. strategy in support of members’ adoption and use of GS1 Standards for e-commerce, supply chain visibility and product traceability.

SMITHFIELD FOODS INC. announced that JONA SMITH, vice president of IT applications services, received a 2021 STEP Ahead Honoree award from The Manufacturing Institute. The institute, which is the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers, seeks to build and inspire the next generation of female leaders in

METSÄ BOARD, European producer of fresh fiber paperboards, has appointed KRISTEN CLARK to the role of communications manager for Metsä Board Americas located in Norwalk, Conn.

PSSI, food safety and contract sanitation provider, named LUPE GOMEZ as vice president of operations for the Southwest Division and promoted JUSTIN SEYMOUR to vice president of Operations for the Northeast Division. In their new roles, Gomez and Seymour will lead customer relations and drive operational excellence with food processors across their respective divisions.

FMH CONVEYORS appointed CHRIS DAWSON as its environmental health and safety director.

The CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT BUILDING ASSOCIATION (CEBA) announced its new officers along with Board members. MARKO DZELETOVICH, Coldbox, moved into the chairman position; SAM TIPPMANN, Tippmann Innovation, moved into the vice chairman slot; SCOTT GUIMOND, Fisher Construction Group, was elected treasurer; and VINCE FREE, FREEZ Construction, transitioned into the immediate past chairman role. Board members re-elected to three-year terms include: TIM NGUYEN, ESI Group USA; DWIGHT CLARK, Jamison Door Company; PETER CLAYTON, CEBA UK Representative; CHASE DEATON, Rytec High Performance Doors; CURT EDMISTEN, MTC Logistics; WADE HUDSON, Cold Storage Construction Services; JIM ROMINE, Lineage Logistics; and JAKE STEFAN, ARCO Design/Build.

DO GOOD FOODS has filled several major positions, including the following: Chief Financial Officer ZAHIR IBRAHIM, Chief Marketing Officer SHERIDAN BUDIN, Chief Sales Officer BOB DAVENPORT, Chief Manufacturing Officer BARRY STARKMAN, Chief Sustainability Officer CATHERINE GREENER, Chief Human Resources Officer KEVIN ERICKSON, and In House Counsel DAVID BUFFA. Do Good Foods, which officially launched in August 2021 after five years in the making by co-founders and co-CEOs Justin and Matthew Kamine, is a large-scale infrastructure solution for the problem of food waste in this country.

The WORLD FOOD LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION (WFLO), the education and research foundation for the Global Cold Chain Alliance, is pleased to announce its 2021-2022 Board Officers. Newly confirmed officers include WFLO Chairman DANIEL KAPLAN (Vertical Cold Storage & Rack Builders Inc.), WFLO Vice Chairman GREG LAURIN (Conestoga Cold Storage) and WFLO Treasurer MICKEY HOFFMANN (United States Cold Storage). These three individuals will serve one-year terms on the Executive Committee.

SEEQ CORPORATION, a supplier of manufacturing and IIoT advanced analytics software, announced that the company’s Board of Directors has appointed former Chief Operating Officer DR. LISA J. GRAHAM, PE as chief executive officer. Former CEO and Co-Founder STEVE SLIWA will remain at Seeq in an advisory role as vice chairman and co-founder. Seeq also appointed ASHLEY KRAMER to the company’s Board of Directors.

MJS PACKAGING has announced changes to its management structure. DAVID LUBIN, the company’s president & CEO, plans to retire in April 2022 after 29 years with the company. Effective January 1, 2022, current CFO & COO, NICK HARATSARIS, succeeded Lubin as the new president, overseeing the day-to-day operations of MJS Packaging and its Sprayco Consumer Products division. MATTHEW MCDONNELL, current chairman of the Board, expands his role to include CEO.

SME, a nonprofit professional association dedicated to advancing manufacturing, and CESMII—The Smart Manufacturing Institute, are partnering to drive smart manufacturing further and faster by aligning their resources and educating the industry, helping companies boost productivity, build a strong talent pipeline and reduce manufacturers’ carbon footprint. CESMII and SME will combine their networks and resources to advance smart manufacturing adoption and address the “digital divide” by connecting manufacturers to technical knowledge. These efforts will especially help small- and medium-size companies—a large part of the supply network—to overcome the cost and complexity of automation and digitization that has constrained productivity and growth initiatives.

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC will build and equip three new manufacturing plants in North America and hire more than 1,000 new employees to increase production and speed the delivery to customers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The company is evaluating locations in Santa Teresa, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, for the U.S. manufacturing site. Land owned by Schneider Electric in Tlaxcala, Mexico, will be used to build a new manufacturing plant, and the company is also evaluating existing buildings in Mexico City to renovate into a manufacturing operation.

CONAGRA BRANDS recognized 10 facilities as its 2021 Zero Waste Champions, those who are keeping 95% or more of their waste materials out of landfills through innovative recycling and waste reduction measures. Winners include manufacturing plants for frozen foods, snack foods, grocery items and more. The facilities include: Brookston, Ind.; Dresden, Ontario; Hamburg, Iowa; Lake View, Iowa; Mankato, Minn.; Maple Grove, Minn.; Menomonie, Wisc.; Oakdale, Calif.; Saint Elmo, Ill.; and Waseca, Minn.

APTEAN, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions, announced the acquisition of OBJECTIVE HOLDING. Objective is a Belgium-based manufacturing execution (MES) and warehouse management (WMS) provider for clients in process and discrete manufacturing.

PROAMPAC, a provider of flexible packaging and material science, has acquired IRISH FLEXIBLE PACKAGING and FISPAK from their parent company, IFP INVESTMENTS LIMITED. Both Irish Flexible Packaging and Fispak are Ireland-based manufacturers and distributors of sustainable, flexible packaging serving the dairy, bakery, meat, fish and cheese markets in Ireland and internationally.

FEEL FOODS LTD. has entered into an agreement with PLANTASTIC FOOD INC., a British Columbia-based vegan food company, and the shareholders of Plantastic will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Plantastic.

THE HERSHEY COMPANY is acquiring DOT’S PRETZELS as well as the brand’s co-manufacturer, PRETZELS INC.

JBT CORPORATION acquired URTASUN TECNOLOGÍA ALIMENTARIA S.L., a provider of fruit and vegetable processing solutions, which is headquartered in Navarra, Spain.

The CENTER FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY at Closed Loop Partners announced the launch of the COMPOSTING CONSORTIUM, together with founding partners PEPSICO and the NEXTGEN CONSORTIUM. PepsiCo and the NextGen Consortium, which is composed of Starbucks, McDonald’s and other foodservice brands, are joined by supporting partners Colgate-Palmolive, The Kraft Heinz Company, Mars, Incorporated and Target Corporation, as well as industry partners the Biodegradable Products Institute and the U.S. Plastics Pact. The Consortium brings together leading voices in the composting ecosystem in the U.S. to identify the best path forward to increase the recovery of compostable food packaging and drive toward circular outcomes.

ADM announced a significant expansion of its broad portfolio of health and wellness products and solutions with an agreement to purchase U.S.-based DEERLAND PROBIOTICS & ENZYMES.

Schwan’s Company is expanding its pizza production facility in Salina, Kan. The 400,000-sq.-ft. expansion will include automated state-of-the-art pizza production lines, shipping and receiving docks, and office space. Burns & McDonnell is designing and building the expansion.

The J.M. Smucker Co. will invest $1.1 billion to build a new manufacturing facility and distribution center in McCalla, Ala., dedicated to production of Smucker’s Uncrustables sandwiches. Construction of the facility is expected to begin no later than January 2022, with production commencing in 2025.

Tyson Foods will invest $355 million to build a state-of-the-art bacon plant in Bowling Green, Ky. The project is part of Tyson’s commitment to meet increasing retail and foodservice demand for bacon products. The new facility is expected to create 450 jobs with production beginning in late 2023.

Diana Pet Food (Querétaro, Mexico) plans to increase production by five times, after acquiring land next to its existing facility. The new plant, which will be designed to LEED specifications, is expected to open in 2024.

Ken’s Foods, maker of dressings and sauces, will build a new 343,000-sq.-ft. warehouse across the street from its production facility in McDonough, Ga. The warehouse will include Westfalia’s automated storage/retrieval system and Savanna.NET warehouse execution system, making it the second Ken’s location with Westfalia automation.

Purple Square Management, which has 205 franchise locations in the U.S., will open a Dunkin Brands 24,500-sq.-ft. bakery and distribution center valued at $4.5 million in Okaloosa, Fla.

Soli Organic Inc. (formerly known as Shenandoah Growers Inc.) broke ground on its first 100,000-sq.-ft. soil-based growing and production facility, which is located in Anderson County, S.C., and is anticipated to be operational by second quarter 2022.

Nature’s Fynd, a nutritional fungi protein food company, began construction at Marina Crossings, increasing its footprint on Chicago’s South Side. This new site expands the company’s production from its current 35,000-sq.-ft. facility in the historic Union Stockyards on Chicago’s South Side and will add a new, state-of-the-art R&D and innovation center.

Kemin Industries, a global meat and poultry ingredient manufacturer, broke ground in November 2021 on a new manufacturing site in Verona, Mo., to produce clean-label ingredients for food processors. The new 38,000-sq.-ft. production plant represents a $40 million investment and will employ more than 30 full-time workers.

FONA International, developer and manufacturer of flavor solutions, broke ground on a multi-million-dollar, high-tech manufacturing expansion in Geneva, Ill. McCormick & Company, who purchased FONA in late 2020, is set to increase FONA’s manufacturing footprint, adding 15,600 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. Schramm Construction of St. Charles, Ill., will lead work on the expansion. FE