PMT Packaging Line of the Year Award goes to Florida produce grower.
Press Release Summary:
PMT magazine congratulates produce picker and shipper Florida Specialties, LLC, for receiving 7th annual PMT Packaging Line of the Year Award for the packaging line installed at its Immokalee, FL, facility. Florida Specialties enlisted expertise of Heat and Control to develop packaging solution that produces retail bags of green, yellow, and wax beans. Line enables collection, triple-washing, bean-trimming, weighing, bag-making, and filling within 24 hr.
Original Press Release:
With Award-Winning Line, Produce Grower Expands Business
Florida Specialties, LLC, collaborates with PACK EXPO exhibitor Heat & Control (Booth C-2433) to produce retail-ready bags of beans
Reston, Va.; - PMT magazine congratulates produce picker and shipper Florida Specialties, LLC, for receiving the seventh annual PMT Packaging Line of the Year Award for the packaging line installed at its Immokalee, Fla., facility.
"PMT's Packaging Line of the Year Award highlights new and innovative ways consumer goods companies work with equipment suppliers to transform a concept into a consumer product," says Charles D. Yuska, president and CEO of PMT publisher PMMI, which owns and produces the PACK EXPO trade shows.
Florida Specialties enlisted the processing and packaging expertise of Heat and Control (Hayward, Calif.; PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2011 booth C-2433) to develop a packaging solution that would help evolve the company from a grower and shipper of bulk produce to a successful producer of retail bags of freshly trimmed green, yellow and wax beans.
The award-winning result allows Florida Specialties' fresh-cut division, Blue Ribbon, LLC., to take freshly picked produce from field to package within 24 hours. The new line is able to fit collection, triple-washing, bean-trimming, weighing, bag-making and filling within this rapid turnaround.
"Florida Specialties collaborated seamlessly with its packaging machinery suppliers to create a new packaging solution. This allowed it to enter an entirely new facet of its industry, taking it from wholesale to retail," Yuska says.
Recognizing Innovation
Florida Specialties, which was founded in 1986 as the sales and packing arm of Joiner & Sons Farms, grows and ships bell peppers, eggplant, squash, green and wax beans, and specialty peppers. In 2010 it formed a new retail division that distributes two-count 12-oz. retail packs and 2.5-lb. foodservice bags.
The winning line will be the subject of PMT's November/December 2011 cover story.
PMT's Packaging Line of the Year Award, presented since 2005, is the packaging industry's most prestigious recognition of packaging line innovation and engineering excellence. The competition is open to lines that have been installed or renovated within the previous 12 months. PMT editors and Editorial Advisory Board members evaluate entries on criteria including the packaging line's contribution to the company's business plan, the level of innovation in packaging line design, the use of floor space/layout of the line design and integration of machinery to optimize productivity
Past winners of the PMT Packaging Line of the Year Award are Progressive Processing at Hormel Foods (2010), Barry Callebaut LLC (2009), Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (2008), Swisher International (2007), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (2006) and Kraft Foods (2005).
About PMMI
PMMI is a trade association of 560-plus member companies that manufacture packaging, processing and related converting machinery in the United States or Canada; machinery components and packaging containers and materials. PMMI's vision is to be the leading global resource for packaging, and its mission is to improve and promote members' abilities to meet the needs of their customers.
PMMI organizes the PACK EXPO trade shows: PACK EXPO International, PACK EXPO Las Vegas and EXPO PACK México, connecting participants in the packaging and processing supply chain with their customers around the world. Coming Up: PACK EXPO Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center Sept. 26-28, 2011.
Learn more about PMMI and the PACK EXPO trade shows at PMMI.org and Packexpo.com.
