Media Contact:
Dolores Alonso
Senior Director of Membership and Business Development
703.663.1226
dalonso@fpsa.org
McLean, VA – The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) today announced the slate of speakers for the dairy and beverage breakout sessions for the 2017 FPSA Annual Conference taking place March 15-17 at the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, California.
The theme of the Dairy track sessions is Effective Project Implementation and features Rusty Golliher, Vice President of Engineering at Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Larry Noe, Engineering Manager at Kroger. Mr. Golliher’s presentation Bringing a Project to Fruition within Scope, Schedule and Budget, will provide attendees with an inside look at the steps and processes employed at DFA to ensure success in capital projects. Similarly, Mr. Noe’s session, Automation, Training and Knowledge Transfer within the Plant, will focus on Kroger’s efforts to maximize efficiency and productivity in dairy and beverage production through increased automation and associated training of plant staff.
The Beverage Council will also deliver an exciting, informative program in its breakout track featuring Bruce Lundquist, co-owner and co-founder of Rack & Riddle Winery and Andy Juarez, Director of Engineering at Tree Top. In tune with this year’s location in sunny California, for the first time ever the Beverage Council hosts a speaker from the wine industry. Mr. Lundquist will present Production Challenges and Opportunities for the Small Winery, to give attendees an inside look at the Rack & Riddle story and an appreciation for what they face in an ultra-competitive market. On Friday, Mr. Juarez and John Wisler of Kraft (ret.) will host an exclusive panel in the session, Alternative Technologies in Juice Processing. This interactive session will provide attendees insight into cold-pressed technology and high pressure processing to name just a few.
“We are very excited about this program as it provides us with an inside look at the inside operations of some very successful processors in our industry,” said Bill McPhail, Chair of the FPSA Dairy Council and President of MAX Engineering. “There is so much for us to learn from them that we can apply with our other customers and across all functional disciplines. This really is a tremendous benefit to our attendees.”
“We look forward to these sessions as it will give us a great chance to learn about a segment of the industry that we’ve never really focused on before in the Beverage Council,” said Bert Wesley, Chair of the FPSA Beverage Council and Senior Principal of Woodard & Curran. “This is a great networking opportunity for all of us, and our members look forward to hearing from these successful beverage manufacturers.”
Registration for the 2017 FPSA Annual Conference is now open on-line at www.fpsa.org. The early-bird registration rate of $850 for FPSA members has been extended until February 15th. For more information on the FPSA Annual Conference, contact Dolores Alonso at (703) 663-1226 or dalonso@fpsa.org.
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The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) is a global trade association serving suppliers in the food and beverage industries. The Association's programs and services support member’s success by providing assistance in marketing their products and services, overall improvement in key business practices and many opportunities to network among industry colleagues. Programs and services to achieve these objectives include PROCESS EXPO (industry leading trade show), electronic media marketing, education, market intelligence, research, and advocation of critical industry issues such as food safety, sanitary design of equipment, and global trade.
FPSA members are organized in vertical industry councils which focus on specific needs and concerns that are unique to each industry sector. FPSA councils currently represent the Bakery, Beverage, Dairy, Prepared Foods and Meat sectors.
