Food and Drink iNet factory visits help East Midlands businesses and academics learn from each other

More than 50 delegates have taken part in factory visits organised by the Food and Drink iNet.

They were given the chance to learn from some of the biggest names in the business in a series of three visits designed to highlight best practice ways of working.

Burton-upon-Trent brewery Molson Coors, British Sugar plc at Newark-on-Trent, and Rolls-Royce in Derby all threw open their doors to fellow East Midlands companies and academics to illustrate how they operate and stay ahead of the competition.

It was the chance for delegates from a wide range of businesses and universities to discover some of the latest techniques and production processes.

Aimed at food and drink manufacturers and academics linked to the food industry, the visits were designed to encourage more efficient and effective production across the East Midlands food and drink sector.

”Companies can learn a lot from each other, and we were very grateful and pleased that three enterprises such as Molson Coors, British Sugar and Rolls-Royce agreed to host these visits,” said Peter Maycock, Food and Drink iNet project director. “I hope the visits will help delegates with future development and innovation at their own organisations.”

Martin Brittain, technical manager at Bilsthorpe-based Chantenay carrot and roots specialists Freshgro Ltd, joined the best practice visit to British Sugar plc at Newark.

“As I work for a company that washes and packs Chantenay and other roots, we have certain things in common with a business like British Sugar. We are both dealing with a natural product that is always varying but we need to produce a high, common standard,” said Martin.

“The visit was very useful, especially to see how they control maintenance and shift patterns, as this is an area that we are looking at currently. The best practice factory visits have been a useful concept, and I am sure that many of those who took part were able to learn about lots of different issues from some of the large and successful companies in the region.”

The Food and Drink iNet aims to foster innovation in the region’s food and drink sector by encouraging businesses to turn new ideas into new business through the development of new technologies and products. It also hopes to stimulate new processes, services and ways of working in the industry to help boost the sector.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by The Food and Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, The University of Lincoln, and The University of Nottingham.

For more information about the Food and Drink iNet visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk

Major brewery shares recipe for success at Food and Drink iNet visit

Molson Coors Brewery threw open its doors to fellow regional businesses as part of a series of factory visits organised by the Food and Drink iNet.

Representatives from around 15 different food and drink companies from across the East Midlands took part in the event at the Burton-on-Trent brewery – the first of three being organised across the region to highlight best practice ways of working.

Aimed at food and drink manufacturers and academics linked to the food and drink industry, the visits are designed to illustrate how firms can keep ahead of their competition. Organisers hope it will help to encourage more efficient and effective production across the East Midlands food sector.

Those attending the Molson Coors visit included representatives of a wide range of businesses, from multi-million pound international organisations to single-operated enterprises.

“This was a great way of learning lessons from a company that is embarking on a journey to implement ‘world class’ practices into an older operational factory,” said Peter Maycock, Food and Drink iNet director.

“I am sure that everyone who attended the visit benefited from seeing at first hand the tools and techniques used by the business.”

The Molson Coors visit began with a networking opportunity and was followed by an introductory talk and presentation about the brewery, and a tour of the production facilities.

It gave companies the opportunity to see how the firm stays at the top through automated process control, remote monitoring, and having operators developed to technician level, added Peter.

Molson Coors (UK) has more than 2,000 employees in the UK and breweries at Burton-on-Trent, Alton and Tadcastle. It is the UK arm of Molson Coors and has a market share of over 20% of the UK beer market. Brands include, Carling, the UK’s best selling lager for three decades, as well as Coors Light, Grolsch, Worthington’s, Caffrey’s, Sol and Cobra.

David Wallace, Innovation Director of East Midlands Development Agency (emda) which funds the Food and Drink iNet, said: “These factory visits aim to promote best practice to managers of other regional food and drink businesses who want to develop their own companies. We recognise the importance of people coming together to share expertise and knowledge, it is one of the reasons why the iNets were established, and I am sure that the people who go on these visits will all learn something new that they can apply in their own businesses.”

Two further factory visits have been arranged by the Food and Drink iNet to British Sugar plc, Newark, on January 28th 2010, and to Rolls-Royce, Derby, on February 4th 2010.

The Food and Drink iNet aims to foster innovation in the region’s food and drink sector by encouraging businesses to turn new ideas into new business through the development of new technologies and products. It also hopes to stimulate new processes, services and ways of working in the industry to help boost the sector.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by The Food and Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, The University of Lincoln, and The University of Nottingham.

For more information about the visits or to reserve a place, contact 01664 420066 or david.walklate@fpfaraday.com

For more information about the Food and Drink iNet visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk