The acquisition of Schmidt-Seeger by Buhler announced on 20 August 2010 has been approved by the German Federal Cartel Office without any restrictions. Both companies are highly satisfied and look forward to achieving the envisioned global growth targets together.

The strong sales and earnings growth in the first half of the year came from higher demand in the enzyme business and a continued good cost development across the organization. The strong growth was also the result of a challenged first half in 2009.

Clean ambient air – produced energy-efficiently

The Heinrich Reissdorf GmbH & Co. KG Private Brewery, Cologne-Rodenkirchen was originally founded in 1899 as the Obergärige Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf. It has been family-owned since then and is now in its fourth generation. The latest technology can be found in the brewery, including a climate-controlled ventilation system, which provides clean ambient air in an energy-efficient and cost-effective manner.

Keeping up-to-date with instruments for the brewing industry

A new website has been set up (www.compareinstruments.com) to bring together information on instruments for use in the brewing and food industries. This provides a one-stop source of information. It enables users to keep up-to-date with new instruments, read the manufacturers brochure, read assessment reports undertaken by Campden BRI, view users comments and contact the supplier for further information. The site is free to users and is financed by instrument suppliers. It offers considerable savings in time and effort for users to get information on instruments; and provides some instrument assessment reports unavailable from anywhere else.

Professional automation for compact breweries

Using the modular, scalable Braumat Compact process control system, Siemens can now provide efficient automation for beer production, also for small and medium-sized breweries. The centrepiece of the new system is an old acquaintance – step chain control. Indeed, it is meantime highly flexible, easy to parameterise and equally easy to operate by system integrators and brewmasters.

With the foundation of a new scientific advisory body, the international flavoring manufacturer Symrise is expanding its competencies in the area of health-oriented food. The Scientific Advisory Board for Health and Nutrition is composed of internationally renowned scientists, who advise Symrise during the development of new ingredients for supplements and healthy and functional food products. The external specialists provide Symrise researchers with support in implementing new scientific data as quickly as possible in actual products, and they also give the researchers support in developing new technologies.

The introduction of air blowers using internal compression instead of external compression sets a new standard for energy efficiency in the low-pressure market. This is the main conclusion of a technical whitepaper published by Atlas Copco’s Oil-free Air Division, explaining the differences between screw technology and the traditional ‘Roots’ type lobe technology. The on average 30 percent more energy efficient screw technology is used in the manufacturer’s recently introduced full range of ZS screw blowers that improve energy efficiency for low-pressure applications and industries such as wastewater treatment and pneumatic conveying.

High performance, speed-controlled pump solutions significantly benefit both process and utility applications in the food and beverage industry. The advantages of choosing a pump solution with integrated speed control in the food and beverage industry are many. At first glance a separate pump and valve may be a less expensive way of regulating flow and pressure. However, comparing the total life cycle costs changes the picture. Being able to regulate the pump directly where relevant improves process reliability significantly – and makes for substantial cuts in the energy consumption, particularly in the utility applications. Grundfos’ comprehensive range of intelligent pumps with integrated or attached speed control is called E-solutions and offers a variety of benefits to modern production lines.

To strengthen its customer-service base and better adapt to the changing face of the international brewery business, Alfa Laval has beefed up the personnel rosta at its new Brewery headquarters in Soborg, Denmark and established a new regional competence centre in Shanghai, China.

Husky Injection Molding Systems announced the launch of its new Encore™ program, designed to help customers get the most value out of their assets by maximizing the life of existing Husky systems and restoring them to like-new productivity. A part of Husky’s expanded Services portfolio, the Encore program makes it possible for customers to maximize efficiencies throughout a system’s life cycle.

Centrimax, the leading full-service supplier for factory-rebuilt and reconditioned separators, decanters and other centrifuges of all leading brands, has a new online presentation. Not only has the optical appearance of the site www.centrimax.com been adapted to the latest trends – simple navigation and swift, customer-oriented service are the central features of the new web presentation in both the English and German languages www.centrimax.de. With its innovative look and feel, the new website makes the purchase and sale of centrifuges at Centrimax easier than ever before..