Land O’Lakes Inc. said Heather Malenshek will join the organization as chief marketing officer, effective Sept. 8, 2020. In this capacity, she will oversee B2C and B2B branding and marketing strategy and be responsible for building marketing competencies across all businesses and geographies. She also will have oversight for FLM Harvest, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arden Hills, Minn.-based Land O’Lakes. Malenshek joins Land O’Lakes most recently from her own consultancy and from Harley-Davidson Motor Co., where she served as chief marketing officer.
Bluegrass Dairy and Food Inc., Glasgow, Ky., said it changed its name to Bluegrass Ingredients. The updated name is part of a larger rebrand and leadership initiative that reflect the company’s evolution from a leading dairy powder producer to a research-driven specialty ingredient provider. Bluegrass Ingredients’ Agile Innovation model offers a formalized approach to delivering a wide range of products and solutions for customers, including citrus powders, vegan and clean-label formulations, and custom ingredients.
“We have a long, proud heritage in the dairy industry and we will continue to deliver high-quality cheese, dairy powders and other dairy-based formulations to our customers,” said Hoyt Huffman, Bluegrass Ingredients CEO. “But as our customers have evolved, so have our product offerings and our approach. Our new name represents our enhanced focus on a broader range of taste trends and our ability to develop innovative new flavors and formulations to satisfy customer demands.”
Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Nightfood Inc. said it partnered with MyRegistry.com to allow expectant mothers to add Nightfood ice cream to their universal baby registries. Nightfood ice cream is the official ice cream of the American Pregnancy Association. The world’s largest universal gift registry service, MyRegistry.com syncs with the registries of more than 20 major retailers, including Target, Walmart, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, BuyBuyBaby and more.
Maytag Dairy Farms said it passed the independent Safe Quality Food Level 3 certification inspection audit. The certification ensures the highest level of operation standards and systems throughout a facility in the food manufacturing sector. Maytag Dairy Farms has been crafting artisan blue cheese in their Newton, Iowa, production facility for nearly 80 years. The independent SQF Certification demonstrates the artisan cheesemaker’s ongoing commitment to food safety and continued modernization of its business.
The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI), Elmhurst, Ill., announced the two recipients of the 2020 Jim Page Memorial Scholarship. Hollie Maccabee of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Claire Sipple of Denmark, Wis., were presented with $2,000 scholarships at the 2020 ADPI/ABI Joint Virtual Conference on Thursday, July 30.
Maccabee is currently a student at Purdue University pursing a degree in chemical engineering and a minor in business economics. She is the daughter of Daragh Maccabee of Idaho Milk Products.
Sipple is a full-time student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison pursuing a degree in food science. She is the daughter of Mike Sipple of Agropur Inc.
With the goal of protecting the health and wellbeing of its friends and partners in the dairy industry and with understanding of heightened workforce demands, the Madison, Wis.-based Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) announced the cancellation of the 2020 WCMA Golf Outing and Trap Shoot. The WCMA Golf Outing and Trap Shoot will return July 21, 2021, based at Lake Arrowhead Resort near Nekoosa, Wis.
Chr. Hansen Holding A/S (Chr. Hansen), Hørsholm, Denmark, said it completed the acquisition of UAS Laboratories LLC following the satisfaction of all closing conditions. With UAS Labs, Chr. Hansen further strengthens its microbial platform and Human Health business by moving into the space of multi-species, high-potency blends and broadening its product offering and customer base. Furthermore, Chr. Hansen is expanding its manufacturing footprint with two GMP facilities in the United States, which will allow phasing of CapEx projects over the coming years and reduce enterprise risk.
With a dairy heritage dating back to 1880, Evergreen Packaging Equipment said it is celebrating 140 years in business. John Cherry developed the first insulated cream can. At a similar time, David Burrell introduced the first American centrifugal cream separator. The two would merge their businesses and form the Cherry-Burrell Corp. Many years later, its name would change to Evergreen Packaging Equipment. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company maintained its dairy focus through many owners, name changes, and even the manufacture of military parts during World War II.
Charlotte, N.C.-based RobotWorx announced the launch of a new service group on Facebook dedicated to industrial robotics. The group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/RobotWorxService/) covers a number of topics related to reconditioning, preventative maintenance, diagnosis and repair, general support and even training. Open to the public, it provides a space for collaboration and immediate support Monday through Friday during office hours.
The Massman Companies, a group of packaging equipment manufacturing companies headquartered in Villard, Minn., announced the promotion of Russell Schlager to vice president of sales and marketing, liquid filling systems. Schlager has been active with the Massman Companies’ Ideal-Pak business unit for more than seven years as director of sales and marketing. He also recently served as the director of sales for Massman’s PASE Group business unit.
Nellson LLC, an Anaheim, Calif.-headquartered manufacturer of branded and private label nutritional bar and functional powder solutions, said it named Bart Child chief commercial officer, Ray Collins chief human resource officer, and Martha (Marty) Hudak-Roos chief quality officer.
Applied Biomimetic, a Gaithersburg, Md.-based specialist in the convergence of polymer and protein membrane technologies, said it welcomed Imran Jaferey as its new CEO. Jaferey joins Applied Biomimetic to drive the growth of the business through the development, expansion and commercialization of the product portfolio based on unique polymer and protein technologies. He comes to Applied Biomimetic from Nanostone Water, where he was the chief commercial officer as the company successfully launched an advanced ceramic membrane into the water treatment market.
