Kraft Heinz & AD Process Equipment Receive Manufacturing Innovation Award

At PACK Expo, held in Las Vegas, ProFood World, a leading food & beverage manufacturing publication, awarded Kraft Heinz and AD Process Equipment, a Gray company, the 2021 Manufacturing Innovation Award. The companies were recognized for a modernized equipment system of a new cheese formulation in Wausau, WI.

“Production innovation remains a high priority for these award-winning companies,” says Joyce Fassl, Editor in Chief of ProFood World.

The project team from Spec Engineering, a Gray company which merged with AD Process Equipment in 2022, completed a multi-line expansion containing new equipment and processes to four rooms including dry ingredient bulk bag unloaders, a liquid cheese cook room, a drying and blending room, and a clean-in-place (CIP) sanitation system. All new equipment was specifically designed and manufactured to be safe and ergonomic for the plant operators, while increasing production rates from 7,000 lbs. per hour to 10,000 lbs. per hour.

The Manufacturing Innovation Awards have occurred annually for five years and recognize outstanding food & beverage processing and packaging innovation projects involving greenfield plants, expansion and renovation projects, or line upgrades.

Gray also successfully completed the award-winning Kraft Heinz plant in Davenport, IA, and was awarded a Manufacturing Innovation Award for Clemens Food Group its highly automated, fresh pork processing facility located in Coldwater, MI.

About Gray

Gray is a fully integrated, international service provider deeply rooted in engineering, design, construction, smart manufacturing, and equipment manufacturing services. Consistently ranked among the top industrial contractors in the U.S., we focus on the following markets for domestic and international customers: Food & Beverage, Manufacturing,  Automotive,  Distribution, Mission Critical, and Commercial.

Founded in 1960, Gray has grown to encompass a complementary family of brands designed to augment and enhance each other’s specialized capabilities without gaps or redundancies. Our robust offering—which includes strategy, operational improvements, construction, extensive engineering, automation & controls, and equipment manufacturing—enables us to create one-of-a-kind solutions at the highest levels of customization, delivering unmatched precision and partnership to some of the world’s most sophisticated organizations.

For more information on Gray, visit gray.com and follow us @Gray.

About AD Process Equipment, A Gray Company

AD Process Equipment is a single source for system design and process equipment integration. Our experienced team works with customers to meet demands in bulk processing and material handling by providing practical design solutions. We specialize in Dry Material and Liquid Process Systems, Controls & Panel Fabrication, and Stainless Steel Fabrications. Whether you are building a single system or making facility-wide upgrades, our comprehensive offerings are customized for your scope of work.

AD Process Equipment is part of the Gray family of brands, enhancing Gray’s Specialty Equipment Manufacturing capabilities.

To learn more about AD Process Equipment, visit https://www.gray.com/adprocessequipment/.

About ProFood World Magazine

ProFood World meets the expanding information needs of manufacturing, engineering, operation and supply chain/logistics executives in the global food and beverage manufacturing industry. Industry’s most experienced journalists reports on news, trends, products and technologies in food safety, automation, processing, packaging, material handling and sustainability and an array of digital products.

For more information, visit https://www.profoodworld.com.