FPS Food Process Solutions Opens India Office in Heart of Commercial Sector

Vancouver, BC – FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”), a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, opens a new office in Ambli, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, a major commercial center known for its roots in industrial and food manufacturing. The FPS India office will act as a hub for business activities – a value-added benefit for FPS customers. This includes the provision of sales, parts, service, and retrofits.

With the addition of subsidiaries Charlottetown Metal Products and GEM Equipment of Oregon, and partner OptiCept Technologies, the FPS Global Family has created a full product offering for a “one stop shop” to meet customers’ needs, most notably in the French Fry/Specialty potato processing sector. Other major industry sectors such as meat, poultry, fruit, vegetable, dairy, and seafood will be targeted.

“We have a long history of providing freezers for this market, so we are well known to major manufacturers and food processors. With our full End-to-End Solutions, we can truly offer seamless integration with our “one stop shop” – from start to finish. We are confident in growing our footprint throughout this important market even further,” says Jeffrey Chang, President, FPS Food Process Solutions Corp.

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ABOUT FPS FOOD PROCESS SOLUTIONS

FPS Food Process Solutions, a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, employs over 900 staff around the world. Established in 2010, FPS has a combined 780,900+ sq. ft (72,590 sq. meters) of space in 20 locations including its Canadian headquarters, manufacturing, and warehouse facilities as well as international sales offices across six continents. Joining the global FPS family are Charlottetown Metal Products (CMP), Total Solutions Ltd (TSL) and GEM Equipment of Oregon (GEM) as subsidiaries and OptiCept Technologies as a strategic partner in PEF technology, further diversifying the company’s product offering with a “one stop shop” to meet customers’ needs. For more information, go to www.fpscorp.ca

For more information, contact:

Shirley Wong | Communications Manager
Phone: 604 232-4145 Ext. 1239
shirley.wong@fpscorp.ca                               
www.fpscorp.ca          

FPS Food Process Solutions and OptiCept Technologies in Strategic Alliance to Develop State-of-the-Art PEF Technology for Solid Food Processing

FPS Food Process Solutions and OptiCept Technologies in Strategic Alliance to Develop State-of-the-Art PEF Technology for Solid Food Processing

Vancouver, BC – FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”), a global leader in freezing and cooling equipment, confirms its strategic alliance with OptiCept Technologies to develop, research, produce and commercialize PEF (Pulsed Electric Field) technology for solid food processing, starting with potato processing. This partnership brings greater benefit to the growing potato processing sector looking for innovations that offer efficiency including energy-savings while still retaining high quality products and competitiveness.

“The agreement with FPS is a strategic breakthrough into the solid food market. It opens a cost-effective solution for OptiCept to enter this large, established market significantly faster and to a greater extent through this deep collaboration,” says Thomas Lundqvist, CEO, OptiCept Technologies.

“In a rapidly changing industry, our goal is to meet and exceed the growing needs of not only the potato processing sector but for the food sector as a whole. Our goal is to combine leading PEF technology with market leading food processing solutions,” stated Jeffrey Chang, President, FPS Food Process Solutions Corp.

PEF generators will be part of FPS’s potato processing solutions initiative by bringing a diverse range of products to customers worldwide.

ABOUT FPS FOOD PROCESS SOLUTIONS

FPS Food Process Solutions, a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, employs over 900 staff around the world. Established in 2010, FPS has a combined 780,000+ sq. ft (72,500 sq. meters) of space in 19 locations including its Canadian headquarters, manufacturing, and warehouse facilities as well as international sales offices across six continents. For more information, go to www.fpscorp.ca

For more information contact:

Shirley Wong | Communications Manager
Phone: 604 232-4145 Ext. 1239
shirley.wong@fpscorp.ca                               
www.fpscorp.ca          

FPS and CMP Create Innovation Center to Accelerate Development of New Technology for the Food Processing Industry

Milton, PEI – Charlottetown Metal Products Ltd (“CMP”) and FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”) launch an Innovation Center located at CMP’s manufacturing complex on Prince Edward Island, Canada.  This significant investment in both people and place will focus on the development of new innovative hygienic food processing solutions.  With this commitment, the FPS and CMP team will continue to strengthen their partnership with universities and colleges, various government agencies, strategic suppliers, and the food processing customers they serve globally.

Renovations of the 10,000 sq. ft. (930 sq. meter) Innovation Center will be completed over the next year.  There are currently 7 innovation projects in the pipeline.  The first project to be completed was the development of a state-of-the-art End-to-End Solution for packaged food products. Several key technologies were incorporated into a forty-foot conveyor loop to handle the transfer, alignment, merge, and diverge of packaged food products to and from chillers, freezers, and other processing equipment.  Projects now underway focus on full process line solutions that bring operational efficiencies in the areas of energy utilization, process automation, and increasing production yields. 

“This investment will enable rapid acceleration of new product development and reduce time to market of several technologies we have currently in concept phase,” said Kees Jansen van Rosendaal, Director, New Product Development. 

The Innovation Center will be staffed with dedicated process engineers, design engineers, controls specialists and technicians with broad experience across the food processing industry.  Growth plans are already underway to add 10 additional team members that will complement the 165 employees currently on staff at CMP.  Financial support has come from Innovation PEI to help make this innovation center a reality. In addition, CMP is receiving advisory services and research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to support innovations in food processing and full line optimization.

 "I am delighted we have this opportunity to re-invest company profits into innovation.  We are working hard to build a better future with advanced food processing machinery and process line solutions,” stated Trevor Spinney, President, Charlottetown Metal Products Ltd.

Jeffrey Chang, President, FPS Food Process Solutions Corp, added, "FPS has had a longstanding commitment to innovation which has fueled our rapid growth since company inception.  Through our combined efforts, our continued focus on innovation has resonated well with new and existing customers".

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ABOUT FPS FOOD PROCESS SOLUTIONS

FPS Food Process Solutions, a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, employs over 900 staff around the world. Established in 2010, FPS has a combined 780,000+ sq. ft (72,500 sq. meters) of space in 19 locations including its Canadian headquarters, manufacturing, and warehouse facilities as well as international sales offices across five continents. For more information, go to www.fpscorp.ca

 ABOUT CHARLOTTETOWN METAL PRODUCTS LTD

Charlottetown Metal Products Ltd is a subsidiary of FPS Food Process Solutions Corp., a global leader in turn-key food freezing and cooling equipment. CMP has been manufacturing hygienic processing equipment for food manufacturers around the world for over 65 years. Based just outside Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, CMP has over 35 engineers and designers, 100,000 sq. ft. (9300 sq. meters) of manufacturing space, and a dedicated installation team to provide global clients with innovative food processing solutions. CMP is one of PEI's top employers with over 165 staff. For more information, go to www.cmpequipment.com

 

 For more information contact:

 Shirley Wong | Communications Manager
Phone: 604 232-4145 Ext. 1239
shirley.wong@fpscorp.ca                              
www.fpscorp.ca

FPS Food Process Solutions Acquires GEM Equipment of Oregon as Part of Strategic Product Diversification

Vancouver, BC – FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”), a global leader in freezing and cooling equipment, today announced it has acquired GEM Equipment of Oregon. This acquisition allows FPS to diversify its product offering to include GEM Equipment’s well-known fryers and blanchers.

FPS and GEM Equipment have a long history of crossing paths, each providing processing equipment for potato processors – FPS for freezing and GEM Equipment for blanching and frying. Together, FPS and GEM Equipment can now offer food processors a wider range of solutions, starting with custom built end-to-end French Fry and specialty potato lines – from blanching to freezing.

“As part of the acquisition, GEM Equipment will have access to new global markets and a wider, more diverse range of products and industry sectors,” said Chris Imdieke, CEO, GEM Equipment of Oregon, Inc.

“This acquisition provides additional value to existing and new customers. Since acquiring Charlottetown Metal Products (CMP) in PEI and Total Solutions Ltd (TSL) in New Zealand, we have grown the FPS family to serve domestic and global markets. With GEM Equipment, our enhanced product portfolio provides customers confidence in making FPS their partner of choice for all their food processing needs,” stated Jeffrey Chang, President, FPS Food Process Solutions Corp.

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ABOUT FPS FOOD PROCESS SOLUTIONS

FPS Food Process Solutions, a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, employs over 900 staff around the world. Established in 2010, FPS has a combined 780,000+ sq. ft (72,500 sq. meters) of space in 19 locations including its Canadian headquarters, manufacturing, and warehouse facilities as well as international sales offices across six continents. For more information, go to www.fpscorp.ca

ABOUT GEM EQUIPMENT OF OREGON

GEM Equipment of Oregon specializes in designing and manufacturing large-scale processing equipment, predominantly for the French Fry potato industry including robust blanchers and fryers. Founded in 1969, GEM Equipment has manufacturing facilities in Woodburn and Mt. Angel, Oregon, as well as a recent expansion in Abilene, Texas. For more information, go to https://www.gemequipment.com/

For more information contact:

Shirley Wong | Communications Manager
Phone: 604 232-4145 Ext. 1239
shirley.wong@fpscorp.ca                               
www.fpscorp.ca          

Food Standards Save Lives

FPS Food Process Solutions Celebrates World Food Safety Day 2023 By Upholding Hygienic Standards in Food Processing

Vancouver, BC – FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”) celebrates World Food Safety Day 2023 by keeping to its promise of upholding hygienic standards in food processing. This year’s theme “Food standards save lives” launched by the World Health Organization (“WHO”), calls on established food safety practices and standards, which ensure food safety and quality.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are four steps where food contamination can occur – during production, processing, distribution, or preparation. As an industrial food freezer manufacturer, FPS knows that upholding hygienic standards in the food processing stage is a major step where contamination can occur. Through detailed attention to sanitary freezer design and best manufacturing practices, FPS has been leading the way in ensuring safe food processing can be achieved during this stage.

Bacteria including salmonella, campylobacter, listeria and E. coli, are some of the most common foodborne pathogens that affects millions of people every year. One of the most effective ways to reduce bacterial growth is through temperature control. Known as the “danger zone”, the risk of microbial activity between 4°C – 60°C (40F – 140F) can lead to foodborne diseases and illnesses. As an expert in freezing and chilling, FPS utilizes structural and mechanical engineering concepts to ensure bacterial growth is significantly reduced while retaining the quality and integrity of the food product when it undergoes the freezing or chilling stage.

Bacteria, however, can still proliferate through cross contamination, as it can be found on surfaces and even in the air. FPS employs a holistic design that includes:

·        Fully welded enclosure builds to reduce external entry points while maintaining safe temperature levels

·        Elimination of bacteria harbourage points that can catch and hold food debris with minimal lap joints and bolting

·        Externally mounted fan motors to keep lubricants, oils, and foreign matter from entering the food processing stage

Lastly, all equipment, be it an FPS freezer or not, must be cleaned seamlessly from the inside to reduce and eliminate potential contaminants such as leftover food debris, mould or even industrial cleaning chemicals used to clean freezers that can, in turn, enter food products. As part of its hygiene promise, FPS provides the Recirculating Clean-in-Place (CIP) System, a dishwasher cleaning concept that cleans freezers from the inside, significantly reducing labor and energy costs. With a fully welded stainless-steel floor that slopes for effective drainage, leftover cleaning chemicals are removed, thus removing the potential of chemical contamination in the next batch of food products used in the freezer.

FPS’s mission is to ‘revolutionize hygienic standards’ in the food processing industry. As a major OEM supplier to multinational food manufacturers around the world who have come to expect the highest in hygienic standards, in the end, it is the consumer who wants assurance safe food is on the table. At FPS, we are doing our part.

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ABOUT FPS FOOD PROCESS SOLUTIONS

Established in 2010, FPS has a combined 640,000 sq ft (59,458 sq. meters) of space in 16 locations including its Canadian headquarters, manufacturing and warehouse facilities as well as international sales offices across five continents. For more information, go to www.fpscorp.ca

Shirley Wong | Communications Manager

t: + 1 (604) 232-4145 Ext. 1239

shirley.wong@fpscorp.ca                      

www.fpscorp.ca