See the evolution of food and beverage processing through the eyes of long-time Dennis Group experts.

Dennis Group engineers are constantly pushing forward, tackling one project after another. Each brings new challenges, and, often, new technologies or processes to master. We interviewed some of DG’s long-tenured engineers about the most significant shifts they’ve witnessed in the field and how they believe the industry might evolve next. Mix proof valves
Just like cooking requires lots of dishes, food and beverage processing requires lots of equipment. And just like in cooking, all that equipment needs to be cleaned. Clean-in-place, or CIP, is the go-to method of cleaning the interior of different types of equipment in food and beverage manufacturing. CIP systems circulate cleaning fluid through equipment without requiring major disassembly or shut down. The CIP process itself was a game changing innovation when developed back in the 1950s, but it was the introduction of mix proof valves that brought it into the modern era. Double-seat, or mix proof, valves allow the flow of two different fluids at the same time without risking contamination. Although they were developed in the late 1970s, this technology wasn’t incorporated into food and beverage manufacturing until the early 2000s. Their implementation eventually became standard in CIP systems. Today, mixproof valves have a huge impact on liquid processing.

To really appreciate what this innovation has done for the F&B industry, we must look at a world that existed before mixing proof valves. Senior Process Engineer, Scott Hurd, one of DG’s first employees, gave us a glimpse of what cleaning at some of the early facilities looked like. “In early projects there were no valves to route CIP or CIP return,” Scott told us. “They had swing stations where the operator had to physically make all those connections.”

During the All-American Gourmet project in 1990, the USDA issued guidelines that any “sanitary” pipelines include a clamped connection every 20 feet and at every change in direction. “Operators were required to manually disassemble the system and inspect the pipes and fittings for cleanliness at each connection,” Scott continued. “How effective it was really depended on the operator.” Dairy processing whiz, Steve Guericke also reminisced on the days before mixproof valves, when an entire valve group would need to be shut down to wash the line, resulting in significant time loss.

Steve has seen this technology evolve substantially in the industry, noting that “the way they’re designed, the way they’re built, the way they see arrangements, the way the vent ports are, the control tops, are all different from twenty years ago.” Back then, Steve was on the Dreyer’s Bakersfield project, where Dennis Group became one of the first to use mixproof valves for allergen control. At the time, mixproof valves weren’t commonly used in food processing, so this innovative approach to keeping allergens separate was one of the factors that landed the massive ice cream facility the 2004 Food Plant of the Year award. Mixproof valves continue to be used in CIP systems on countless DG projects, and there’s anticipation for further development of the technology and its uses. “I think there’s a lot of little things out there that we can use [mix proof valves] for that they’re not being used for yet,” says Steve. “How much further can we take them? How can we use them? I think there’s more coming.”

Robots have wheeled their way into food and beverage manufacturing at an accelerated rate in recent years, taking on an increasing number of operations: slicing and dicing, picking and packing, palletizing and crate handling, and more. Many DG employees have been to trade shows where vendors show off shiny robotic equipment that shouts promise of optimization and peak efficiency. We spoke with Christy Starner, Dennis Group’s modeling specialist, about how she’s seen robotics evolve during her twenty-one years working in the F&B industry. According to her, there have been significant changes in robotics over the past decade, particularly in automated vehicles, like Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Automated
Mobile Robots (AMRs).

AGVs have long been a solution for material transport within facilities. First developed in the 1950s and now a widely adopted automation solution, an AGV will follow a predefined path—guided by tracks, wires, or embedded sensors— to move items between processing and storage and shipping areas. “But AGVs are somewhat limited,” Christy told us. “They don’t work well if there are people in the environment. While they can use sensors to detect if there are any obstructions, they can’t modify their path.” AMRs, on the other hand, are a more recent development that work better in an environment with people and employ more advanced technology.

AMRs also offer greater flexibility and adaptability for pallet storage and retrieval. While a single crane failure in a traditional Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) can block access to an entire aisle, AMRs can be added or removed from a system. Their ability to move within the rack allows for denser racks and more storage capacity. “The [cranes] do have some value in that they’ve been tried and tested,” says Christy. She’s been working on a project with a leading dairy processor where they are looking at implementing AMR technology. They have yet to commit to the AMR tech, since you can’t help but consider the risk that comes along with being an early adopter. “Some of the struggle is being one of the first to adopt the technology. You know there’s a lot of promise, but can it actually deliver?” she points out. “And that’s the client’s concern about this [AMR] system.”

AMRs are already widely used in Europe, and it’s likely only a matter of time before they become more common in U.S. food and beverage manufacturing. When asked about the future of mobile robot technology, Christy highlighted the potential for improved collaboration between robots and human workers. “The main area of improvement will be their ability to work with people,” she explained, emphasizing AMRs’ advantage of rerouting compared to AGVs. She envisions future robots operating safely alongside manual work trucks, all while maintaining efficiency. With mobile robots advancing at full speed, there doesn’t seem to be any slowing down on innovation ahead.

Controls

In the early days of control systems, food and beverage facilities relied on large panels with manual switches, dials, and hardwired relays. Since then, control systems have come a long way. The introduction of PLCs in the 1970s, followed by SCADA and Distributed Control Systems (DCS), revolutionized the industry by allowing operators to manage entire facilities from centralized control rooms. More recently, advancements in data collection and storage have come on the scene. Chris Bryant, a Senior Automation and Controls Engineer at DG for over fifteen years, highlighted how the focus has shifted from simply automating processes to maximizing data extraction for efficiency. “It used to be ‘make it work,’ but now it’s ‘make it work as best as possible,’” he explained.

As an example of how far controls have evolved in food and beverage, Chris talked about a project he’s working on with a greenhouse company growing produce. The client is placing sensors directly in the plants to track their reactions to temperature, humidity, water intake, and more. This data helps the company identify the best conditions to grow, for example, the perfect strawberry. Chris is working with the client to establish a Unified Name Space for their operations—a centralized data architecture that collects information from all the different systems and devices in a facility and serves as a single source of truth for the facility operations.

Of course, with innovation comes new challenges. Many food and beverage clients now collect data, but the hurdle is organizing and utilizing it. Chris mentioned that it used to be only top-tier companies that had access to historical data, as it was costly and considered a luxury. By the late 2010s, data collection shifted from a “nice to have” to a standard, with nearly every client using some form of historian and data processing or analysis tools in their SCADA systems to aggregate various types of data.

When asked about the future of controls, Chris noted that a major shift is in automating the automation process itself. He’s seeing a push in the industry to automate tasks traditionally handled by controls engineers, such as AI tools that write PLC code. The goal, Chris explained, is “to make how we deploy automation faster so that we can cascade the implementation of new equipment and new systems for clients

ESL/Aseptic processing

Aseptic processing was developed in the mid-20th century. It works by sterilizing both product and packaging separately before combining them in a sterile environment, improving food safety and creating a product with extended shelf life. This process gained widespread use in the 1940s and 1950s with advances in sterilization and packaging, and is commonly applied to dairy, juices, soups, and sauces. ESL (Extended Shelf Life) processing, introduced in the 1960s, is a similar technique but focuses on extending product shelf life by reducing microbial growth rather than achieving full sterility. Both methods help preserve a wide range of food products.

Before ESL and aseptic processing, canning was the primary solution for providing “fresh” shelf-stable foods to consumers. However, the process was far from efficient, as each can
required individual heating before being filled, slowing down production. Aseptic processing changed the game by allowing continuous pumping of product, significantly improving throughput and streamlining production to meet higher demands. It also reduced the need for cold chain distribution, with products able to sustain shelf life at room temperature.

We spoke with Senior Partner Kyle Kartchner about aseptic processes and their growing presence in the F&B industry over the years. “Extended shelf-life (ESL) and aseptic products are much more common today than 20 years ago,” Kyle explained. Advances in this technology has allowed for a wide range of packaging options, much more appealing to consumers than a can. Now products can take on formats like pouches, cartons, cups, bottles, and more. Companies like SunOpta utilize these processes, packaging products like almond milk and oat milk in sterile cartons.

There have been numerous improvements to ESL/aseptic technology since arriving on the F&B scene, and advancements continue to be made. Kyle mentioned High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP), which offers a ‘kill step’ without significant thermal processing, and therefore doesn’t degrade natural heat-sensitive colors, textures, and flavors in the product. When asked about future progress to the tech, Kyle pointed out the substantial amount of heat energy used in aseptic processing. “There is significant focus today on electric heat instead of steam generated by fossil fuels at the plant level,” he told us. Electric heat could be generated from various sources and prove to be a more energy efficient alternative. It seems aseptic processing will continue to evolve, offering exciting possibilities for the future of food production, and there’s no doubt that DG will interact with new innovations and keep growing
alongside the industry.