Think out of the box
Sossna’s Diary – what´s that you ask? Well the clue´s in the name: Roland Sossna, editor of the trade journals Molkerei-Industrie and IDM International Dairy Magazine, writes here about his experiences in the milk sector. Every four weeks he tells it as it is. If you ever wanted to know what´s really happening behind the scenes in the milk sector, then read Sossna´s Diary!
Roland Sossna: Greetings from IFFA
Today I´m reporting about one of my many visits to trade fairs. In particular my visit to IFFA, the world´s biggest trade event for the meat industry. So, what was I doing there, you may wonder… Aren´t all the many technology and packaging fairs focusing on milk enough for me? Can´t Mr. Sossna wait until drinktec starts next year? Or maybe he´s just got gypsy blood in him and can´t stay in any one place for long… Well, these questions have some justification, because although milk and meat come from the same animal (if we stick to cows), the way they are processed is quite different.
Well the truth is that this visit was all about looking and thinking outside the box that is our own industry. And I have a duty to the readers of molkerei-industrie and IDM to come up with new ideas now and then. It is one of our declared aims. IFFA did not disappoint: There were indeed many interesting things to see, including some with relevance for the milk and cheese industry. For example a transport system for sliced products, e.g. cheese, based on the principle of the Transrapid maglev train. This system is far superior to the conveyor belts that were introduced in the last century, because it can also go round sharp 90° corners – making it ideal for an efficient layout in modern production halls.
As well as this, there was also a lot of new X-ray inspection equipment on show at the fair, all of it offering very high precision. But before I get carried away, let me urge you to go along to a fair like this yourself, one that doesn´t fit 100% into the area you are involved in day to day. It will certainly give you some interesting new perspectives and that has indeed never harmed the dairy industry.
