Stephen Harding, managing director at Gough Engineering, explores how advanced material handling equipment can help producers in these sectors improve operational performance.

Automation can enhance jobs, making them safer and quicker for humans. Nevertheless, reaping these benefits means closing a wide automation skills gap, explains Stephen Hayes, managing director at automation specialist Beckhoff UK.

With reports that unplanned downtime is costing manufacturers as much as £40 billion per year, Tom Cash, director at automation parts supplier Foxmere, explains the maintenance strategies in food production lines that prevent costly overhauls.

Alongside motors and gears, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS points to the importance of its NORDAC frequency inverters for applications where movements must be intelligently controlled.

Fernando Colas, CEO of OMRON Industrial Automation Europe, discusses the top five manufacturing automation trends for 2025.

Ross Turnbull, director of business development and product engineering at ASIC design and supply specialist, Swindon Silicon Systems, explores the advantages of opting for a custom integrated circuit (IC) solution for food and beverage processing sensors.

Mike Pipe, head of global sales and product management at Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray, takes us back to basics with x-ray inspection in food production lines.

The experts at Minebea Intec describe how advanced weighing and inspection technologies help produce chocolate products safely and efficiently.

Ali Khalil, development sales manager for high voltage solutions at industrial equipment manufacturer WEG explains that deciding when to use a soft starter instead of a VFD involves assessing four key factors: speed control, price, size and energy efficiency.

Thermal treatments using heat exchangers, such as pasteurisation, heating and cooling, feature in the manufacture of multiple food and drink products. Here Matt Hale, global key account director at HRS Heat Exchangers, looks at five of the most challenging foodstuffs in terms of thermal processing, and the heat exchanger solutions to help manufacturers handle them correctly.