Ardagh goes high tech on quality

Ardagh Group, Glass-North America, parent of glass container manufacturing plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, is continuing with its efforts to use the latest technology to enhance quality control.

According to Glass International, Ardagh’s partnership with Xpar Vision began 15 years ago.

Currently Xpar Vision’s Infared Dual camera system is capable of analyzing every single bottle at the hot end of production in real time.

The system then decides if a bottle is within quality limits.

Resigning

Megan Bennett is resigning as director of the Berne Chamber of Commerce. Bennett, who took the chamber post in 2016, is moving to Lebanon, Kentucky, where her husband Jason has taken a new job.

More tech

Walmart has announced a plan to give sales associates a new in-store app that will allow them to assist shoppers in finding and paying for items at walmart.com. The purchases would then be shipped either to the store or the customer’s home.

According to Tech Crunch, customers will receive a receipt or email they can use to pay at the register in the store.

Target has had that capability since October 2017, and Amazon has a similar capability at its Amazon Go stores.

Says, “Whoa!”

A federal judge has thrown up a temporary roadblock to approval of the CVS Health acquisition of Aetna insurance.

Reuters reported that Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said he was “less convinced” that the merger was legal under antitrust law.

CVS closed the $69 billion transaction last week.

“At this stage, I am less convinced of the sufficiency of the government’s negotiated remedy than the government is,” the judge wrote in the order issued on Tuesday.

The Justice Department has already approved the merger.

The judge asked the government and the companies to file a brief by Dec. 14 to show why their integration should not be halted while he considers whether or not to approve the consent decree reached in October.

Reuters noted that companies generally do not wait for final court approval before closing their transactions. 

POET pleased

The parent company of POET Biorefining-Portland has issued a statement expressing pleasure with the 1019 renewable fuels volume standards.

“If these volumes are properly enforced, 2019 is poised to be the start of a new boom in clean, domestic fuel production,” POET senior vice president of eternal affairs and communications Kyle Gilley said in prepared statement.

“Growth in biofuel use will boost U.S. farmers, rural economies and consumers’ pocketbooks while cleaning our air and replacing harmful toxins in gasoline,” Gilley said.

“Unfortunately, the previous EPA administrator dealt our nation’s biofuels program a serious setback with refinery waivers to the most profitable companies in the world that effectively slashed the 2018 volumes. Those waivers continue to weaken corn prices, cut biofuel production and even idle some facilities. It is time to get our America First fuel policy back on track.”

Another acquisition

Tyson Foods Inc., parent of Tyson Mexican Original of Portland, has successfully completed the acquisition of Keystone Foods from Marfrig Global Foods. The purchase of Keystone, a supplier of chicken, beef, fish and pork to the growing global foodservice industry, aligns with Tyson Foods’ domestic and international growth strategy, the company said. 

“Our biggest growth opportunities are in value-added foods and international markets. Our acquisition of Keystone helps us achieve both,” Noel White, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, said in a prepared statement.

The acquisition involves eight plants and three innovation centers in China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. It also includes an innovation center and six processing plants in the U.S. with locations in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Keystone supplies chicken, beef, fish and pork to some of the world’s leading quick-service restaurant chains, as well as retail and convenience store channels. Its value-added product portfolio includes such items as chicken nuggets, wings and tenders; beef patties; and breaded fish fillets.