Sight Glasses

In the movies, monsters usually appear as enormous creatures that terrorize entire cities or countries. Within the food and beverage industry, however, the tiniest microbes can create the biggest hazards, leading to the most terrifying phrase no company wants to hear—product recall. In 2022, the United States witnessed the highest total number of food “unit” recalls ever recorded. According to Sedgwick’s Product Recall Index report, 2023 is on track to beat the record set the previous year.

The realm of capital improvement projects in the food and beverage space is experiencing a notable upswing, with ambitious ventures paving the path to growth through innovation. However, this pursuit of progress comes with a significant cost. A major research firm that tracks industrial expansion and new developments within the food and beverage space reveals that these projects often carry a hefty price tag with multiple endeavors announced just this year by major manufacturers that surpass the $100 million mark for a single processing plant (according to a study from industrial market research firm IMI SalesLeads).

Even as U.S. manufacturing firms poise for a resurgence, industries across the board find themselves critically short of skilled labor. The business consultancy firm Deloitte predicts that by 2030, U.S. companies will need two million more manufacturing workers than are available for a lost opportunity cost estimated at $1 trillion per year.