News

Qualtrax, Inc. Welcomes Arkansas State Crime Laboratory as Newest Customer

2012-04-10T20:51:12+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., (April 10, 2012) —The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock has selected Qualtrax as a compliance management tool for its facility.

“We are excited to move to a more automated system,” says Cindy Moran, quality assurance manager. “Qualtrax has developed a good reputation in the forensic laboratory industry; it’s well suited for a crime lab like ours.”

The lab has been accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/ Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) since 2004 and hopes to gain international certification, with the help of Qualtrax, later this year. The system will be used for document management initially, but Moran has plans to begin using workflows as the system gets up and running. Accreditation is just one component of ASCLD’s quality assurance program which helps to ensure that the laboratory provides high quality service to the criminal justice system in Arkansas.

The laboratory processes about 30,000 cases per year and conducts a variety of forensic examinations, such as identification of suspected controlled dangerous substances, serological examinations, latent print processing, and handgun test firing. The crime lab also assists law enforcement agencies when its services are needed at crime scenes, in court, or in other areas of expertise.

“The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory is a welcome addition to our family of forensic lab customers,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “We look forward to seeing them achieve international certification later this year.”

About Qualtrax
Qualtrax, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CCS-Inc., provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax greatly simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges. To learn more, please visit the Qualtrax website at www.qualtrax.com.

About Arkansas State Crime Laboratory
The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory is located in Little Rock. It provides the highest quality scientific services and resources to the criminal justice community and others as authorized by law. The lab employs a team of skilled and dedicated employees, who utilize innovative programs and state of the art technology in the fields of CODIS, digital evidence, firearms/toolmarks, forensic chemistry, forensic chemistry- illicit labs, forensic DNA, forensic toxicology, latent prints/AFIS, physical evidence, and the state medical examiner’s Office.

Qualtrax, Inc. Welcomes ENV Services, Inc. as Newest Customer

2012-02-29T20:56:42+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., February 29, 2012 — Qualtrax, Inc. recently welcomed ENV Services, Inc. to its growing customer base. ENV offers services in calibration, certification, and decontamination of controlled containment equipment and facilities. The company provides services to a host of industries, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, defense, food and packaging among others.

Quality assurance is a critical part of the operations of ENV, an ISO 17025-certified company. ENV will use Qualtrax software to manage the large volume of manual records required by the ISO standard.

“Maintaining our ISO 17025 certification is critical to our business,” says Mike Parente, Quality Manager at ENV Services. “With Qualtrax’s help, we hope to lighten our load a bit.”

ENV is a nationwide company headquartered in Hatfield, Penn., with five regional offices in Hicksville, N.Y.; Burlington, N.C.; Hatfield, Penn.; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, Calif.

“We welcome ENV Services to our family of customers,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “We look forward to helping them meet and maintain their quality goals.”

About Qualtrax
Qualtrax, Inc. provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges. To learn more, please visit the Qualtrax website at www.qualtrax.com.

About ENV Services
For more than 40 years ENV Services, Inc. has been the pioneer in calibration, certification, and decontamination of controlled containment equipment and facilities. Today ENV continues to be the recognized leader in providing these services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, academic, healthcare, aerospace, defense, validation, medical device, food, packaging, and various other service industries. Our certification, process calibration and metrology services are committed to providing the highest levels of customer service, attention to detail, and quality to help you keep your products and business moving. For more information go to www.envservices.com.

My Pivotal Point Offers a Learning Series

2012-02-14T19:14:22+00:00

Robin Weeks of My Pivotal Point, LLC is offering a series of learning modules “I’m the Manager, Now What? Learn, Lead, Manage”. This series includes Coaching to Employee Performance, Delegation, Performance Management, Tough Conversations, Self-Management, Team Building and Big Five Personality assessment and is designed for first time managers newly promoted or those new to management in a company. Sessions are followed up with group coaching and real time business applications.

This program is co-hosted by CCS, Inc. and Qualtrax, Inc. of Christiansburg and will be held at their training facility. The fee per participant is $1495.00 which includes courses, materials and coaching.

This series begins Mar. 8. Please contact Robin Weeks for details and to sign up. 50% deposit required to hold your place. Class size is limited to 12.

Robin Weeks
540-544-7300
robind35@hotmail.com.

Qualtrax, Inc. Welcomes Colortech as Newest Customer

2012-01-24T20:49:29+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., January 24, 2012 — Qualtrax, Inc. recently welcomed Colortech to its growing customer base. Colortech manufactures color and additive concentrates for the plastics industry. Its products have a wide range of uses, from everyday household consumer items to industrial materials and agricultural applications.

Quality assurance is a critical part of the operations of Colortech, an ISO 9000-certified company. Colortech will use Qualtrax software to reduce the amount of administrative time currently involved in maintaining ISO certifications. It will also assist the company in setting up workflows.

“Colortech is growing,” says Melissa Bailey, Continuous Improvement Engineer at Colortech. “Using a manual process to ensure we were meeting our quality standards was a lot easier when we only had a few people, but as we add more staff Qualtrax will be especially important in managing workflows and the documentation required to maintain our ISO certifications.”

Colortech plans to use Qualtrax to maintain documentation within its quality department and to automate its business processes. Colortech has two facilities: one in Morristown, Tenn. and the other in Brampton, Ontario. Qualtrax will help them ensure that workflows are followed no matter where the work is being done.
“Colortech is a welcome addition to our family of customers,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “We look forward to helping them maintain their quality goals.”

About Qualtrax
Qualtrax, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CCS-Inc., provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax greatly simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges. To learn more, please visit the Qualtrax website at www.qualtrax.com.

About Colortech
Founded in 1981, Colortech Inc. has continuously applied new polymer compounding technologies and materials advancements to the production of polyolefin-based concentrate products. Today, Colortech offers a broad range of polymer masterbatches to meet the most demanding high performance polyolefin applications. The company offers more than 1,000 standard color concentrates and provides extensive color matching and formulation services. Colortech is a member of the Polyplast Muller group of companies and has facilities in Brampton, Ontario and Morristown, Tennessee, with warehouses situated across the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.colortech.com.

Qualtrax, Inc. Introduces Latest Version of Compliance Software

2012-01-16T20:35:28+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., (January 16, 2012) — Qualtrax, Inc., a leading provider of electronic document and process management for a variety of industries, today released the latest version of its software— 4.3—that includes updates suggested by customers.

“Companies in industries ranging from food safety to forensics rely on Qualtrax to ensure quality and compliant operations,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “Many times they’ll come to us and say, ‘Can you make Qualtrax do this?’ Our newest version of Qualtrax reflects both our improvements and ideas from clients to ensure Qualtrax helps our customers stay compliant and competitive.”

Qualtrax Version 4.3 includes dozens of new features. The process management feature, also known as the Qualtrax “workflow engine,” has been enhanced with Smart Restrictions to provide users with increased flexibility and improved logic for Qualtrax users to more efficiently work through complex processes. In addition, the new version has expanded its support for international users. This release also expands the electronic signatures feature, providing the option to have these associated to tests in the system. Electronic signatures have long been an important capability of Qualtrax for those needing to comply with FDA CFR 21 Part 11. These are just a few of the enhancements included in the newest version of Qualtrax.

To learn more about the Qualtrax product or to see a demonstration, visit the website at www.qualtrax.com or contact the Qualtrax team (requestinfo@qualtrax.com).

Qualtrax, Inc. Welcomes Western Maryland Regional Crime Laboratory as Newest Customer

2011-12-15T22:42:55+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., (December 15, 2011) —The Western Maryland Regional Crime Laboratory in Hagerstown has selected Qualtrax as a compliance management tool for its facility.

“With just three full-time employees and more than 1,100 cases per year, we are trying to maximize our productivity by automating our quality assurance processes,” says Stacey Wilson, quality assurance officer and forensic scientist. “Using Qualtrax will help us maintain the quality of our work and allow us to focus more of our time on serving our community.”

The lab is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). Qualtrax will be used for document management, work flow tracking and process control to assist in maintaining that accreditation.

The laboratory conducts a wide variety of forensic examinations, such as identification of suspected controlled dangerous substances, serological examinations, latent print processing, firearm examinations, test firing, serial number restoration and vehicle searches. The crime lab also assists law enforcement agencies when its services are needed at crime scenes, in court or in other areas of expertise.

The lab’s commitment to quality is exemplified through its employees’ involvement in numerous professional organizations, including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists, Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, and International Association for Identification (IAI).

“Qualtrax is excited that the Western Maryland Regional Crime Lab has chosen our software to enhance their quality assurance process,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “With Qualtrax, the lab can start to simplify document management and compliance management to make the most of its resources.”

About Qualtrax
Qualtrax, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CCS-Inc., provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax greatly simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges.

About Western Maryland Regional Crime Lab
The Western Maryland Regional Crime Laboratory (WMRCL) is located in Hagerstown, Md. Forensic examinations of evidence are performed in the laboratory to support organizations within Washington County and other federal, state and local agencies. Lab personnel participate in crime scene investigations, photography and support for other scientific and/or technical services as needed.

GNP Company Highlighted in MeatingPlace

2011-11-07T15:35:47+00:00

Northern Exposure

Raising and harvesting chickens in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin isn't easy. Survival requires innovation, and innovation requires a company dedicated to investing in it.

By Tom Johnston, managing editor

Quickly, so much so that the creature all but escapes view, a bass — or was it a turtle? — plops back into the calm, fresh water. The only evidence left is the rings rippling around the point of plunge.

Here on the Sauk River, in Cold Spring, Minn., effluent enters from a new wastewater treatment facility, whose technology is just one step shy of reverse osmosis, a process that can turn contaminated discharge into drinking water. And so the runoff, though not quite perfect, is nonetheless cleaner than its tributary.

The GNP Company, the chicken processor formerly known only as Gold'n Plump, turned the crank on the multi-million-dollar treatment facility at its Cold Spring complex in July. Among a list of other milestones this year, GNP also blazed a trail to identify and label the actual carbon footprint of one of its fresh chicken products. But as "green" as those initiatives are, they exemplify only one aspect of the company's broader definition of "sustainability": making profits while treating people and animals right, too — a philosophy formed over decades of running a business dependent on the health of live chickens in an environment better known for ice fishing.

Simply put, it's a game of survival up here — even in a good economy.

"It goes back to the need for innovation to operate a chicken business in Minnesota," says GNP Company CEO Michael Helgeson, whose grandfather founded the business in 1926. "Unfortunately, my grandfather liked St. Cloud, which is a tougher place to be in the poultry business. To be competitive, you have to be innovative."

WARM AND FUZZY

Some 85 years back, E.M. Helgeson, it could be said, was turned on to poultry growing. He'd heard about a new invention called an incubator, and he set out to use the technology to sustain his family. It wasn't long before he began to sell day-old chicks everywhere he could, including through the Sears & Roebuck catalog. He later called his company Jack Frost Hatchery, a title inspired by the hardiness and quality of his animals.

In the 1950s E.M.'s sons Don and Jerry Helgeson bought the business and integrated vertically, eventually gaining farm-to-fork control over product quality. The next big step was 1978, when they created the original Gold'n Plump brand to differentiate their products.

Today the $300 million GNP Company calls it continuous improvement, which refers to both a set of business analysis tools that help the company turn data into fact-based decisions and a belief system that permeates the entire enterprise.

"The constant has been the need to continue to evolve and innovate," says Michael Helgeson, whose father, Don, remains GNP's board chairman.

PLANTS, PROCESSES, PEOPLE

Over in Arcadia, Wis., the local GNP processing plant backs up to a steep rock cliff. The formation helps tell the story of how the glaciers that left 10,000 reminders in Minnesota spared this beautifully bumpy swath of Wisconsin. The cliff also meant the only way to expand was by, well, going forward.

GNP has invested some $110 million in expansions to the Arcadia complex since it acquired the assets in 1993. Within the past year the completion of a 22,000-square-foot addition upped slaughter capacity by 13 percent with two automated evisceration lines, each running 105 birds per minute — all while the facility also achieved SQF 2000 Level II status. Overall, the plant has tripled production, primarily of parts for foodservice and whole birds for retail delis.

Plant manager Mandy Korpal says automation and use of LEAN tools in first processing have removed non-value-added steps and 50 jobs since 2007. The latest expansion eliminated 10 positions, but the increase in production required as many in second processing. "It's more ergonomically friendly, and the environment is better," she says, noting that employees were part of the design process. "We had three people who were going to retire, but they have ... stayed to enjoy it."

Arcadia's expansion exemplifies GNP's ability to balance people and profit; GNP's employee suggestion program elicited 945 ideas, of which 351 were adopted for company-wide savings of $267,884 in 2010. More than $34,000 in bonuses was paid to employees for their ideas in that year.

Bill Petz, director of Arcadia Operations, says the complex benefits from its location in an agricultural area, but "our labor costs are much higher (compared with those of the industry overall). Where we can automate, we can be competitive."

GNP's hatcheries, for example, are among the most automated in the industry. Also unique are renewable 10-year contracts with family-farm growers to whom the company pays rent for the life of the contract and offers profit bonuses. "We believe that if [our growers are] happy in what they do, they're going to produce higher-quality birds," Petz says.

BRAND(S) NEW

No coincidence, then, that Gold'n Plump the single-brand company this year has morphed into GNP the multi-brand company. Its newest brand, Just BARE, requires its growers to produce birds with a vegetarian diet and without antibiotics and arsenicals. The brand caters to "mindful eaters," a growing segment of consumers the company identified as keen on information about the origins of their food. A nearly 360-degree view of the product in its clear packaging is part of that goal, as is the ability for consumers to enter a product code on the brand's website and determine which of the 100 or so family farms made their dinner. New individually pouched, freezer-ready product means they want convenience, too.

"Our business strategy is centered around customer service excellence," says Tim Wensman, executive vice president of customer processes at GNP. "We spend a lot of time trying to get the voice of our customers [and] the consumer. We try to gather what they are looking for within their chicken program, then we try to fill the gaps with products ... that most companies don't provide."

Most companies don't provide, for example, a label that shows the carbon footprint of one of its products. Spearheaded by its sustainability manager, Paul Helgeson — the CEO's son — GNP was the first U.S. chicken company to do a life-cycle assessment, as part of the World Research Institute's efforts to establish worldwide standards, and to achieve Carbon Trust Certification. The company evaluated greenhouse gas emissions — from feed production to the disposal of packaging and leftovers — to understand the environmental impacts of Just BARE chicken breasts and establish goals for improvement.

Steve Jurek, executive vice president of operations and administration, says the heaviest thud comes from inputs such as corn and soybeans, and general land preparation and treatment in farming. The company's relationships with local farms, then, not only ensures feed supplies but also limits the transportation required for delivery. The experience has honed GNP's focus on consolidating routes and minimizing packaging.

Eco-friendly attributes notwithstanding, Jurek points out that such initiatives also amount to "good business. We're able to save money."

SAVE, SPEND

What the company saves the company can reinvest, and the family-owned GNP isn't thrifty. They would rather lose a customer over price than quality. Customers who do leave for a cheaper deal often ultimately return anyway. "Being a private company allows us to take a long-term view," Michael Helgeson says. "We're not worried about quarter-to-quarter earnings."

The company is more concerned with operational excellence. For example, GNP claims to be the industry's first company to implement fixed-weight scannable products. Introduced some 10 years ago, the practice is still rare in the industry, says Deke Fischer, manager of the Cold Spring plant, which specializes in processing 5.75-pound liveweight broilers primarily in tray packs for retailers, and also recently received SQF 2000 Level II status. (Arcadia packs 4.25-pounders for foodservice.) Fixed-weight scannable products allow GNP's customers to better monitor inventory and profitability.

"Luckily all our chickens are the same size and the pieces are the same weight," Jurek jokes. "No, the key is to optimize the right number of pieces that a consumer wants in the tray and to minimize overpack."

Achieving this consistency in the plant relies on costly, sophisticated weighing and batching systems that prioritize processes and ensure customer orders are filled. Cold Spring's mastery of such systems has prompted manufacturers to visit frequently to study its processes.

"All the technology we have is available to anyone," Fischer says. "We can just run the equipment better than anyone else can, including the manufacturers."

SUNNY SKIES

In early September, the long row of solar panels parallel to Sauk River Road at the Cold Spring complex still are waiting for the last 16 panels, which will not only help further GNP's cause in generating green energy but also advertise to motorists its sustainable manufacturing practices.

A stone's throw separates the solar panels from the new wastewater facility, which is capable of recycling about a fourth of the 1.2-to-1.5 million gallons of water the Cold Spring plant uses daily. Operators hope to soon triple the amount of recycled water.

Secondary biosolids from the sanitation process are composted, bagged and sold as fertilizer. Composting also is rare in the industry, which typically-land-applies such waste. GNP has done it for nearly 10 years.

The next decade promises more improvements, including — possibly — reverse osmosis, a method of filtration through holes so small only water molecules can pass. Then GNP could turn plant waste into drinking water.

Raise a glass.

AT A GLANCE

Company: GNP Company
Founded: 1926, by E.M. Helgeson
Leadership: Michael Helgeson (CEO); Don Helgeson (board chairman); Steve Jurek (executive vice president, operations and administration); Tim Wenseman, executive vice president, customer processes)
Employees: 1,600
Plants: Cold Spring, Minn.; Arcadia, Wis.; Luverne, Minn.
Products: All-natural fresh and prepared chicken for foodservice, retail and deli in 40 states

UP AND DOWN

UP: GNP's leadership is motivated to not only survive but thrive in an industry that's tough in any climate, let alone Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. They are willing to invest in the technologies and the people to help them do so.

UP&DOWN: In the game of chicken, skyrocketing feed prices expose all players to potential financial pitfalls, though GNP's tight relationships with local farmers ensure supply and limit transportation costs.

UP&DOWN: GNP's business strategy is difficult, given it only owns three processing facilities. That the company is doing business in more than 40 states, however, suggests the strategy is working.

To read the article from the MeatingPlace website, visit: http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/archives/details.aspx?item=4082

Joe Sanderson Jr. Spotlighted in MeatingPlace Magazine

2011-11-01T22:16:54+00:00

You can also read this article at www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/archives/details.aspx?item=4100.

Last Sanderson standing

After 42 years in the poultry business, Joe Sanderson is still focused on the future and working on the next big idea.

By Rita Jane Gabbett, executive editor

Joe Sanderson Jr. remembers climbing sacks of feed at his grandfather's Purina Feed and Seed Store when he was 5 years old. He remembers his father, uncle and grandfather buying their first truck and building out its bed under the carport attached to his home. And he remembers the three of them having coffee together every afternoon and talking.

An idea undoubtedly hatched over one of those coffee conversations, a ploy to boost feed sales by selling baby chicks to farmers, was the genesis of what was to become the fourth-largest poultry company in the United States. Sanderson Farms now payrolls 11,200 employees across five states with nearly $2 billion in annual revenues.

Sanderson is chairman and chief executive officer of Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms, where he started full-time in 1969 after graduating from Millsaps College. His career has given him a front-row seat as the U.S. chicken industry hit such milestones as chicken topping pork and beef in per-capita consumption and new overseas markets opening their doors (and sometimes closing them). The industry now faces its second crisis in three years as a soft global economy and stubbornly high feedgrain prices upend its business models.

Sanderson Farms lost nearly $56 million in its third fiscal quarter ended July 31, in part because food service demand for chicken breast meat remains sluggish. Sanderson doesn't see demand changing until employment and consumer optimism improve, neither of which is predicted any time soon. That's got Sanderson doing something he hates: cutting production and holding back on expansion plans.

"It's awfully boring not growing," he tells Meatingplace as he sits down in early October to discuss the industry outlook. For that reason, he fully intends to position the company to return to growth as soon as the market will allow it.

In early 2008, Sanderson Farms announced plans to build a hatchery, feed mill and processing plant in Kinston, N.C., to package fresh chicken for the retail market. Escalating feedgrain prices and an economic recession slowed those plans, but that complex is now operating at three-quarters of its capacity of 1.25 million birds, or 6.5 million pounds, of fresh chicken per week, equal in capacity to each of the company's plants in Georgia, Texas and Mississippi.

In 2010, the company announced it was eyeing Nash County in North Carolina for a new big bird deboning plant. Economy-weakened demand and expensive feedgrain, as well as local resistance from neighboring Wilson County, have also slowed those plans.

Still, Sanderson is undaunted and has plenty of plans to implement before he retires. With none of his three daughters involved in the business, however, Sanderson says he will be the last family member to run the business, which makes him, in a sense, the last Sanderson standing.

Meatingplace: Can you walk us through the company's evolution from feed seller to poultry industry giant?

SANDERSON: Well, my family got those farmers to buy baby chicks and build chicken houses and sure enough they sold more chickens. That all worked out well, but then the farmers didn't know what to do with the chickens. So, my family started buying the chickens back and selling them to processing plants in Jackson, Miss., New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. That proved to be a lucrative business. And so sometime in the mid-1950s they closed the feed and seed store, built their own feed mill, built bigger hatcheries, built some chicken houses, contracted some more chicken houses and got into the live broiler business.

Meatingplace: What was your first job when you joined the business full-time in 1969?

SANDERSON: I was a pullet and hen serviceman on the farms for two years, and then I went to the processing plant. I was a night shift eviscerating supervisor for 18 months. And that was the best job I ever had in Sanderson Farms.

Meatingplace: Really? Why was that?

SANDERSON: I had 80 people working for me. Nothing was automated back then, and I was good at doing the jobs. I was good at training people, and I worked on the line a lot. I just enjoyed it.

Meatingplace: You've been in the industry a long time. What still surprises you?

SANDERSON: The industry has changed in that the old cycles, the supply/demand cycles are no longer occurring. Now, the industry is driven by events like ethanol, like recession, like avian influenza, like market shutdowns in Russia. We are event-driven now, and that is what is different.

Meatingplace: Would you agree that the chicken industry at the moment is in worse shape than pork and beef?

SANDERSON: Absolutely.

Meatingplace: Given that, is it getting harder to be a single-protein company, competing with the likes of Tyson Foods and JBS?

SANDERSON: No. We're very comfortable competing with chicken. Even though per-capita consumption of chicken is not going up as rapidly, per-capita consumption of beef, pork and turkey in the United States is actually declining.

Meatingplace: What is the way forward for chicken?

SANDERSON: Right now we have a huge segment of demand that's missing from those 15 million to 20 million people that are unemployed and underemployed. I'm waiting for those people to go back to work, and they will sometime in the future. Right now the only thing we can do is to reduce supply to return to profitability. We can't do anything about corn; we can't do anything about the lack of demand or unemployment. All we can do is cut back, and you know that's a terrible shame, but that's the way it is. But one day those people are going to get their jobs back, and we're going to be in real good shape when they do.

Meatingplace: Is there opportunity in export markets to make up for lagging domestic demand?

SANDERSON: I don't really think so. The products that we export are not in great demand in the United States, the dark meat primarily. They are exported primarily because of price. A high price [for dark meat] is 45 cents to 48 cents while boneless breast meat in the United States is $1.30 to $1.60.

Meatingplace: Where are you exporting chicken to now?

SANDERSON: Mexico, Russia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and some to China.

Meatingplace: Do you see emerging export markets for white meat?

SANDERSON: No.

Meatingplace: What new markets are you exploring for dark meat?

SANDERSON: A new market for us is Africa. We are going to two or three countries there.

Meatingplace: What other markets are you excited about?

SANDERSON: Long term, I believe China is going to be a good market for us; it's not right now because of the trade wars. The tariffs are not because of chicken dumping, they are because of tires. China has low per-capita consumption of chicken, but as the middle class and their desire for protein grows, I believe chicken will grow along with pork. I also believe that one day their diets are going to shift because of health concerns. When that happens over there like it happened in the United States, chicken will be favored.

Meatingplace: Anywhere else?

SANDERSON: Those free-trade agreements will be helpful to us. South Korea will be the big one.

Meatingplace: Let's talk about big birds. Even with the egg sets and broiler hatchery cutbacks, production doesn't move much as birds get bigger.

SANDERSON: Big birds are getting bigger. Ours are getting bigger. Weather is a factor. Cool weather happened earlier than normal this year, and our [larger] weight gains typical of October happened in September. We ran two Saturdays at the end of September to try to age down our birds. So that is masking some of the cutbacks.

Meatingplace: What about this longer-term trend of growing bigger birds for more efficient white meat production?

SANDERSON: We hear anecdotal data that some people are trying to reduce weights, but they can't do it in this weather. It takes time to take age off. You have to kill ahead or reduce egg sets and it takes 10, 11 weeks to do that. If it is happening, you're not going to see that until November or December.

Meatingplace: You've already said you are going to extend your seasonal November/December production cutbacks into 2012. How far into the year?

SANDERSON: We are planning right now on it being all year. We don't see anything that says that employment is going to improve. We will be processing 4 percent fewer birds at our big bird deboning plants, that's for sure. But we are going to be killing more birds because of the Kinston [N.C. tray-pack plant] startup. So we will be processing more birds at our tray-pack plants, but fewer at our big bird deboning plants.

Meatingplace: When will you go to full production at Kinston?

SANDERSON: We are at three-quarters [capacity] now. We were going to go to full capacity in January, but now it looks like we will drag that out a bit, so it's probably February now.

Meatingplace: What about your proposed new plant in Nash County, N.C.?

SANDERSON: We're committed to building that for several reasons. One, when we did that secondary offering we told those people we were going to build it. Two, we want to keep our growth profile going. Three, it's awfully boring not growing; and it's the way we generate more earnings for our shareholders. But we need to see a good corn crop before we do it. We need to pay down some debt before we do it. And we need those two counties up there — Nash and Wilson counties — to resolve their legal differences.

Meatingplace: Has the local resistance to the plant surprised you?

SANDERSON: The fact that it is the adjacent county that is resisting it is what really surprised us. And when Wilson County lost the first legal round, then appealed, that very much surprised us. We would be taking a tremendous gamble if we went in there and started before this was all resolved.

Meatingplace: So when is the earliest you see breaking ground on that plant?

SANDERSON: Next fall. A year from now.

Meatingplace: When you make production decisions, how far out are you planning?

SANDERSON: When you are building a plant, you're looking out 50 years. If I had my druthers, I wouldn't be cranking up a plant this year, but we made that plant decision three years ago. But I know I'm going to want that plant by a year after next, maybe sooner.

Meatingplace: Given the increased cost of feedgrains, what kind of chicken prices are we going to have to see for the industry to make money?

SANDERSON: The Georgia Dock Price [for whole birds] is about 88 cents [per pound]. Historically, that's a good number. It'll probably have to be at least in the mid-90s, and it has never been there before.

Meatingplace: Do you see anything new in foodservice demand just now?

SANDERSON: No. Nothing has changed basically since the summer of 2008. It's been soft and weak, and we don't think that's going to change until people get their jobs and confidence back.

Meatingplace: Any uptick in dark meat demand from foodservice?

SANDERSON: No. They are just buying less white meat.

Meatingplace: The debate about the use of antibiotics in food animals rages on. Is Sanderson Farms doing anything differently regarding antibiotics use?

SANDERSON: We have maintained our historical practice. There are few you can use now, and we don't use much. But there is very little chicken produced antibiotic-free, and I think that will continue to be a niche market.

Meatingplace: What is the most important thing for the industry to do over the next 12 months?

SANDERSON: To return to profitability and repair their balance sheets, and that's going to be different for different companies.

Meatingplace: What does Sanderson Farms need to do over the next three years?

SANDERSON: We need to get back to profitability, pay down debt and hopefully we can build another plant. That's what I want to do. You have to be ready. I've always felt like we've always had to keep our balance sheet strong to be ready for something. I never knew what it was going to be, but something is always going to happen. I didn't know we were going to have two bad crops of corn. I didn't know we were going to have ethanol. I didn't know we were going to have avian influenza. I didn't know George Bush was going to put an embargo on Russian steel and then Putin was going to embargo chicken. It's been event-driven, and I think that could be the way it's going to be from now on.

But you have got to be ready. We will not build that [Nash County] plant — even if Wilson County changes its mind and that all goes away — until our balance sheet is real strong again. That way we can be building a plant and still withstand another event.

Meatingplace: Is Sanderson Farms still a family company?

SANDERSON: It started out as a family business, and we have a lot of family values in the business, but it's a public company now. And I'm the last Sanderson involved. We have a succession plan and it doesn't involve any more Sandersons.

Meatingplace: What is it that keeps you up at night?

SANDERSON: The next idea. I worry more about the next idea, which we already have, by the way.

Meatingplace: I don't suppose you'd like to tell us what that is?

SANDERSON: No, I would not. (He smiles). What's happening now and going a whole year without making money makes me mad, but I can't do a single thing about that. But the next idea is our responsibility — my executive committee's and mine. Creating an idea that will work, that's what keeps me up sometimes, until that idea is birthed.

Form Automation Solutions and Qualtrax Announce Strategic Partnership

2011-10-31T20:20:44+00:00

AuditMatic and Qualtrax provide comprehensive regulatory compliance solution

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. and ADDISON, Texas (October 31, 2011) –Qualtrax, Inc. and Form Automation Solutions, Inc. (FAS) today announced a partnership to offer their combined customer base a comprehensive regulatory compliance solution. Qualtrax, a leading provider of electronic document and process management for a variety of industries, now offers its customers a mobile task manager created by Form Automation Solutions called AuditMatic.

AuditMatic is an easy-to-implement mobile application that replaces paper-and-clipboard data collection with a mobile computer. AuditMatic enforces timely and complete operator rounds, ensures best practices are followed on the plant floor and eliminates manual transcription into back office systems.

“Qualtrax helps companies in heavily regulated industries, such as food processing, manufacturing, life sciences, forensics and testing labs, run more efficiently with a robust document management system to automate paper-based processes,” said Amy Ankrum, director of Qualtrax. “AuditMatic allows our customers to take these monitoring processes to the shop floor, the production line and elsewhere—all on their mobile devices—so that data can be collected more efficiently.”

“We are proud to be associated with Qualtrax,” Stephen Woram of FAS said. “With a sterling reputation, solid product and knowledgeable subject matter experts, Qualtrax is exactly the type of organization best suited to team with to promote the AuditMatic product in regulated manufacturing industries. We look forward to a great relationship.”

While Qualtrax users can immediately benefit from AuditMatic’s paper elimination and database-stored records, they will also realize additional cost savings as the integration of Qualtrax and AuditMatic deepens. Planned enhancements include:

AuditMatic programmatically initiating Qualtrax workflows
Qualtrax initiating AuditMatic data collection tasks
Qualtrax generating compliance scorecards from data collected in AuditMatic
User and group integration, minimizing administrative burden

About Qualtrax, Inc.
Qualtrax, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCS-Inc., provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax greatly simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges. To learn more, please visit the Qualtrax website at www.qualtrax.com.

About Form Automation Solutions, Inc.
Form Automation Solutions, Inc. is focused on automation of mobile worker data collection and task management. Its flagship product, AuditMatic™ is a unique and innovative solution for replacing traditional paper-based data collection and reporting using mobile computing technology. Founded in Dallas in 2004, FAS helps companies lower labor and operational costs while providing mobile workers with comprehensive decision support tools to ensure best practices are followed in the field.

Qualtrax, Inc. Welcomes Jefferson County Regional Crime Laboratory as Newest Customer

2011-03-10T18:46:13+00:00

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va., (March 10, 2011) —The Jefferson County Regional Crime Laboratory in Beaumont, Texas, has selected Qualtrax as a compliance management tool for its facility.

“Our mission is to provide meaningful, timely, unbiased, and accurate forensic services to the community,” said Linda Johnson, Lab Director. “Using Qualtrax will help us keep our commitment to the community by allowing us to reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks required to maintain quality documentation and processes, and dedicate more time to serving our community.”

The lab, serving more than 40 law enforcement agencies in four counties, is accredited by the American Society of Crime laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) and the Texas Department of Public safety.

With accreditations in such disciplines as controlled substances, serology, toxicology and firearms, the lab handles approximately 4,000 cases each year. The crime lab also assists law enforcement agencies when its services are needed at crime scenes, in court or in other areas of expertise.

The lab’s commitment to quality is exemplified through its employees’ involvement in numerous professional organizations such as the Association for Forensic Quality Assurance Managers (AFQAM) and the International Association for Chemical Testing (IACT).

“We are very pleased to welcome the Jefferson County Regional Crime Lab as a new customer,” said Amy Ankrum, Director of Qualtrax. “We know that our product will simplify document management and compliance management for the lab, and that’s extremely exciting for us to be a part of.”

About Qualtrax
Qualtrax, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCS-Inc., provides compliance software that enables electronic document and process management. Qualtrax focuses on heavily regulated industries where compliance with standards such as ISO 17025, ASCLD/LAB, SQF, BRC, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, HACCP, and others presents challenges to organizations. Qualtrax greatly simplifies document management, workflow tracking, and business and manufacturing process control. Qualtrax provides the tools needed to manage internal and external audits and ultimately enables organization to effectively manage regulatory challenges. To learn more, please visit the Qualtrax website at www.qualtrax.com.

About Jefferson County Regional Crime Lab
The Jefferson County Regional Crime Laboratory is located in the administration building of the Jefferson County Correctional Facility and is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board and the Texas Department of Public Safety. As a regional crime lab, the lab analyzes evidence for over 40 law enforcement agencies in Jefferson, Orange, Hardin and Chambers counties. Approximately 4,000 cases are submitted to the lab each year. The laboratory has a full time staff of 11 people and is accredited in the disciplines of Controlled Substances, Serology (Biology only), Toxicology (Blood Alcohol Only), and Firearms (IBIS entry only). In addition to these disciplines, forensic scientists assist law enforcement agencies at crime scenes, provide training, testify in court, and provide technical supervision for Jefferson County’s breath alcohol testing program.