An Educational Experience
AMI convention slows down a fast-paced world so processors can learn how to do business
Advancing technology joins nations together, while international trade agreements expand markets.
Consumers want more choices-and more convenience.
These facts are driving the meat industry. Processors either manage change, or are they are managed by it.
Staying on top of changes is not always easy. But the 1995 International Meat Industry Convention and Exposition will offer the most time- and cost-efficient way for processors to see what is new for improving operations, product quality and worker safety.
The convention, which takes place Sept. 21 to 24 at Chicago's McCormick Place, will unite more than 14,000 meat processors from 75 nations. More than 450 exhibits will be on display. The latest in supplier innovation will be front-and-center for processors to examine.
But the convention and exposition is more than just walking the show floor. Education also plays a vital role.
Four super sessions and 11 mini-conferences will afford processors the opportunity to hear new ideas, information and solutions critical to the meat industry.
The education conferences feature problem-solving seminars filled with practical, proven methods for meeting challenges face to face.
Mini-conference topics include: economics and production, import and export, environment, family business, human resources and worker safety, crisis management, Efficient Consumer Response programs, food safety, new technology, sanitation and refrigerated warehousing.
Eleven mini-conferences will run concurrently from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Sept. 21 to 23. The mini-conferences will concentrate on how processors can break out of their "comfort zone" and facilitate changes that will make their operations more productive and profitable.
Among the mini-conferences:
-- "EPA's Perspective on Environmental Regulation and Enforcement." Valdas Adamkus, an EPA regional administrator, will address the impact of changing legislative requirements for clean air and water.
-- "Wholesale Meat Pricing: What's the Real Value of Raw Materials and Finished Goods?" will cover considerations in developing an appropriate meat pricing philosophy.
Bruce Ginn, chief economist of Oscar Mayer Foods Corp. and Ronald Brockman, vice president of purchasing and commodity trading for John Morrell & Co., will address issues such as the role of meat buyers, strategies for dealing with the implications of packer consolidation, and the relevance of price reporting.
-- "Retail Meat Pricing: What Does it Really Cost?" will feature John Story, director of meat and deli operations for Fairway Foods.
Motivated by concerns regarding below-cost meat pricing and the purported subsidization of beef by other meats, this session will discuss recommendations for more effective operation of meat departments, and the implications of today's pricing practices for meat categories of the future.
A foreign flavor
There will be a definite foreign flavor to this year's convention. With officials expecting a record 3,000 visitors from overseas, AMI is attempting to cater to their needs, as well as catch the attention of the domestic audience.
With free-trade agreements among nations taking place at a rapid pace, and the continued liberalization of trade rules resulting from implementation of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade, meat processors from around the world are looking for new global markets to sell their products.
And because the most requested item by international buyers at the 1991 and 1993 conventions was meat, AMI has developed the U.S. Meat Export Pavilion.
The pavilion is designed specifically to match international buyers with U.S. meat exporting companies. It will afford foreign meat industry dignitaries the opportunity to see U.S. products together in a central location.
Twenty-eight U.S. meat companies will exhibit at the pavilion, and each booth will include refrigerated meat cases and other amenities that will showcase the variety of high-quality products offered. Highlights will include continuous demonstrations of meat cutting, preparation, cooking and merchandising.
In addition, two other pavilions will make their debut on this year's convention floor:
-- The Product Development Pavilion will feature leading industry suppliers discussing the various seasonings, ingredients and analytical tests available for developing new meat and poultry products. The pavilion will afford processors an opportunity to discuss the array of consumer preferences and tastes.
-- The Refrigerated Warehouses and Services Pavilion, co-sponsored by AMI and the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses, will feature leading-edge refrigerated warehouse and related services suppliers.
The latest in temperature control and refrigerated warehouse services will be featured.
Before and after
Not only is the AMI convention full of information, but the pre- and post-convention schedules can also benefit meat processors.
Prior to the convention, AMI will again present the Meat Industry Research Conference (MIRC), a two-day gathering of the industry's top scientists and technical experts. The MIRC, co-sponsored by AMI Foundation and American Meat Science Association, will be held Sept. 19 and 20 at the Palmer House Hilton.
Science and technology continue to drive rapid change in the meat industry. The MIRC will examine the latest research and results.
There will also be the unveiling of new industry research on intervention strategies for reducing microbes on meat carcasses, discussion of the science of risk assessment, and new information on transfer technologies.
The MIRC's first session will deal with the most important-and controversial-issue facing the industry today: food safety.
Officials from USDA, academia, industry, trade associations and allied suppliers will discuss the proposed Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program regulation, risk assessment for food-borne microbial hazards, microbiological testing, and the identification of critical control points in a HACCP program. The entire farm-to-table continuum will be examined.
There will also be a discussion on meat quality and consistency from producers and packers to processors and retailers.
In addition to elaborating on the roles of various industry segments in maintaining customer satisfaction, processors will hear the results of recent industry surveys regarding beef, pork and poultry products.
The MIRC will also examine new information on nutrition, shelf life, packaging and thermal processing.
Following the convention, the education continues through the International Meat Merchandising Workshop, Sept. 24 and 25, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
The consensus is the industry must do more than just ship product to retailers. There has to be a partnership with retailers to creatively and efficiently meet consumer demands.
The international merchandising workshop is designed to provide the essential tools for packers, processors and retailers to develop partnerships. Industry leaders with more than 120 years of experience in all aspects of the meat business will be on hand.
A comprehensive, interactive schedule focuses on key elements of boxed meat programs and the basic building blocks of meat operations.
Attendees will be provided not only with past lessons, but also with innovative strategies that will expand the businesses of both packers and processors and retailers.
Different approaches to supermarket meat merchandising from around the globe, streamlining the meat department of the future and the packer-retailer relationship, experiences from career meat managers, and the future of retailer-packer collaborations will comprise the sessions.
The workshop is designed for plant managers, quality assurance managers, sales and marketing representatives, retail meat managers, and corporate meat and perishable directors.
Issues of the day
AMI has scheduled two general sessions for the convention. One will deal with non-meat issues while the other delves into one of the most important issues that will face the industry in the future.
In the opening session, meat processors will be able to step out of their businesses for a short time and hear how to solve the many challenges facing the United States in the 1990s.
There must be a renewal of moral commitment to education and business ethics, according to William J. Bennett, a member of the Reagan and Bush administrations and whose book, "The Book of Virtues," was a national best-seller. He will be the keynote speaker at the opening general session (Sept. 21, 10:30 a.m.)
His speech will address the most critical issues facing industry, employees and families, and refocus attention on the values that he believes will strengthen and preserve American family and society.
The second general session (Sept. 22, 10:30 a.m.) will focus on the future, and how the meat industry can meet the needs and demands of a global marketplace through its products.
Speakers include J. Patrick Boyle, AMI president; George W. Bryan, outgoing AMI chairman of the board and senior vice president of Sara Lee Corp.; and former USDA Secretary Clayton Yeutter.
And at this year's Washington Insider Breakfast, one of America's political satire masters will tell tales out of school about Democrats and Republicans.
PJ O'Rourke, a correspondent for Rolling Stone and best-selling author, has a biting humor about Washington that processors may enjoy.
Of government, he says: "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teen-age boys."
On Democrats, he says they are the party "that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller and get the chickweed out of your lawn."
On Republicans, he says they are the party "that says government does not work, and then gets elected and proves it."
When the AMI convention commences, the presidential election will be less than 14 months away. O'Rourke promises to have a lot to say about President Clinton and the Republicans who want his job.
And what would the AMI convention be without Chicago, one of America's great cities. Conventioneers will be able to thoroughly enjoy it.
The opening reception will be held on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the grand finale of the convention, the Chairman's Gala Reception and Dinner, will feature jazz great Mel Torme.
More than 450 exhibitors will set up shop in McCormick Place for the AMI convention. Here is a list of supplies that will be on display:
* Casings
* Cutting and boning devices
* Environmental services
* Laboratory testing equipment
* Material handling equipment
* Meat industry services
* Meat and poultry products
* Packaging equipment
* Packaging materials
* Refrigerated warehouse services
* Rendering
* Safety equipment
* Sanitation supplies
* Sausage processing equipment
* Seasonings and ingredients
* Slaughtering equipment
* Temperature control
* Transportation equipment