Despite it only being mid-April long-range weather forecasters are already using some pretty heavy-duty words when describing what the UK can expect this summer. ‘Super summer’, ‘prolonged heat wave’, ‘hot sunshine’, ‘a summer to rival Ibiza’ are all terms that have been confidently touted by forecasters and newspapers alike in the past few
weeks, and let’s hope they’re right.

Recent summers have been a little hit and miss to say the least and
even though last summer was ‘nice’, it still didn’t live up to those
endless days of sun we remember ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, and it
certainly didn’t make up for the lack of sunshine we’ve experienced from
the previous few years.

The ice cream industry was hit hard by the weather, but if the
experts are right could this year be the year manufacturers revive it to
the glory days of past?

Well it seems that the weather platform may
well be set to achieve it, now all that is needed is the appropriate
machinery. Good ingredients warrant good machinery and the two together
undoubtedly ends with an in-demand product, and an in-pocket
manufacturer.

Machinery World is experiencing an extremely busy period and
consequently, its current and inbound stock could cater for any size of
manufacturer, from start-up to SME with its pricing structure matching.
So, if it’s cost-effective machinery that works as good as new, you
needn’t look any further.

Alternatively, if you already have the
machinery, Machinery World also offers an engineering service that will
ensure that it works when you need it
most.
Please see our ‘used machines’ pages for a list of stock. If you
can’t find the machine you’re after, please don’t hesitate to get in
touch, and we will do whatever we can to help.

We’ve always said that the ice cream industry attracts many individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, some eccentric, some exceptional but all with the common belief that they can, in one way or another, evolve or reshape the industry for the better.

However, it appears that this thirst to develop and change things isn’t always clenched within the ice cream industry, or anything to do with the ice cream industry as a matter of fact, with some rarely talented individuals going on to carve successful careers in hugely unrelated sectors.

The one you all probably already know about is Margaret Thatcher. Before entering the world of politics, the former Prime Minister took a research position at J. Lyons and Co. where she was tasked with whipping more air into ice cream. Putting her Oxford chemistry degree to use she produced a type of soft-scoop ice cream that could be pumped through a machine and unknowingly at the time, crafting the way for two future national favourites; Mr Whippy, and the ‘99’ cone.

After selling his company to Unilever for $326-million in 2000, he has embarked on a unique undertaking: combatting what he considers as bloated, wasteful Pentagon weapons programs, more specifically starting with the F-35 fighter jet…so a slight change in direction but one he’s deadly serious about.

Cohen estimates he has contributed $1-million to various contract-monitoring efforts since selling his company and plans to keep spending having also recently financed a University of Massachusetts study comparing the economic impact of defence spending with public investments in education and other social programs.

Cohen said his goal is raising questions about Pentagon assertions that big-ticket weapon systems are the key to making the nation safer.

So, so far we’ve had an ice cream researcher go on to become one of the most formidable, and not to mention the first female, Prime Minister’s in British history and an ice cream manufacturer looking to take on the Pentagon over national defence spending.

A little closer to home now (UK) and last night (2nd December 2013) James Lambert, owner of Yorkshire based R&R Ice Cream, was crowned entrepreneur of the year at EY’s annual awards.

Having grown the company from scratch to a turnover approaching £750m and a pan-European workforce of nearly 3,000, he has since moved from the chief executive role to chairman following the sale of the firm for an undisclosed sum to private equity house PAI Partners in July this year.

It appears that the ice cream industry does attract world class entrepreneurs and opens many a door. In James Lambert we clearly have a very capable home-grown talent; whatever will he do next? Who will be the next Ben Cohen? Who will be the next Margaret Thatcher?

Machinery World is delighted to announce that it has been awarded with the ISO 9001:2008 certificate as a result of its quality management processes and ability to demonstrate its desire for continual internal improvement as a means of enhancing the customer experience.

There are many different branches to the ISO 9000 family, but ISO 9001:2008 specifically sets out the criteria for a quality management system that will consistently achieve customer satisfaction, no matter the situation. Based upon a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, having a documented and processed approach and, continual improvement, the ISO certification is a recognised decoration in over 170 countries and currently implemented by over one million businesses globally.  
 
Sean Dughan, Machinery World’s Engineering Manager who also managed and organised the certification process, commented: