NCEFE welcomes new advisory board chairman
Keith Thornhill, head of Food & Beverage, Siemens UK & Ireland, has been appointed as chairman of the Industry Advisory Board for the National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering (NCEFE).
The National Centre, based at Sheffield Hallam University, is the sector’s flagship project. It was conceived in 2014 in order to increase the flow of young talent into the sector by producing graduates in Food Engineering, as well as providing a focal point to encourage further collaborative innovation initiatives between industry stakeholders.
The Advisory Board was set up to guide and develop the National Centre in order to maximise its impact across the sector. Thornhill takes over as chairman from Gavin Darby, CEO of Premier Foods.
Thornhill comments, “I am delighted to take up this important position. I have been a member of the board since the Centre’s inception and am a passionate advocate of what the centre is doing.
“My role at Siemens, which focuses on working with food and beverage manufacturers to implement digital technology solutions that can drive productivity improvements, efficiency gains and flexible manufacturing capabilities, means that I will aim to ensure that the widespread promotion and adoption of game-changing digitalisation solutions takes place to deliver real benefit for the sector.”
Martin Howarth, director of the NCEFE, says, “Keith’s industry expertise and knowledge will be of great benefit to the advisory board and I look forward to working with him to support the ongoing development of the Centre.”
The Advisory Board is comprised of key stakeholders from across the industry, including manufacturers and academic representatives.