Virgin Strauss water – Coverage of Today’s Launch Event in London

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Strauss Blog

Hello,

Today we launched in London an exciting collaboration between Strauss Water and Virgin Group, based on Strauss’s water appliances.

The launch event, which celebrated the new partnership entitled “Virgin Strauss Water”, was attended by Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, Ofra Strauss, Chairperson of Strauss Group, Rami Ronen, CEO of Strauss Water, and senior executives from both companies.

During this exciting event, Branson and Strauss unveiled the new products that will be launched first in the UK under the co-branding Virgin Pure– Improving life with Strauss Water, with optional expansion into additional countries.

Virgin Strauss Water will offer drinking water purification appliances to British consumers – Stylish counter-top T6 and T7 appliances, plumbed directly into the water mains, and dispensing pure, great tasting chilled or boiling water at the touch of a button.

Richard Branson said that more than 10 million households in Britain currently use various purified water solutions, and that from now on, more and more people will be able to use a convenient solution for clean, tasty running water.

Ofra Strauss shared the story of Strauss’s beginning and growth over the past 75 years, with Israel as its home base and the source of entrepreneurship, creativity and knowledge immersed in its business categories worldwide.

Strauss went on to say that the decision to enter the water business was made with a view to expand the ways in which Strauss improves people’s lives. Our commitment to improve people’s lives is the best and only way for us to follow – namely use our knowledge in order to bring consumers the best of all worlds.

“The fact that water is an expensive and scare resource in Israel led Strauss to develop water solutions. It is quite a challenge to create wonders from such a basic essential, but Virgin Strauss Water does just that. Through this collaboration, we believe we will be able to change the way in which people drink water into an exciting and healthy experience”, Strauss added.

Strauss concluded by saying that while technologies may be changing, companies that are built in order to do good last forever.

Rami Ronen, CEO of Strauss Water, seemed very excited as he went on stage and described the journey which led Strauss Water to the milestone celebrated today – “Improving people’s lives means granting people the experience of safe, available quality water. It all boils down to the quality and availability of running water. We care about families and children’s health, and with this commitment in mind we are sending off our partnership today. We have an excellent technology and a superb team of scientists which we are very proud of”.

A Storm in a Water Cup: What is Drinkable Water?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Hella Frenkel

Hello,

My name is Hella Frankel, Director of Technologies Innovations and compliance at Strauss Water. In this post I will share with you the process of water purification and tell you about the steps required to produce quality drinkable water, suitable for human consumption.

One of the biggest challenges of humanity has always been the water issue – a challenge we are still facing today and will continue to face in the future: water availability and ensuring quality water supply to the entire population on the globe.

Water as a Basic Necessity for Development

Availability of water is the most basic need on earth. In keeping with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: without satisfying the need for water there can be no fulfillment of higher needs – personal, social and political. Quality water supply for all purposes and consumers is the key to consolidation.

Evidently, one of the differences between developing and developed countries is measured by the availability and quality levels of water accessible to their inhabitants. So what is quality water? What defines them as suitable for drinking? How do we transform water, a natural resource, into a drinkable supply?

Criteria for Creating High-quality Water

By the time water is reaching the end-consumer, it has already undergone a long treatment process.

Let’s treat water as a “product”, like any other product we know. Its final quality depends on several factors:

• Quality of the raw material – When it comes to water: its source and its components

• The process undergone by the raw material from the its base form to the product we consume

• Definitions (specifications) of the end-product

Substances Found in Drinking Water

This time I would like to start with the third stage- the end of the process: We will define water intended for consumption in general and drinking water in particular. These definitions are effectively “water quality standards”. These standards are set on the national level based on recommendations provided by the World Health Organization. They specify the allowed level (threshold level) of each of the substances found in drinking water.

These substances can be divided into three types of categories: First, chemical compounds with health effect – above a certain threshold level they can risk the user (for example – the presence of heavy metals in high doses). Second, substances with aesthetic effect – these can cause poor consumer experience, ie, substances that do not have a biological effect but they can reduce the aesthetic experience of water consumption – water taste, sight, smell, and more. These substances can be chemical compounds such as sulfur and chlorine, or loose physical particles such as rust or sand. Finally, microbiological elements – the presence of bacteria, viruses and parasites. Above a certain threshold level they can cause disease or indicate improper water purification that endangers anyone who uses it.

Adjusting the water source cleansing process

Not every water source is, indeed, a safe drinking water source. There are water sources whose initial state does not allow for a proper cleansing process that will ensure compliance with the standards and definitions of drinking water.

The water purification process is designed to deal with all the above-mentioned substances and adjust their concentration to the threshold determined by authorities for consumer-safe water.

Disinfection and Removal of Contaminants

Next, it is necessary to remove microbiological contaminants, and prevent secondary infection. The most common method of disinfection used is adding chlorine or its derivatives to water. Chlorine causes incubation of bacteria and viruses, while residues of the active material in the system make sure that the water remains free of microbiologic contaminants. It should be noted that the entire process is accompanied by tests to secure the achievement of desired water standards.

From the Treatment Facility to In-home Consumption

In a long journey, water is carried through pipes from the treatment facility to the homes of water consumers. This journey and the substances water absorbs on its way to us, have an impact on the quality of water in the end. One of the obstacles, for example, can be a problematic transport system, that can contaminate the water after it had already left the treatment facility.

The Importance of Purification at the Point of Consumption

In order to have drinkable water, it is important to ensure cleansing/ treatment at the point of consumption or POU- Point Of Use. Even in areas where water come from a quality network, “treatment / purification” of water at the point of consumption will secure its quality and taste, providing microbiological protection and removal of unwanted substances absorbed along the way.

In conclusion, I tried to share with you the water purification process, describing here briefly and simplistically a process which is highly complex.

This is a process that brings together expertise in many areas – engineering, biology, chemistry, public health and more.

Treatment or purification at the point of consumption is in itself a fascinating issue, which combines aspects of purification technology, performance and measurement, differences between water treatment and water purification, what can be defined as “water purifier”, what needs to be understood before choosing a counter-top water dispenser, and more . These topics will be discussed in my next posts.

Celebration of Roasted Vegetables
and Bruschetta

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Yaron Bornstein

Deganit, my dear wife, and I found ourselves an excuse (our wedding anniversary or something of the sort) and we flew to southern Italy, to an isolated farm, which seemed dubious at first. On the first evening, we changed our minds at once thanks to the dinner we had. We ate the best pasta I have ever tasted, complemented with fine wine, but this is not the reason for my post today.

Despite the language barrier, it was important for me to connect to the farm owners. The next morning, after our delicious dinner, I stood in their kitchen and cooked with the Signora an amazing pasta and antipasti dinner. More accurately: she cooked, and I tasted and mimed “What is this? What’s this? Delicious!” I thought about you while tasting these superb samples, and wanted to share with you important tips for seasoning and cooking of entrees that make an amazing first impression on one hand, and on the other hand require minimum investment. This is just the way I like my cooking.

Let’s start with seasoning

I would like to give you a simple recipe for 2 olive oil-based seasoning oils. I checked: it takes seven minutes to prepare, and you will need a pouring jug that can be sealed well. Another important thing for preparation of sauces: Place the pouring jug in a pot with boiling water, boil for several minutes, then pat dry.

Spicy olive oil

Heat 2 cups of oil in a frying pan and some hot peppers of your choice (rinsed and pat-dried).

Saute for 3 minutes on low heat (do not make a fried pepper). The idea is to release the spicy edge into the oil and at the same time disinfect the peppers. After 3 minutes, pour the peppers with the olive oil (careful, hot!) into your pre-prepared jug. You can use this oil for at least a week, and even more, if you kept a clean process.

Basil Olive Oil

This seasoning is considered a must on our table, and it serves as an incredible condiment for many dishes. Rinse and pat-dry 7-10 stems of fresh basil. Put them in a blender with 2-3 cups of olive oil and grind. Pour the mixture into a hot pan, fry 3 minutes over a low heat, then run it through a fine sieve into a pre-prepared serving dish (a funnel would come in handy). If you want a clearer texture, put a gauze on the sieve to ensure that no piece of basil will run through it. Trust me, you will not stop receiving compliments.

Going wild with bruschetta

Italians are very fond of their bruschetta: small toasts with various toppings and olive oil. I like them because they look appetizing, make an impressive serving, and most importantly, you can be creative and go wild with any topping that comes to mind.

Preparation of the base is simple: Cut slices of baguette diagonally, and toast them in a preheated oven at 180degrees for several minutes, until you have a beautifully brown toast.

The toppings – the things you put on the toasts to get a bruschetta are the real fun, and some toppings in advance can be prepared in advance, utilizing your children’s decorating skills. The idea is to apply any spread you want on the bruschetta, and then add roasted vegetables on top. You can go for wonderful combinations like goat cheese and roasted peppers, or curd with roasted vegetables.

Let me introduce you to a raw material underrated by many of you: roasted eggplant puree. Yes, I’m a technologist at the Achla dips line, which makes me not the most objective person in the world, but give this amazing salad a chance. Try to apply a thin layer of roasted eggplant puree on the bruschetta and top with cheese and vegetables for garnish. Apart from the spectacular color layers, the juiciness of the roasted eggplant complements the toast perfectly, creating a particularly pleasant texture.

Just before serving, garnish the bruschetta with basil, thyme and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and top with the pre-prepared basil leaves (and if your guests are brave – use an extra-spicy olive oil). Prepare various kinds of bruschetta and let your guests eat with their eyes before the pleasure of the palate.

Let me know how it came out.

The Milky Way

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Haim Maler

The cheese manufacturing unit is constantly working to improve processes and generate higher value for customers through cheese products. Our goal is to create the highest quality products for customer, while upgrading our work capabilities at the plant in order to maintain this high quality without increasing costs or retail process.

So how do we do it?

The Dairy is the first place which milk is transported to at Strauss. Tankers carrying milk from milking locations arrive directly to us every day. While in the past people consumed milk directly from animals, nowadays we are more aware of various health and quality indices and are operating under the strictest of standards. A milk tanker arriving at the plant can’t unload until we sample the milk it carries. This process is critical in ensuring that the products are in superb quality and provide added value to consumers.

My department receives the raw milk, and it is here that our department effectively serves as the initial filter – is the milk in good quality and can be passed on or should it be disposed of before it reaches the plant? This is where we should streamline our activity and adopt more professional practices – after all, we are dealing with quantities of 300,000 liters milk each day (depending on the season.) The receipt of raw milk includes a meticulous QA process which ensures that consumers get quality products and we don’t waste resources on work with an inadequate raw material.

In order to conduct the first screening, we perform three tests that analyze the newly-arrived milk:

1. Antibiotics: Cows growing in a cowshed consume antibiotics, be it through the food they eat or in treatment against disease and various infections. Antibiotics is not a desirable agent in milk, of course, and the samples taken are designed to make sure that the milk does not contain any residues.

2. Milk acidity, taste, smell and appearance: we make sure that the milk is not sour, and that its smell and appearance are also fine.

3. Water percentage: We make sure that the water percentage complies with the Standard provisions. Only after the milk has been tested it is passed on.

Once the milk undergoes QA and the three above-mentioned tests, it starts a milk – cream separation process and then pasteurization.

We place specific emphasis on freshness and quality as we are aware of the great responsibility that lies with us. Since dairy products are consumed in almost every household in Israel and across all levels of the population, it is our obligation to make sure that these products meet the highest qualities parameters, in collaboration with the QA department and lab, and in compliance with Israeli Standards .

Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the process which milk undergoes once it reaches our plant, I will be happy to tell you more about the cheese department at the plant in my next posts: its work flow, the high professionalism it requires, and the constant development of this active department.

Haim Maler

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Haim Maler

Haim Meler, 62, married+4 plus 9 grandchildren

Joined the department four years ago, in the milk and cheese category (after working 36 years at an oil plant, including site manager).

Every day, when I arrive at the Dairies, I am amazed to discover the professionalism and caring of the people operating the production machinery.

Team work and mutual assistance enable us to produce quality products that meet international standards

Learning and improvement are practiced at all time – day and night

Diversity and Inclusion
as an Organizational Practice

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Eyal Siles

The world is today marking International Cultural Diversity Day, which aims to facilitate an open dialogue to increase our familiarity with the values and importance of diversity. As recruitment Manager at Strauss Israel, I would like to tell you what an organization can do in order to incorporate diverse populations within its ranks.

It is customary today to talk a lot about “acceptance of the diverse” and openness to a variety of opinions and people, but how do we actually apply it on the ground? This day provides an opportunity for us to examine the gap between “theory” and “practice”.

At Strauss, we decided to implement the perception of the diverse as an organizational practice – transforming it from a theory, from “the right thing to talk about”, to reality on the ground.

Defining our Vision and Mission (Core-Purpose)

Before we set off to find the right layout for maximum assimilation of diversity and inclusion in the organization, we started out with the definition of these basic terms:

• Diversity – Differences. Each individual or segment in society has its own uniqueness that enriches us as a company. The company must respect such differences and create from them a rich and colorful fabric.

• Inclusion – Full participation of every individual, different and unique alike, out of respect and appreciation, while exercising their right for self-fulfillment, equal opportunity and promotion.

Both these values are consistent with Strauss’s core values as regards accepting different people and creating a rich, colorful and diverse fabric. This multi-cultural approach enables each individual to have appropriate opportunities for self-fulfillment. Moreover, beyond these basic values lies a genuine business need – a company that highlights innovation, enthusiasm and ‘Creating Wonders out of Basics”, should allow proper manifestation of multiple views, people and beliefs. Diversity and inclusion form the basis of our ability to be innovative and entrepreneurial, attract talents to the organization and retain them.

From Theory to practice

Once we realized that this was the way to go about, we defined our goal and vision, and moved on to implementation: recruiting Ethiopian academics, recruiting academics of “non-Jewish” origin, and staffing senior positions with priority to women.

I must admit that as Recruitment Manager I thought that this journey would be simple, but in fact, the actual process turned out to be not as simple as it sounded…

Evidently, we all have visible and hidden barriers that prevent us from really opening up to the diverse and contain their differences. These barriers often result from prejudice, misconceptions or lack of understanding of another culture. While we cannot be free of bias altogether, becoming aware of them can enable us not to embrace them.

The frustration stemmed from the discovery of insights about the gaps between the values of diversity and scope of their application at the beginning of our journey. This resulted in an action plan that included several organizational disciplines: training, recruitment and organizational development. A top- team was set up to this effect, with various representatives under the leadership of V.P. Human Resources at Strauss Israel.

We formulated a training program for recruiting minorities/sectors in Israel, and set out to explore HR characteristics of the Arab and Ethiopian communities. We held meetings with managers, recruitment managers and their teams in various sectors, in order to understand their difficulties and needs, and provide organizational support and recognition for the willingness to contain diversity and its complexities.

By special permission from the Commission on Equal Employment, we mapped the entire population of employees and today we are able to produce data and identify trends. Using these indices, we can now control, monitor and manage the employee fabric of our company.

Fortunately, these efforts bore fruit. At the end of 2011, we managed to recruit nine academics from the non-Jewish/minorities and Ethiopian sectors, and 5 women in middle-management positions, that we hope will be promoted to senior positions over time. Just to make it more plausible, these new recruits accounted for 5% of all recruitments in 2011 at non-production levels (which, by the way, include adequate representation of the various populations).

It is important to point out that although we have a marked path to guide us through the implementation and promotion of diversity and inclusion within the organization, we must remember that this is not a one-time or annual project. We continue to implement this plan, hoping to make it a way of life, instill the concepts relating to acceptance of differences, and expand our search circles into more diverse populations.

Engineering – Not What You Thought

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Arad Ginor

Strauss’ engineering headquarters was established a few years ago, after realizing the importance of such a function, in addition to the engineering plant units. Why is this so important to Strauss and why do we need an engineering headquarters?

Strauss group is consisted of different plants, under different divisions, in charge of different products: dairy products, fresh salads, snacks, chocolate & others. On the commercial and administrative side of the various departments we find the operational, logistic, quality assurance, engineering and maintenance units. The engineering department in each plant is responsible for implementing its programs so that the plant can carry out its manufacturing processes and future strategy with greater efficiency. The department operates the engineering projects from the early planning stage, through the introduction phase and until all required approvals are obtained.

The role of the engineering department can be demonstrated through a fictional product I just came up with: chocolate garlic pudding. Let’s begin with the assumption that the marketing department agreed that this “innovative” product will stir up a large demand. The engineering department first examines the innovations and adjustments needed to produce such a product; is there a need for new instruments or can we use the existing platform? Is there a need to change work techniques? Is there even a technology that allows manufacturing this? As soon as we receive the answers to these questions (and many more) we can begin the development and implementation processes.

Ok, chocolate garlic pudding probably won’t reach the shelves any time soon, and it’s not every day that a new product is launched, but still, the engineering department is constantly busy determining the feasibility of many different projects, with only a small percentage of them expected to hit the retail chains. Project managers at Strauss tackle 4-8 projects simultaneously, while needing to meet challenging scheduling and budget goals. This is an inseparable part of the job in a company that’s devoted to innovation in every area of operation.

The headquarters work alongside the departments from the different plants and provide them with guidance and support. Sometimes we carry out with some of the projects ourselves if the plants are not able (or not available) to do so. In this case, the headquarters is capable to place and manage external engineering teams or to serve as a professional implementation reserve. It all depends of course, on the nature of the project and the existing workload, and their place within company priorities.

Another task of the engineer headquarters is to plan and overlook the application of fixed, structured and methodological work methods throughout the project management process. The need for coordination and unification of action-methods derived from the substantial growth of the company, with the goal of uniting work methods to adjust to the company’s needs rather than to a personal preference of a single manager. Strengthening the coordination process between multi cultural groups, all communicating across different areas, channels and time zones, is inevitable. Because of this we must continuously strive to become more efficient. When so many people are involved in a single project, efficiency and availability become the name of the game, therefore giving the headquarters an advantage in assembling and coordinating the information on all parallel ongoing projects, when planning ahead for the future.

The engineering headquarters is exposed to a large range of project types. The knowledge and experience we accumulate further benefits the company after we distribute this information to each plant or by individual project basis. The planning and development of methodical tools that aid the promotion of ideas throughout the entire company, contribute to an active, efficient and productive cooperation for all.

Although “engineer headquarters” sounds like a large unit, truth of the matter it consists of a project manager and…me. We are able to manage all the groups’ projects through the methodologies we create, and cooperation we receive from our loyal colleagues. The engineer headquarters is an excellent example of the advantages through efficient and lean matrix management, which allows availability and flexibility for every project or need that arises.

In my following posts I will happily share with you the challenges in creating unity between the various engineering departments at our many plants over the world. In addition, I will discuss the tools we use to create this unity and the challenges in bridging the gaps between setting the foundations for a plan and actual execution.

Arad Ginor

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Arad Ginor

Arad joined Strauss in 1996 as Projects & Maintenance Manager at Strauss Dairies in Nahariya. Back then, the small dairy in Nahariya was crowded and buzzing with activity: the old systems and extensive activity created a magical atmosphere of intensive work coupled with numerous challenges and guaranteed satisfaction. Two years later, Arad joined the team that established the new Ahihud Dairy, and engaged in energy and infrastructure projects. After leaving Strauss in 2001 to work as Infrastructure Division Manager at Semiconductors, he returned in 2008 as Engineering Manager.

Arad (born 1967), a mechanical engineer by trade, lives in Haifa with his wife and three children.