NEW YORK – July 16, 2026 – Today, UK-listed IntelliAM AI launches the technology built to make scarce expertise go much further: an end-to-end industrial intelligence platform, developed alongside global engineering leader SKF.

In live trials it has delivered a 215% improvement in mean-time-between-failures at a single site of a major European dairy leader over a 12-month period.

Manufacturing is being rebuilt at record pace, with more than a trillion dollars committed to new factories, yet the skilled people needed to run them are in increasingly short supply. Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute project that 2.1 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled by 2030, at a cost of around a trillion dollars in lost output.

“Manufacturers do not have a data problem; they have a decision problem,” said Tom Clayton, CEO of IntelliAM AI which already works with half the world’s top 12 food and beverage manufacturers. “The opportunity now is to use agentic AI to turn trusted industrial data into better operational performance.”

Unlike traditional industrial AI that merely monitors equipment or predicts failures, the third layer of IntelliAM's Industrial Intelligence Platform, Enigma, utilizes agentic artificial intelligence to understand production-line performance in context. It goes beyond dashboards and alerts to recommend or trigger direct operational actions, shifting manufacturers from passive data collection to active, intelligent decision-making.

The platform directly addresses the severe labor shortages facing manufacturers. Rather than trying to replace scarce staff, it optimizes them by capturing deep manufacturing expertise and interpreting complex operational data, guiding on-the-floor teams toward faster, more consistent decisions. It effectively acts as a force multiplier for current staff, allowing limited engineering expertise to stretch much further.

The prize is large. In the UK food and drink sector alone, for example, IntelliAM estimates that a 2% productivity uplift is worth £746m a year and a 5% uplift £1.865bn, a scale of opportunity that repeats across global manufacturing.

IntelliAM already partners with half of the world's top 12 food and drink manufacturers, and its platform was developed using over a decade of domain expertise alongside live deployment trials with leading brands, including a major European dairy leader, Müller, and global engineering leader SKF. At today's London Stock Exchange launch, customer executives will speak about the operational uplifts from their live trials, including the 215% improvement in mean time between failures achieved at a Müller site over a 12-month period.

IntelliAM's comprehensive Industrial Intelligence Platform processes more than 16 billion industrial data points annually. Built on real factory-floor data rather than generic AI models, the complete ecosystem seamlessly links three core capabilities: IntelliAM 53 generates trusted, clean industrial data; Decipher provides deep operational understanding; and Enigma deploys agentic AI to initiate intelligent operational action.

“Agentic AI represents the next stage in industrial transformation,” added Clayton. “With the Industrial Intelligence Platform, we have cracked the code of industrial performance. This is how people and machines will be managed. This technology is about helping scarce expertise go further.”

Regina, Saskatchewan, July 15, 2026 – Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is offering support for customers in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan facing financial pressure due to flooding, as well as delayed field operations caused by severe weather.

“We stand by our customers over the long term,” said Angy Porteous, senior vice-president, agriculture business financing at FCC. “We have a unique responsibility to partner with our customers and ease their financial stress where possible.”

FCC will consider additional short-term credit options, deferral of principal payments and other solutions designed to reduce financial pressures on producers affected by severe weather. In addition to providing financial flexibility during challenging times, FCC supports investments that help strengthen resilience to weather-related risks, including water management, drainage, flood mitigation and other climate adaptation initiatives.

“Our focus is on helping producers maintain cash flow, continue operating and recover from the impacts of these extreme weather events,” Porteous said.

Customers affected by severe weather events are encouraged to contact their FCC relationship manager or the FCC Customer Service Centre at 1-888-332-3301 to discuss their individual situation and available options.

Alfa Laval’s recently formed Food & Pharma Division signals a step change in ambition – not least within food. It creates an organization with sharpened focus and greater innovation muscle, making the food industry's most capable and future-ready partner even stronger.

For more than 140 years, Alfa Laval has separated, heated, cooled and handled the products and ingredients that nourish people worldwide. The transformation of its Food & Water Division into the Food & Pharma Division highlights a stronger focus on pharmaceutical production. But it also marks an important new chapter in relation to food.

The strategic reorganization, built around distinct route-to-market paths, enhances customer alignment while bringing R&D investment to a historic level. Food – extending from dairy, beverages, edible oils, and meat and fish processing to the frontiers of alternative proteins and fermentation-based production – is the clear and dominant core.

“Food is our foundation and the most significant driver for future growth,” says Sammy Hulpiau, President, Alfa Laval Food & Pharma Division. “With our new framework, we can leverage strengths more effectively, creating opportunities for food and beverage producers and growing at pace alongside them. Together, we can meet the challenges of a dynamic food landscape and create tomorrow’s more resilient food infrastructure.”

An end-to-end partner across the food value chain

Alfa Laval's offering combines breadth with depth across separation, heat transfer and fluid handling. Recent product additions include hygienic WideGap heat exchangers for fibrous fluids and Foodec Oil Plus decanters for fat extraction. Many innovations, such as PureFerm separators or the Alfa Laval Fermentation System, enable entirely new methods of food production.

With so many solutions, Alfa Laval experts can apply multiple technological approaches to a given process challenge. Customers have a partner who can engage with flexibility, offering alternative ways to meet their needs. The new divisional structure, with its more direct channels for specific knowledge and resources, delivers that expertise efficiently.

“Customers value our understanding of their processes and directions,” says Christian Thomsen, Business Unit President Process Engineering Solutions, Alfa Laval Food & Pharma Division. “We help them optimize today’s operations by maximizing uptime, improving yields and cutting consumption of water and energy. But we also support their growth into new areas, whether by converting side streams into revenue or by introducing new production methods. With our revised structure, we can do those things even better.”

Ready to meet the needs of a changing food industry

The forces reshaping food production are powerful. Global population is projected to exceed 10 billion by 2060, driving sustained demand growth. Resource constraints require greater efficiency in the use of water and energy. As geopolitical pressures alter supply chains and amplify the call for regional food security, consumer preferences are diversifying.

All this means food producers must be faster, more flexible and more innovative – not just in what they produce, but also in how they produce it. With the new organization and substantial new investments in innovation, Alfa Laval is poised to help customers succeed. The company is working on two levels: continuously improving the processes that drive today’s production, while also developing capabilities for next-generation food.

“As a whole, the food industry must optimize what it does today while pioneering what it needs to achieve tomorrow,” says Sammy Hulpiau. “But individual producers must find their own balance point, and Alfa Laval can assist on both fronts. Our new structure is a robust platform for all customers, allowing us to meet existing challenges without taking our eyes off the horizon.”

Innovation infrastructure to take food forward

The commitment to innovation – whether for current or coming needs – is physical as well as structural. Alfa Laval’s Application & Innovation Centre in Kolding, Denmark, and its technology laboratory in Flemingsberg, Sweden, have long supported idea testing and solution development with customers. In spring 2027, they will be joined by Alfa Laval’s Food Application & Innovation Centre – a 1,200 m² collaboration hub in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

"Alfa Laval’s Food Application & Innovation Centre is a clear signal of our dedication to customers and other food stakeholders. Together, at the new centre and beyond, we will shape the evolution of food and lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s food supply," says Christian Thomsen.

Richmond, B.C. (July 13, 2026) — WorkSafeBC announced today that the preliminary average base rate for 2027 will remain at $1.55 per $100 of assessable payroll. Subject to final approval by WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors in the fall, this will be the 10th consecutive year that the average base rate has remained at this level.

Surplus funds returned to employers

WorkSafeBC’s rate-setting approach includes mechanisms to return surplus funds to employers when the funding level exceeds its target. In 2027, WorkSafeBC is proposing to return almost $1 billion ($960 million) of surplus funds to employers through discounted rates and assessment credits.

• Discounted rates: WorkSafeBC is returning an estimated $677 million of surplus funds to employers by pricing base rates below the costs to run the workers’ compensation system. The preliminary average base rate of $1.55 will be 18 per cent less than the projected average cost rate of $1.88 in 2027, with the difference funded by the surplus.

• Assessment credits: WorkSafeBC is also providing $283 million in assessment credits to employer accounts in 2027 in those industry groups with significant surpluses. This credit will apply to approximately 31,000 employers in 15 industry groups.

Between 2019 and 2027, WorkSafeBC projects that $3.9 billion of surplus funds will have been returned to employers, primarily through the pricing of base rates below costs.

Changes in 2027 will enhance rate stability

While the average base rate will be unchanged in 2027, each year, the costs in some industries go up, some go down and others stay the same. In 2027, more than half (52 per cent) of employers will either see a decrease in their base rate (30 per cent) or no change (22 per cent), while 48 per cent will see an increase.

To keep rates as stable as possible, base rate increases and decreases are normally capped at 20 per cent. However, given the continuing economic uncertainties facing the province, for 2027, WorkSafeBC will restrict base rate increases to a maximum of 15 per cent, while allowing base rate reductions of up to 30 per cent. This temporary approach, which was also used in 2026, is intended to provide greater rate stability for B.C. employers during challenging economic times.

WorkSafeBC’s strong financial position has allowed the average base rate to remain flat, despite upward claim-cost pressures — particularly for psychological-injury and chronic-pain claims — and a reduction in the surplus.

Premiums fund the workers’ compensation system

The Workers Compensation Act requires WorkSafeBC to set premium rates annually for employers to pay for the workers' compensation system. The system is structured so that today’s employers are accountable for the full cost of today’s workplace injuries.

Premium rate increases and decreases are mainly driven by injury rates, return-to-work performance, and the resulting cost of claims, as well as investment returns.

WorkSafeBC operates a non-profit system funded solely by employer premiums and investment returns. Premiums fund the costs associated with work-related injuries and diseases, health care, wage loss, rehabilitation and administration, including prevention and safety initiatives.

WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors will finalize the 2027 premium rates in October of this year.

Rate information sessions

Rate information sessions with stakeholders will take place this summer, with general information sessions scheduled for July 13, 14 and 15. These sessions are an opportunity for WorkSafeBC to provide an update on the financial state of the workers’ compensation system, rate and classification changes, and information on health and safety and return-to-work activities. Further details are posted online at worksafebc.com.