Indian Harvest Specialtifoods, Inc., a leading supplier of premium rice, grains and legumes to industry and foodservice, proudly announces its purchase of substantially all the assets of Wild Rice Exchange based in Woodland, Calif.

The investment brings an expanded service offering to industrial, foodservice and private-label customers, both domestic and international. With acquisition, the mutual standards of quality established by both Indian Harvest and Wild Rice Exchange will extend across:

• Expanded sourcing capabilities
• Greater diversity in packaging options
• Puffing and infusion capabilities across product lines
• Increased production capacity
• Expanded warehousing facilities
• Professional culinary support across segments
• Extended sales and service capabilities

Operating as a single entity under the name “Indian Harvest Specialtifoods” (Indian Harvest), the integrated personnel and management teams are adding immediate value to the respective operations. “We feel really fortunate to be able to add this kind of capability with an organization that already had the same commitment to quality that we hold so important,” says Trevor Duininck, managing partner at Indian Harvest. “The Woodland team shares the same commitment to delivering high standards in service and quality, which is clearly demonstrated in the facility, as well as the relationships they cultivate with customers. It’s pretty rare to get such a complete package of quality that fits so well with our existing operations.”

Carlos Zambello, CEO of Wild Rice Exchange and a former employee of Indian Harvest, echoed the sentiment. “This partnership makes perfect sense. It’s great to be part of the leadership team at Indian Harvest, and a joy to introduce customers to the breadth of what our combined organizations have to meet their needs.”

Indian Harvest foodservice sales will continue to be based in Bemidji, Minn., under the direction of Jeff Lande. Production will continue at both Colusa and Woodland facilities in California under the direction of Cruz Gonzalez and Golnar Emam.

About Indian Harvest
Indian Harvest Specialtifoods, Inc., headquartered in northern Minnesota, is a foremost U.S. producer and procurer of some of the world’s most distinctive varieties of grains, beans and legumes for industry and foodservice. The company’s dedication to discovering and promoting lesser-known, heirloom grains and seeds is deep-rooted in its 32-year heritage of providing chef-driven menu inspiration and solutions to an evolving industry. For more information, visit www.indianharvest.com.

Ingram’s Vital Source expands e-textbook offering with acquisition of VPG Integrated Media

Ingram Content Group Inc. announced that Vital Source has grown its e-textbook offering with the acquisition of VPG Integrated Media (VPG), a leading developer of award-winning enhanced e-textbook applications, interactive learning objects and e-whiteboard content, and state-of-the-art video, audio, and animation production services for educational publishers.

The acquisition of VPG has expanded the ability of Vital Source to further enhance the digital learning experience. Vital Source and VPG, together, present an unmatched e-textbook offering that meets the demands of publishers, educators, and students in this new era of learning opportunities. The joining of VPG’s ability to turn a textbook into an interactive experience, Vital Source’s proven e-textbook platform and its strong relationships with publishers, institutions and students will streamline the creation and distribution of digital books globally.

“The growth of innovative digital content and the rising adoption rate of tablet devices are allowing students to truly interact with textbooks in a new way,” said Kent Freeman, President, Vital Source Technologies, Inc. “Vital Source has always been a market leader in e-textbooks. The acquisition of VPG puts us even further ahead by giving us the ability to not only deliver but to also enhance publisher content with rich media and interactive applications, a requirement for educational publishers to succeed in today’s higher-ed environment.”

VPG works with both publishers and educators to create and enhance educational content. VPG clients include Cambridge University Press, Cengage Learning, Elsevier, Houghton Mifflin, John Wiley, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, Sage Publications and Scholastic, many of the same publishers that currently use Ingram’s VitalSource® platform for content distribution. VPG serves both the K-12 and Higher-Ed publishing segments.

“VPG has built cutting-edge and award-winning interactive and rich-media applications that have fundamentally changed how the leaders in publishing create and enhance content,” said Chip Price, President and CEO, VPG Integrated Media. “The combination of Ingram’s leading position in the market for both physical, digital and e-textbook content distribution and VPG’s applications give the industry an unparalleled integrated solution to create, distribute and then connect feature-rich content with users.”

Ingram’s acquisition of VPG is part of the company’s growth strategy for VitalSource®, the preferred and most used e-textbook and content delivery platform in use today with 1.6 million registered users and a presence on 6000 campuses in 180 countries. Under the terms of the agreement, VPG has become part of Vital Source, Ingram Content Group’s e-textbook arm.

“At Ingram, we are fully committed to the education space and we will continue to invest in the newest print, digital, distribution and interactive technologies that will help more content reach more people globally,” said David “Skip” Prichard, President and CEO, Ingram Content Group.

ABOUT VPG INTEGRATED MEDIA
VPG is a leading developer of interactive applications and rich media products for educational publishers. VPG develops products for some of the most ambitious and successful programs in the education market, and its work affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of students each year. VPG is known in the industry for its enhanced e-Book and e-Whiteboard technologies, award-winning interactive applications, sophisticated integration with publisher technologies, and state-of-the-art video, audio, and animation production. VPG is based in Boston, where the company has an expert network of creative talent and academic advisors, as well as strong ties to a variety of trusted U.S. and off-shore production partners. For more information, visit www.vpg.com. (Cherry Tree does not maintain, endorse, or make any representations as to the content accuracy or quality of this website.)

ABOUT INGRAM
Ingram Content Group Inc. provides a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry. Ingram’s operating units are Ingram Book Company, Lightning Source Inc., Ingram Digital, Vital Source Technologies, Inc., Ingram Periodicals Inc., Ingram International Inc., Ingram Library Services Inc., Spring Arbor Distributors Inc., Ingram Publisher Services Inc., Tennessee Book Company LLC, and Coutts Information Services. For more information, visit www.ingramcontent.com. (Cherry Tree does not maintain, endorse, or make any representations as to the content accuracy or quality of this website.)

CSM, Bakery Supplies North America announced its successful acquisition of Best Brands Corp., one of the largest premium bakery manufacturers in the U.S. The acquisition of Best Brands brings unparalleled product depth to the organization while complementing the customer service commitment of CSM globally. The combined sales of Bakery Supplies North America will be in excess of $2.3 billion. Best Brands has a leading position in value-added frozen products sold to in-store bakeries, which are complimentary to CSM’s H.C. Brill product and customer portfolio, and is well positioned in segments and product categories that CSM BSNA has targeted for future growth.

While the majority of Best Brands business will be integrated with H.C. Brill, the distribution business of Best Brands will be integrated with BakeMark, CSM’s bakery distribution arm in North America. CSM’s intent is for the integration to be seamless to our customers. The newly formed organization will offer a broader product portfolio of best in class products.

The agreement to acquire Best Brands was announced in a press release on February 4, 2010. The US antitrust waiting period has expired.

About CSM:
CSM is the largest supplier of bakery products worldwide and is global market leader in lactic acid and lactic acid derivatives. CSM produces and distributes an extensive range of bakery products and ingredients for artisan and industrial bakeries, in-store and out-of-home markets. It also produces a variety of lactic acid applications for the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. CSM operates in business-to-business markets throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, generates annual sales of euro 2.6 billion and has a workforce of around 8,450 employees in 25 countries. CSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. For more information:www.csmglobal.com. (Cherry Tree does not maintain, endorse, or make any representations as to the content accuracy or quality of this website.)

About Best Brands:
Best Brands is one of the largest premium bakery manufactures in the US market, committed to providing high quality innovative products and services to the baking industry. Its broad product portfolio includes laminated dough, cakes, muffins, fillings and mixes. Best Brands has a leading position in value-added frozen products sold to in-store bakeries. Furthermore, Best Brands serves food service customers and retail and wholesale bakeries through its three distribution centers. Best Brands also goes to market with the well-known Multifoods brand. The company has 6 major production facilities across the United States, and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Best Brands was founded in 1971 and has a workforce of 1,580 people. For more information: www.bestbrandscorp.com.(Cherry Tree does not maintain, endorse, or make any representations as to the content accuracy or quality of this website.)

SOURCE H.C. Brill, a CSM company

About Dymedix

Dymedix Diagnostics provides peace of mind for specialists and patients alike. Since 1998, they have focused on Always Innovating™ by designing the most innovative diagnostic sleep sensors and electrodes used in studies of clinical sleep disorders. Their patented PVDF technology provides accurate, reliable and consistent PSG data with the least amount of testing procedure disruption.