The sooner a meal is ready to eat, the happier everyone is, especially on a work/school day. For many quick meals, deli meats, sausages, and hot dogs provide the basis for the main course.

Approximately 7 billion hot dogs are eaten between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year with 150 million eaten on July 4 alone, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC).

Despite a wider array of choices, many sausage makers large and small continue to rely on natural casings.

Words such as innovation, engineering and precision generally are not what leap out at you upon hearing “casings,” yet, subtly, the business has become adaptive and innovative.

The market for casings and nettings is growing, according to suppliers of the materials used for sausage, roasts, hams and other protein products.