Bühler opens new Food Application Center in US

Swiss food equipment manufacturer Bühler has opened its new Food Application Center (FAC) in Minneapolis, US.

The new facility will be used by the company to support start-ups, industry partners and its customers for creating sustainable food value chains that are economically viable in North America.

Bühler North America CEO Andy Sharpe said: “The FAC is a place for learning how to create and process new products, new protein sources, and new ways to strengthen our food supply chains.”

The new FAC is equipped with new raw material processing and handling systems that are designed to transform raw materials into a finished product.

With its new FAC, the company will develop new methods of transforming pulses, peas, beans, oats, ancient grains, maize and other crops into new food solutions such as flours, snacks, pasta and cereals, including plant-based meat analogues.

The company added that the food solutions developed at its facility will help to feed a growing population of nearly ten billion people in 2050.

Bühler FAC director Yannick Gaechter said: “The FAC is a playground for the food industry, built to foster collaboration between food processing companies and other industry organisations, who, working side-by-side with Bühler’s processing experts, can test their business ideas, perfect them, and successfully bring them to market.

“The new FAC stands ready to welcome innovative food processors and other interested organisations, to collaborate, create, and perfect new and sustainable food products as we all address the quickly changing demands of consumers’ diets.”

The Swiss company anticipates that its FAC will become a key resource for the North American food industry.

Last May, Bühler officially opened its Sfr50m ($49.8m) CUBIC innovation campus with eight application centres.

Located at the Bühler site in Uzwil, the innovation centre is a three-storey building and has been designed to accommodate up to 300 researchers.

The eight application centres focus on the development of various segments, including chocolate, coffee, bakery, nutrition, grain and pasta products.