FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 29,
2008
Bettcher Industries Donates $125,000
to GTRI’s Food
Processing Technology Building Expansion
ATLANTA—Bettcher Industries, Inc., an innovative world
leader in the design and manufacture of food processing equipment
and cutting tools, has made a donation of $125,000 toward the
construction of Phase II of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s
Food Processing Technology Building.
Bettcher Industries, an Ohio-based corporation, is also the parent
company of Gainco, Inc., a Gainesville, Ga., manufacturer of
weighing, sizing, sorting and distribution equipment for meat
and poultry processing plants. Bettcher Industries is the first
company to donate to the $3 million fund-raising campaign that
will add 10,000 square feet of laboratory and office space devoted
to human factors, food safety and bioprocessing research.
Bettcher and Gainco officials were recognized at a luncheon on
Tuesday, May 13, at the facility, which is located on Georgia
Tech’s campus in Atlanta.
Commenting on the donation, Larry Bettcher, president, stated, “We
are pleased to support the continuing research and development
efforts of GTRI. They make a strong contribution to R&D activities
in the food processing industry. Their pioneering work has made
it easier for companies like ours to develop and commercialize
better systems and machinery for the benefit of our customers.”
Bettcher cited the development of “vision” quality
control technology as one example, wherein a digital camera and
control system screens products for quality defects on a production
line in real-time. “We enjoy a mutually rewarding collaboration
with GTRI that taps into our respective strengths – fundamental
research on their side and practical, solutions-focused application
of the technology on ours,” he noted.
J. Craig Wyvill, chief
of GTRI’s Food Processing Technology
Division, expressed appreciation for the corporate donation as
well as the ongoing relationship between the company and the
research institute. “Our collaboration with Bettcher and
Gainco has been strong, and we hope to broaden it further with
the additional capabilities planned with the building expansion,” he
said.
Opened in 2005, the Food Processing Technology Building has positioned
itself as a world-class research center for collaborative food
processing technology development, academic research and public
interaction. The existing 35,000-square-foot facility houses
laboratory and office space for R&D in the fields of automation
technology, information technology and environmental systems,
in addition to meeting and educational facilities. The $8 million
facility, which was funded by a mix of state, corporate and industrial
dollars, serves as headquarters for GTRI’s Food Processing
Technology Division.
Bettcher Industries, a family-owned company
established in 1944, produces electric and pneumatic hand trimmers.
Its Whizard® Trimmer
product is an icon in processing operations in more than 50 countries
throughout the world. The company’s customers include meat,
poultry and seafood processors in the United States, Eastern
and Western Europe, Latin America, Asia and other meat-producing
regions.
GTRI is the non-profit, applied research arm of Georgia Tech.
The Food Processing Technology Division at GTRI is a national
leader in the development of robotic, computer vision, food safety,
and environmental technologies for the food processing industry.
Pictured
left to right: Don Esch, executive vice president of Bettcher
Industries; Larry Bettcher, president of Bettcher
Industries; Stephen Cross, director of the Georgia Tech Research
Institute; J. Craig Wyvill, chief of GTRI’s Food Processing
Technology Division.
Media Relations Contact: Angela Colar (404-407-8825); E-mail: angela.colar@gtri.gatech.edu Technical Contact: J. Craig Wyvill (404-407-8827); E-mail:
craig.wyvill@gtri.gatech.edu
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