Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss food technology specialist Bühler with a global workforce of about 12,500 people continues its innovation drive with the opening of a new hub at its headquarters in Uzwil. This food innovation hub will house four application and training centers.
The food technology company Bühler from Switzerland has a strong presence in Japan (© Bühler).
Food of the future
The four units of the innovation hub are the Flavor Creation Center, the Food Creation Center, the Protein Application Center, and the Energy Recovery Center. They serve to connect the entire value chain and facilitate a circular economy approach within the food industry. At the Uzwil site, customers can react to market changes and shape the food of the future.
“In this world where requirements are changing so fast, customers need flexibility and creativity to adapt their products addressing key issues such as sustainability, the use of local raw materials, healthy diets, and affordability”, commented Johannes Wick, CEO of the Grains & Food division at the Bühler Group.
“With the completion of the new application and training centers we can cover the entire scope of production, from different raw materials to multiple types of finished products. We can offer our customers enormous flexibility and the options they need to disrupt their markets”, Wick concluded.
Four innovation centers
The new Protein Application Center provides field-to-ingredient and consumer product process solutions under one roof, equipped with the latest wet isolation and fractionation techniques for the separation of protein, starches, and fibers. The Extrusion Application Center enables full-process solutions from raw materials to consumer products. In this multi-purpose laboratory, customers can conduct tests on food and animal feed, and test new recipes, product shapes, and textures.
At the Flavor Creation Center, Bühler’s proven expertise in processing, roasting, and grinding cocoa beans, nuts, and coffee is combined in one place to create unmatched flavors and exquisite products. Whether it is snack bars, wafers, biscuits, crackers, any variety of baked goods, or chocolate products, the new Food Creation Center was developed to support customers through the entire innovation and industrialization process.
Japanese market
Bühler Japan was established in 1974. Their main office is located in Shin-Yokohama, with seven additional branches across the country in Hokkaido, Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima. These offices coordinate sales, project management, engineering, and commissioning, along with providing customer services within Japan.
The company offers a range of systems and services in the fields of food, feed, vacuum coating, die casting, grinding, and dispersing. Bühler Japan also operates two workshops dedicated to roll services and die refurbishment and has a testing facility for wet grinding and dispersion processing. This facility allows for experimenting with new products and techniques. Currently, Bühler is expanding its network of trained engineers in Japan to better understand local needs and ensure maximum uptime at client plants. The company employs around 80 people in Japan.
Text: Bühler (Editing by SCCIJ)
