During the Virtual World Tour, Bühler hosted a variety of presentations informing their customers of the innovative solutions they can offer all stages of the food and feed production chains. Each presentation was polished, informative and concise, providing an intriguing window into the innovation at the heart of Bühler.
Some of the highlights of the Virtual World Tour include:
Extrusion Application Centre Uzwil and Food Application Centre Minneapolis
by Alexandra Londoño, Head of Business Segment Pulses and Christoph Vogel, Head of Market Segment Proteins and Ingredients, Bühler
High moisture extrusion can produce plant-based meats through the use of pulses, something that Bühler have been hard at work developing in recent years. The demand for sustainable food is ever-growing and plant proteins can accommodate this demand as they are both environmentally friendly and healthy.
Christopher and Alexandra take attendees through a tour of the Bühler Application Centre in Uzwil, paying particular attention to the Polycool 500 cooling die. Through the use of the Polycool 500, operators can produce a variety of meats that resemble, chicken, beef, pork and seafood, which are prepared the same as normal meat. These products can help people gradually wean off of eating meat to a more sustainable solution that would greatly benefit the enviornment.
'Our current food supply chain has some drawbacks' says Christopher. 'The animal protein conversion rate is not that good. With this extrusion system here we can use plant proteins, put them into the extruder at 50 percent plant proteins, 50 percent water and what we get out is 100 percent meat-like tasty products… We can do almost anything with extrusion technology.' Christoph showed attendees examples of cereals, reconstituted rice and feed, all produced via extrusion technology.
How hygienic and connected machines save your brand and money
by Edyta Margas, Global Head of Food Safety, Bühler
In this presentation, Bühler's Global Head of Food Safety explored the risks of improper food safety and how companies can utilise Bühler solutions to ensure optimal hygiene measures during all stages of production. One in 10 people become sick from foodborne illnesses every year. Edyta noted that there were 2,250 food recalls in 2019, which costed the USA alone $10m. One-third of all food produced is wasted and 30 percent of total production time is spent on cleaning.
How do we improve these statistics? Bühler state that hygienic equipment is vital.
'This is a key to safeguard food safety. One the one hand we need to have a machine that is hygienically designed, and, on the other hand, we need to have a machine that is performing effectively and hygienically. To have both of these, we can be sure we contribute towards safe food', says Edyta.
Ms Margas refers to Bühler's new Wafer Cream Spreading Machine that was produced with hygienic principles in mind. The solution boasts many benefits to the production line; less cleaning resources are needed, leading to reduced downtime and lower contamination risks. The solution has a fast release belt to ensure fast and easy cleaning, enabling easy access to the belt to easily remove contaminants that may be present in the solution.
Coffee technology
by Daniel Egy, Head of Business Unit Chocolate and Coffee and Tanja Berti, Process Technology Engineer Coffee, Buhler
Thanks to Buhler's innovative new technologies, users can use different roasting profiles to create coffee that is more unique than ever before. The Coffee Roaster Infinity Roast 1000 is new in that it can do more than conventional roasting. The solution is perfect for operators interested in producing more custom products with unique tastes.
In the Coffee Application Centre in Uzwil, customers and clients can optimise their roasting profile and settings through exploring different settings on the various machines at their disposal. As we are taken on a tour of the facility, we are informed how certain parameters affect taste, production time etc. and this centre provides members of the industry with an opportunity to discover the infinite possibilities they have available.
myBühler Customer Portal- Welcome to your digital customer experience
by Mathias Bösch, Head of Digital Business, Bühler
During Bühler Virtual World the Bühler team also promoted the many complimentary services they offer clients, which all form part of myBühler. The myBühler Customer Portal is available in more than 120 countries and serves over 6000 customers in eight languages.
There are the four categories which form part of the myBühler offerings:
- Customer care: Supporting day to day operations (repairs, spare and wear parts, remote support)
- Maintenance: Retrofits, revisions, maintenance
- Expert services: Training, application centres
- Digital solutions: Automation and digital services
Collaborating for the future of food and feed packaging
by Johannes Wick, CEO Grains and Food, Bühler and André Noreau, CEO Premier Tech- Systems and Automation
In August 2019, Bühler announced their collaboration with Premier Tech with the goal of revolutionising the food packing industry. Both companies are family businesses that are also leaders in their respective markets. Thanks to their like-minded goals and values, Johannes notes that the collaboration was an ideal step forward.
The joint venture has now established Bühler Premier Tech (Wuxi) Packaging Machinery Co Ltd in China. Market access remains through Bühler whilst products are cobranded under the name Premier Tech – Bühler. The joint venture product portfolio includes all of Bühler's pre-existing manual-semi-automatic products as well as fully automatic solutions.
Bühler will focus on turnkey plants projects while the Premier Tech division will focus on working with clients who purchase with standalone units. André Noreau notes that this collaboration means customers can feel secure knowing they are receiving the 'best quality and most cost-effective solutions in the world of packaging.'
When asked about the future for Premier Tech – Bühler, Johannes notes that the next step forward is to ramp up the joint venture in China, initiate all products transfers and promote their partnership and new product portfolio.
'The potential is huge and think we have the exact right vehicle to achieve that kind of potential' concludes André.
