Bühler unveiled its new food innovation hub in Uzwil, Switzerland, focusing on product and process development. Four Application and Training Centers (ATCs) – Flavor Creation Center, Food Creation Center, Protein Application Center, and Energy Recovery Center – are opening their doors to complement the existing ATCs, such as the Extrusion Application Center.

“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,” said Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food at Bühler Group. “With the completion of the new Application & Training Centers, we are able to 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.” 

Bühler has Application and Training Centers in 23 locations around the world – some of which cover multiple industrial applications.

Over the last years, Bühler’s global network of application centers has expanded, bringing together new business partners, academy, start-ups, and suppliers, with the goal of offering a state-of-the-art setup for customers to drive innovation. In October, along with the Institute of Food Technology (Ital), the FoodTech HUB Latam, Cargill, and Givaudan, Bühler opened the Tropical Food Innovation Lab in Brazil. This innovation ecosystem develops sustainable food and beverages while promoting biodiversity in Brazil. 

“The opening of the Application & Training Centers is a milestone in our journey to support our customers and partners, to create a more sustainable food system,” said Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler Group. “At the new ATCs customers have access to a unique combination of technology and expertise.” 

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. The center encompasses an area of 850 square meters.

A new Grain Processing Innovation Center (GPIC) in Kano, Nigeria, is also under construction and should open its doors at the beginning of 2024. The center will be focused on the development of products, recipes, and processes using local grains, such as sorghum, millets, maize, soy beans, beans, and tigernuts.  

“More than the impressive capacities of each new Application & Training Center we have been investing in, these are built to work in an integrated manner, offering a comprehensive process, so that the customers can take the best of it, and achieve tangible and remarkable outcomes,” said Johannes Wick. 

Photo: Bühler