- Partnership allows Purdue's
leading Food Science program to research, develop and test
alternative proteins leveraging equipment donation from
Hillenbrand
- Coperion, a Hillenbrand Operating Company, manufactured and
donated the extruder and will partner with Purdue to give customers access to a food-grade
pilot lab and the University's food scientists
BATESVILLE, Ind. and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and STUTTGART, Germany, June 6, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI), Coperion, and Purdue University hosted a dedication event today
at the Purdue Food Science Pilot Lab to commemorate the donation of
a Coperion ZSK 27 Mv PLUS Extruder. The donated extruder, valued at
more than $900,000 is an important
addition to Purdue's Food Science Pilot
Lab because it expands testing capabilities within the alternative
protein food category and provides Purdue students with hands-on opportunities.
Over the past year, Hillenbrand has continued to increase its
scale within the food end market through the acquisitions of
Linxis, Peerless, Gabler, and its recent announcement of a
definitive agreement to acquire the Schenck Process Food and
Performance Materials business. As a pure-play industrial leader in
highly-engineered, mission-critical processing solutions serving
large and growing end markets, Hillenbrand leverages its people,
products, and partnerships to positively impact the world and
create shareholder value.
"Purdue is known for its leading
Food Science program, and when looking for a school with strong
talent to share our highly-engineered equipment with, Purdue was a natural fit. We are incredibly pleased
to have found this partner in our home state of Indiana and look forward to embarking on this
partnership with Purdue University and
its Food Science Department," said Kim
Ryan, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Hillenbrand.
"By leveraging our respective areas of expertise and collaborating
on new endeavors, we can achieve goals that are mutually beneficial
and deliver value for years to come."
Purdue Food Science faculty conduct research in a variety of
disciplines including, food chemistry, structure and function,
foods for health, food safety and microbiology, and food processing
and technology development. The goal of the Purdue University Food Science Pilot Plant is to
advance the application of food manufacturing technologies through
scalable trials and hands-on training to enhance the future of food
production. The Pilot Plant is part of Purdue's Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing
Institute, a group established to support innovation and growth in
the food industry.
"This donation from Hillenbrand will help our food science
department serve the land grant mission and the people of
Indiana," said Karen Plaut, Executive Vice President for
Research at Purdue University. "Both
students and researchers can gain from this state-of-the-art
technology which is crucial to new innovation and to prepare our
students for competitive job opportunities in food science."
Extruders are a critical piece of equipment for the food
processing industry. Coperion's ZSK 27 Mv PLUS Extruder is commonly
used to make products such as snacks, ready-to-eat cereals, and
alternative proteins. Coperion's extruder technology plays a major
role in the production of alternative proteins due to the high
product quality output and maximum flexibility.
"As alternative protein products have grown in popularity among
consumers, we realized our customers have few options to test their
products in food-grade facilities," said Ulrich Bartel, Coperion, President. "This
partnership fills a void in our industry by providing customers
with access to essential equipment, but also, talented students
dedicated to alternative proteins who can aid customers in
exploring new food products to meet consumer demand. We look
forward to seeing the outcomes of the Purdue research into alternative proteins and how
this partnership advances our collective capabilities."
Through this partnership, Coperion's North American customers
will have access to Purdue's food-grade
pilot lab along with the Purdue food
scientists to aid them in developing and testing alternative
protein products before they go to market.
About Hillenbrand
Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI) is a global
industrial company that provides highly-engineered,
mission-critical processing equipment and solutions to customers in
over 100 countries around the world. Our portfolio is composed of
leading industrial brands that serve large, attractive end markets,
including durable plastics, food, and recycling. Guided by our
Purpose — Shape What Matters For Tomorrow™ — we pursue excellence,
collaboration, and innovation to consistently shape solutions that
best serve our associates, customers, communities, and other
stakeholders. To learn more, visit: www.hillenbrand.com.
About Coperion
Coperion (www.coperion.com) is a global industry and technology
leader in specialized equipment for the food and health industries.
Coperion develops, produces, and services plants, machinery, and
components for the food, pet food, baking, pharmaceutical, and
cosmetics industries. Its brands – Bakon, Coperion K-Tron, Diosna,
Gabler, Peerless, Shaffer, Shick
Esteve, Unifiller, and VMI – are
experts in ingredient automation, pre-dough systems, mixing, and
depositing technologies. Coperion employs 4,000 people in its three
divisions Polymer, Food, Health & Nutrition, and Aftermarket
Sales & Service, and in its 40 sales and service companies
worldwide. Coperion is an Operating Company of Hillenbrand (NYSE:
HI), a global industrial company that provides highly-engineered,
mission-critical processing equipment and solutions to customers
serving a wide variety of industries around the world.
www.hillenbrand.com
About Purdue
University
Purdue
University is a top public research institution developing
practical solutions to today's toughest challenges. Ranked in each
of the last five years as one of the 10 Most Innovative
Universities in the United States
by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue
delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery.
Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all.
Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13
levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See
how Purdue never stops in the
persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at
https://stories.purdue.edu.
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SOURCE Hillenbrand, Inc.