Growing demand for alternative proteins has been driving the development of new technology solutions for large-scale manufacturing of food ingredients. Among the main market drivers is sustainability, a cornerstone in the shift to alternative proteins and plant-based ingredients, with an impact on the environmental footprint as well as the financial viability of a manufacturing plant.
Dedert Corporation understands how sustainable design and process customization are connected. Gregory See Hoye, market manager for Dedert, will be speaking at our Plant-Based Foods & Proteins Summit Americas, May 10-12 in Chicago.
Dedert has provided process technology solutions for more than 50 years. How has the company managed to adapt itself to a changing market, particularly in plant-based proteins?
Dedert has adapted to the changing market demand with developments and innovations in process technologies by shifting the focus from an equipment-design approach to customized system solutions based on joint R&D through partnerships.
What are the main challenges that plant-based ingredient manufacturers currently face and how could those be tackled with Dedert’s help?
Plant-based ingredient manufacturers are seeking, among other challenges, sustainable operations that lower their cost of operation. In this manner, the innovative protein and other products should have easier market entry while maintaining attractive profitability for feed and food applications. Dedert is working with several innovative startup companies in the product development stages to better understand the drying and evaporation behavior characteristics by developing pilot-plant trials with various technologies. The goal is to assess the most optimal arrangement of integrated technologies to form a process solution that meets these targeted expectations.
How does the pilot plant contribute to the company’s customer-focused approach?
Customized process solutions require specialized and specific testing to validate optimal characteristics, parameters and behavior analysis in each unit operation. Dedert’s pilot plant offers the flexibility required to make these assessments and to pair the results into a comprehensive and integrated solution. Subsequently, the pilot-plant equipment is used to develop scale-up parameters to ensure that full-scale designs will yield the expected performance as demonstrated during the testing phases.
How do you see the future of plant-protein processing?
Plant-based protein processing is evolving at a fast-pace to meet changing functional and nutritive requirements in prepared foods. With these ever-changing characteristics, the process technologies need to be constantly revisited to ensure the performance for each specific project. For this reason, long-term partnerships built on trust are important for a growing industry which fosters further development of innovative products, from plant-based to fermentation to cell-cultured proteins and related ingredients.
What can you tell us about your presentation coming up on May 12?
Dedert will participate in the Bridge2Food’s Americas Summit with a presentation on developing drying and evaporation technologies into integrated solutions to meet sustainability and efficiency requirements. A review of current technologies and inherent challenges will be followed by a discussion on potential areas of focus that could be further explored according to case-by-case project needs.
You can connect with Gregory See Hoye and learn more about what Dedert Corporation has to offer at Summit Americas in Chicago May 10-12.
Program information here.
Direct link to register here.
