January 28 –30, 2025 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, brought together food processors and suppliers from all over the Americas. JBT Marel was excited to welcome visitors to the first public appearance of JBT and Marel as a combined company, ready to transform the future of food. Visitors to their stand had the opportunity to explore the latest innovations and discuss how their combined portfolios are ready to deliver more sustainability to the poultry, meat and RFS industries.
‘A lot of energy’
At IPPE 2025, JBT Marel was excited to welcome so many visitors from across the Americas and have the opportunity to unveil how their newly combined companies will support customers with solutions that maximize productivity with intelligent automation. “It’s really to help our customers in terms of operating more efficiently. Having fuller visibility into their production and having great technology from the combined organization,” said Brain Deck, CEO of JBT Marel, at IPPE 2025. “So, it’s been really exciting. There’s a lot of energy [on the JBT Marel booth].”
Visitors took the opportunity to see some of our most advanced hardware and software solutions up close, and chat with the industry experts about how integrated automation and software can help them meet the challenges they face in today’s industry demands.
Plenty for poultry
Poultry processors didn’t know where to look with the ATHENA breast deboning solution on one side, and the VC-i intelligent vent cutter on the other. The ATHENA combines intelligent software, remote digitalized control and automated harvesting to improve productivity and yield. The VC-i intelligent vent cutter is a revolutionary addition to poultry processing. The first intelligent vent cutter utilizes artificial intelligence within PUPIL vision to monitor performance with minimal human intervention.
Making a mark on meat
Labor shortages are a continuing strain for meat processors. Visitors discovered how robotics are helping address this challenge at the TechTalk, How robotics are tackling the toughest jobs presented by Vincent Doche, Marel Business Development Manager. On the booth, the M-Line Leaf Lard Remover (MLR) was on display, to directly demonstrate the topic. The MLR utilizes robotic automation in the tough task of removing leaf lard. 3D scanning combined with two robots work with precision, efficiency and without damaging the valuable carcass surface. The robots eliminate manual processing, including pre-cutting, scarfing or scraping, with the added advantage of increasing yield and hygiene.
Forward-march for further processing
The TREIF HAWK impressed growing processors as an adaptable, plug and play solution for expanding needs. The versatile portion cutter slices fresh, crust frozen bone-in, boneless, and even cheese with weight accuracy. The intelligent scanning system extracts maximum value from raw materials and provides insight into operations. TechTalk, Improved food safety and quality for ground meat products using X-ray inspection, was presented by Einar Hlöðver Sigurðsson, Commercial Manager I&S GRB Sales at Marel, offering customers a chance to get into detail about the benefits of solutions like the SensorX series.
A launch
Well, technically, the RoboPacker was launched in 2024, but Marel brought it back to IPPE 2025 so it could shine a little more. As robotics become more important in the customers’ operations, the RoboPacker automates catch-weight tray packing to maximize efficiency and reduce labor dependency.
The digital demand
Data and digitalization are key to the future sustainability of food processing. in 2024, Marel relaunched the software under a new structure and name, AXIN, signaling their continued efforts in providing digital solutions that meet the industry’s specific and changing needs. IPPE 2025 was the perfect opportunity to introduce customers to the latest products within this growing portfolio and to present how the right software can drive their businesses into the future.
It’s all about the people
While the innovative solutions were a draw, the key success for IPPE 2025 were the people. Connections were made and strengthened between customers, industry peers, and Marel, and JBT experts, with positive comments and experiences had all around. An excited buzz was in the air over the possibilities JBT Marel will bring to their customers. As Brian Deck said, “We could bring in folks from the legacy Marel organization, folks from the legacy JBT organization and have conversations that start opening opportunities.”
The team would like to thank everyone who joined them during the three days of IPPE 2025. “It was a joy to see you all there, and we, for one, left inspired by the positive comments we received and trust you have in us. Together, we are indeed ready to transform the future of food.”
www.marel.com