Global equipment provider, GEA, officially opened its New Food Application and Technology Centre (ATC) in Janesville, Wisconsin, on 17 July. The US$20 million facility is the company’s second global centre of excellence dedicated to alternative proteins and sustainable food solutions.
The USD 20 million GEA’s first ATC was launched in Hildesheim, Germany, in 2023. The new facility expands the GEA Janesville campus, which has served as a site for production, repair, logistics, and training since 2024.
The Janesville ATC bridges the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial-scale production. The facility combines core GEA process technologies that are essential to producing next-generation proteins at scale.
Pilot-scale bioreactors for precision fermentation and cell cultivation simulate industrial conditions, allowing companies to validate and optimise production processes early.
Thermal processing and aseptic filling ensure food safety and stability, while membrane filtration, spray drying, and centrifugation support downstream separation and formulation – critical steps to achieving product quality, texture, and cost-efficiency.
Advanced lab capabilities complete the centre’s offering, enabling microbiological, cell-based, and analytical testing under one roof.
GEA Group CEO, Stefan Klebert, said with the food industry at a crossroads, the company is working to turn visions into scalable reality, to feed future generations.
“Our new centre in Janesville is a key milestone on our shared journey – both for our customers and for us as a company,” sa Klebert.
“With this investment, we are helping our customers scale up the production of novel foods such as precision-fermented egg white and cultivated seafood. At the same time, we are strengthening our North American footprint, where our 1,600 employees at 16 locations support manufacturing, sales, service, training, and testing.”
The ATC creates additional highly skilled new jobs in Janesville, including engineering and scientific roles, and complements GEA’s existing operations in the city, where 74 employees work at the Separation & Flow Technologies facility. The centre also supported up to 500 contractor and subcontractor jobs during construction, and strengthens the region’s food technology ecosystem.
The facility opens at a time when the US leads the world in alternative protein investments, with Wisconsin poised to play a central role in this next chapter of food innovation. The centre’s launch highlights the growing convergence of traditional agriculture, advanced biotechnology, and sustainable manufacturing.
GEA is a global company, which supplies food and beverage equipment to companies around Australia, with its main headquarters located near Melbourne Airport, Victoria.
