Bettcher Industries turns 75. The world's leading manufacturer of innovative cutting and trimming tools for the meat processing industry celebrated its anniversary at the company’s headquarters in Birmingham, Ohio. Larry Bettcher, company founder and former CEO, took present and former employees and their families on an exciting journey through the history of Bettcher Industries.

Success of a cutting tools specialist
Bettcher Industries was founded in 1944 by Louis A. Bettcher as a repair shop for meat processing equipment. However, as early as 1947, the company moved beyond repairs to present its first tool developed in-house – the Bettcher carcass splitter. From then on, Bettcher was on course for success: the award-winning Whizard hand trimmer was introduced in 1954 and was soon used throughout the USA. Since then this trimmer has been updated and today is still one of the top sellers in Bettcher’s product portfolio. From 1959 onwards, Bettcher expanded internationally. In 1978 the European sales and service subsidiary was founded in Dierikon, Switzerland, and additional branches were opened in Brazil and China. The Bettcher Innovation Center, which opened in 2017, provides state-of-the-art R&D facilities and ideal conditions for the development of new and innovative precision meat processing tools. Thus, Bettcher continues to excel at delivering high-performance tools that increase productivity and have standout features such as ergonomic, safe and comfortable handling.

Expansion of product portfolio
Today, Bettcher has a worldwide customer base that spans more than 70 countries. With the acquisition of Gainco, and in 2019, Cantrell ­– two companies that provide systems for real-time monitoring and cutting in the poultry industry – as well as the establishment of Exsurco Medical, a producer of cutting tools for medical applications, Bettcher has again expanded its product portfolio. Now, Bettcher’s innovative products not only serve the food industry, but also the food service and the medical sector. The multi award-winning company currently holds more than 100 active patents and its handheld trimmer systems have a worldwide market share of over 95%.

Optimized service with direct sales
The most recent step, which is designed to provide Bettcher customers with even better service, and guarantee future growth, is the gradual expansion of direct sales. "After Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Italy, the Spanish market will also be serviced directly by our European operations from September. For our customers, this means even higher levels of individual and expert support, as well as first-class service with rapid response times," explains Gregor Thomalla, Managing Director of Bettcher GmbH.

For more information, please see www.bettcher.com.