Study Unveils Drivers of U.S. Food Processing Machinery Market

A new study by market research firm Technavio identifies growth in contract manufacturing, a push toward maintenance and operation optimization, and a need for streamlined machinery design and production processes as the biggest drivers for the U.S. food processing machinery market over the next four years.

“In the U.S., a large number of households comprise of working parents which leads to an increase in demand for processed food and beverage products which can be prepared quickly and easily,” said Arushi Thakur, a Technavio expert on unit operations in a press release. “The food and beverage companies in the U.S. are investing in efficient food processing equipment to meet this demand, and maintain product quality, and safety standards.”

Industry’s desire for higher production rates and the capability to process a number of products with a variety of types and sizes, paired with a need to reduce the number of line employees and changeover time, are prompting manufacturers of food processing machinery to create more streamlined, efficient machinery, the Technavio report said.

The market research firm’s analysists said that some food product companies are turning to contract manufacturers in an effort to curb overhead costs and retain their competitive edge. PacMoore, LiDestri Food and Beverage, Berner Foods, Select Brands, and Fresca Foods were listed as examples of leaders in American contract food product manufacturing.

While use of contract food product manufacturing may expand and drive food processing equipment sales in the coming years, Technavio warns that there are some concerns that companies should be aware of.

“Food companies that outsource their production need to ensure that their deals with manufacturing partners contain all the right ingredients,” said Thakur, “They also need to account for concerns such as quality control, labor issues, and intellectual property protection to abide with food safety regulations.”

Competitiveness is the biggest catalyst for U.S. manufacturers’ push toward maintenance and operation optimization, deploying automation systems and asset management programs to boost efficiency, safety, product consistency and quality, profitability and improve other areas of operations. The biggest benefit of optimizing maintenance and operations is improving the speed of production, said the study’s authors.

Food processing machinery manufacturers are also working to generate product designs that can be easily customized based on the end users’ needs.

“Many manufacturers are creating standard design product with a large list of options that can be tailored to meet a specific customer’s need. This reduces lead time and also provides consistent design for machine expansion and maintenance in the future,” said the Technavio press release.

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