Middleby Corporation has opened a 65,000-square-foot innovation facility in Casarsa della Delizia, near Venice, designed to demonstrate processing equipment for protein, bakery and snack applications at production scale.

The Middleby Centro di Innovazione (MCI) joins the company's network of global innovation centres and will serve customers requiring equipment demonstrations, product testing, validation work and operator training. The facility provides access to Middleby Food Processing's portfolio of thermal processing, preparation and packaging systems.

Mark Salman, President of Middleby Food Processing, said demand from European customers for system demonstrations drove the decision to establish the centre.

"The facility is state of the art, as we meticulously planned every product and application to ensure a one-of-a-kind experience,"

The MCI houses equipment from across the Middleby Food Processing group, allowing manufacturers to test complete processing lines before committing to capital investment. Technical staff at the centre will support customers working on new product development, process optimisation and production troubleshooting.

Giovanni Battista Colussi, founder of Middleby company Colussi Ermes, designed the facility layout. Colussi Ermes manufactures automated washing systems for food processing operations.

The centre is equipped to address current industry requirements around energy efficiency, labour automation and food safety compliance. Middleby Food Processing supplies full-line processing solutions from raw material handling through to finished product packaging for retail and foodservice channels.

Further information: www.middprocessing.com or ccoiner@middleby.com