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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS PoultryTech (ATRP)
- Automation Issue,Spring 2009 The
Food Chain (FoodPAC) - Winter 2009 UPCOMING EVENTSPoultry World at the Georgia National Fair 2010 International Poultry Expo SPECIAL INTERESTFood Processing Technology Division Receives Award for Publication Excellence
Sponsored by Communication Concepts, Inc., the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence is an annual international competition that recognizes excellence in publications work by professional communicators in categories ranging from newsletters and magazines to annual reports, brochures, and web sites. APEX awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence. Related Story:
Agricultural Technology Research Program Marks 35th Anniversary
The Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) marked its 35th Anniversary with an open house at the Food Processing Technology Building at Georgia Tech. The event, held on March 24, featured exhibits chronicling the program’s 35 years of driving poultry innovation. Related Story: Georgia Tech's Research Horizons
Adding Value: Researchers Turn Poultry Processing Byproducts into Fuel
“Our ultimate goal is to extract usable, quality feedstocks from poultry processing byproducts such as brown grease extracted from wastewater pretreatment processes. If successful, we will help reduce costs by providing a cheap and simple way for the industry to better utilize their low-quality waste oil and grease byproducts,” said John Pierson, a GTRI principal research engineer. Georgia Tech Research News
Georgia Tech's Food Processing Technology Building Georgia Tech's state-of-the-art Food Processing Technology Building – more than 36,000 square feet of laboratory and office space dedicated to the development of new and emerging technologies for the food processing industry. Building Brochure Online or PDF 6.1 Mb Directions to the building : Word document Related Story: Bettcher
Industries, Inc., an innovative world leader in the design and manufacture
of food processing equipment and cutting tools, has made a donation of $125,000
toward the construction of Phase II of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s
Food Processing Technology Building.
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Gary McMurray Named Chief of GTRI’s Food Processing Technology Division
Related story:
Craig Wyvill Retires
ATRP RESEARCH NEWSResearchers Validate Key Cutting Control Techniques for Intelligent Deboning System
The team is focused on the shoulder cut common to breast deboning. Although automated leg and thigh deboners are in use in many poultry processing plants, automated breast deboning machines are not as prevalent. There are several reasons for this: the natural size variation of birds, the deformable nature of the bird carcass, and variations in the placement of the bird on the cone.
Washdown-Ready Robot Undergoes In-Plant Tests
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Relaying Information to Food Processing TechniciansBy Abby Vogel
“We’ve developed a system that shines a laser light symbol onto the imperfect food product so that it can be removed from the conveyor belt, allowing technicians to maintain their focus on the product stream without the need to look up at a monitor,” said GTRI research engineer Simeon Harbert.
Addressing Hardware Challenges in the Design of Vision Systems for Food Processing OperationsBy Colin Usher
For the past decade, the Georgia Tech Research Institute has been developing vision inspection systems for various food processing applications from chicken breasts to the bread buns they are served on. During this time, these imaging systems have evolved to meet the unique set of requirements placed upon them.
Energy Efficiency Audits for Poultry Processing PlantsBy Gary Floyd, Industrial Segment Manager – Georgia Power Company The increase in corn prices and energy costs in 2008 has put more pressure on poultry companies to find ways to be more energy efficient and reduce their electric costs. The utility industry, state agencies, and consultants are being called upon to perform energy audits at processing plants throughout the country. An energy audit is an excellent method for establishing energy consumption and identifying opportunities to lower energy usage and costs. There are many avenues for pursuing energy savings, but they generally fall into three categories: first, low-cost measures to be implemented immediately; second, projects that will take an initial investment but have quick paybacks; and finally, projects that may be more attractive in the future if energy costs increase.
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The Food Processing Technology Division (FPTD) is a division of the Georgia Tech Research Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology. All inquiries for project information should be made to the appropriate personnel (project directors) or administrator. See the Directory of Personnel for the correct contact information. Comments pertaining to the website may be made to Steven Thomas. Copyright © Georgia Tech Research Coporation | Legal
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The Food Processing Technology Division’s Agricultural Technology Research Program received a 2009 APEX Award of Excellence in the Annual Reports-Print category for its 
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing cost-effective techniques for separating and converting poultry processing residuals into higher-value products such as high-grade fuels. The techniques would provide a beneficial use for these byproducts, which are typically blended back into lower-value products.
Gary McMurray has been named chief of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s (GTRI) Food Processing Technology Division (FPTD). McMurray assumed the leadership post on April 1 following the retirement of Craig Wyvill. McMurray has been with the division for 19 years, most recently serving as head of the robotics and automation systems research program. He brings a wealth of knowledge in food processing technology system development and is committed to further strengthening the division’s research programs and university and industrial collaborations.
Craig Wyvill retired on April 1 after 30 years of service with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). While at GTRI, he served as a principal research engineer and chief of the Food Processing Technology Divison (FPTD). During his tenure as chief of FPTD, he also served as director of the Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP).
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) recently completed preliminary modeling and testing of key cutting control techniques for their Intelligent Deboning System, which they believe will allow automated deboning systems to match if not exceed the yield and quality performance of the best manual deboning processes.
A washdown-ready robot for packing fresh meat into trays, developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) engineers, recently underwent ten months of in-plant testing at Cargill Meat Solutions in Newnan, Georgia. The in-plant tests were conducted as part of a multi-year study funded by Georgia’s Traditional Industries Program for Food Processing and GTRI’s Agricultural Technology Research Program, focused on verifying the robot’s ability to withstand daily caustic and high-pressure cleanup; its operational performance over extended hours; and its accuracy in placing fresh meat products into trays.
Alerting technicians in a food processing plant about a substandard item on the processing line could be much easier in the future with a laser projection system developed by researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). 
Vision systems are becoming commonplace in many manufacturing operations for tasks such as quality assessment and process control. These systems bring the added benefits of high-speed, continuous, and uninterrupted operation. Unfortunately, food processing has not realized the same level of success with vision system implementation as other manufacturing sectors. This is because the food processing environment places a unique set of hardware requirements on the system design. While the costs associated with the electronics required to fabricate a new vision inspection system have dropped, the real expense is in the hardening of such a system for a food processing environment. The design and fabrication of the enclosures and conduits must withstand the rigors of the food processing environment and protect the sensitive electronics contained inside from the routine washdown and sanitation practices.