Industry Manufacturer Website www.bettcher.com Founded 1944 Type of business Private | Area served Worldwide Headquarters Birmingham Number of locations 2 | |
 | ||
Key people Don Esch, President & CEO Products meat trimmers, air-powered scissors, automated batter breaders, sifter tables, electric gyro knives, taxidermy fleshing trimmers Profiles | ||
Bettcher Industries, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of cutting tools used in food processing operations and industrial applications. The company, often referred to as just Bettcher, manufactured the first mechanically powered hand-held meat trimmer in 1954. Since then, the company has introduced successive design generations of trimmers which are sold under the Whizard® and Bettcher Quantum® brand names and are used in meat processing plants in the United States and more than 50 other countries.
Contents
- Whizard trimmer bettcher industries
- History
- Regions divisions and subsidiaries
- Patents
- Trademarks
- References
Bettcher also manufactures AirShirz® pneumatic scissors, designed to reduce the pain and fatigue associated with using manual scissors in repetitive cutting activities. AirShirz scissors are used in meat and poultry processing plants and in non-food applications such as cutting engineered fabrics, rubber, and wire mesh.
In addition, Bettcher manufactures equipment and products used in the foodservice industry including automated batter breading machines, sifter tables, and gyros electric knives. The company, which was founded by Louis A. Bettcher, Jr. in 1944, has manufacturing, warehouse, sales and/or service facilities in the United States as well as China, Brazil and Switzerland. Its international headquarters are in Birmingham, Ohio (USA).
In 2011, Bettcher formed Exsurco Medical, a business unit formed to develop and commercialize radial cutting technology that improves cadaveric tissue recovery and processing in the tissue bank industry.
Whizard trimmer bettcher industries
History
Bettcher Industries, Inc. was founded by Louis A. Bettcher in 1944 in the meatpacking district on Cleveland’s West Side. The original name of the company was Bettcher Dieweld Company. What began as a tool and die shop soon grew into the making of cutting machinery.[1] The first products manufactured by Bettcher were carcass splitters.
In 1954, Bettcher introduced the world’s first mechanically-powered meat trimming hand tool, and by 1959, was selling the tools in Europe in addition to the United States. In 1960, the company won awards from the Salon International des Inventeurs (Brussels) and Concours International d’Inventions (Paris) as the “best American invention of the year.” Successive design generations of this tool have improved meat yields and productivity. Today’s models include Whizard Series II Trimmers and the Bettcher Quantum Trimmer System, introduced in 2013.
Beginning in the 1960s, the company broadened its offerings through new product introductions. Notable among these was the 1995 introduction of AirShirz air-powered scissors, a major advancement in scissors technology, along with the development of automated batter breading machines for making fresh-breaded products in restaurant kitchens, which were introduced to the market in 1988. In 1994, Bettcher designed a powered knife for slicing meat cones for gyros sandwiches, which have become popular in ethnic restaurants inside and outside the United States.
In 1977, the company developed a non-metallic cut-resistant protective glove for meat processors and industrial applications. The glove had greater dexterity and was warmer to wear than the chain-mail glove products then in use. It manufactured these gloves for 17 years until selling the product line to Wells Lamont in 1996.
Recognizing that radial cutting technology was highly suited to the tissue bank industry, in 2011, Bettcher established Exsurco Medical, a business unit formed to develop and commercialize advanced medical tools for the recovery and processing of cadaveric tissue used for regenerative and reconstructive surgical procedures, including burn and trauma surgeries. The formation of this entity was supported in part with funding from the State of Ohio Office of Technology Investments’ Ohio Third Frontier initiative to promote the formation and growth of new technology-based businesses in the state.
Major milestones:
Regions, divisions and subsidiaries
Bettcher GmbH, Dierikon, Switzerland
Supplier of meat trimmers and cutting products in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Bettcher do Brasil, São Paulo
Supplier of meat trimming and cutting products in Brazil and South America.
Bettcher China, Beijing
Supplier of meat trimming and cutting products in the People’s Republic of China and other East Asian countries.
Bettcher Foodservice Division
Manufacturer of automated batter breading machines, breader/sifter tables and electric gyro knives for restaurant kitchens and other foodservice operations.
Gainco, Inc.
Manufacturer and distributor of weighing, sizing, sorting, distribution and food safety equipment for enhancing yields in meat and food processing plants.
Exsurco Medical
Developer and manufacturer of medical tools for the recovery and processing of cadaveric tissue used for regenerative and reconstructive surgical procedures, including burn and trauma surgeries.
Patents
Bettcher holds patents on numerous equipment designs. A partial listing of patents that are currently in force includes:
Trademarks
Bettcher equipment and products are sold under various trade names registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Among the best-known are: AirShirz, Amalgatome, Bettcher Quantum, DuraLite, DuraSift, Edge King, Exsurco, Optimax, TrimVac, and Whizard.