GEA has officially inaugurated a Food Application and Technology Center (ATC) in Janesville, Wisconsin, USA. The $20 million facility is the company’s second global Center of Excellence dedicated to alternative proteins and sustainable food solutions as alternatives to traditional foods such as meat, dairy seafood and eggs.
GEA’s first ATC was launched in Hildesheim, Germany, in 2023. The new facility expands its Janesville campus, which has served as a site for production, repair, logistics, and training since 2024.
The Wisconsin ATC bridges the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial-scale production. The facility combines core GEA process technologies that are essential to producing next-generation proteins at scale.
Pilot-scale bioreactors for precision fermentation and cell cultivation simulate industrial conditions, allowing companies to validate and optimize production processes early. Thermal processing and aseptic filling ensure food safety and stability, while membrane filtration, spray drying, and centrifugation support downstream separation and formulation – critical steps to achieving product quality, texture, and cost-efficiency. Advanced lab capabilities complete the center’s offering, enabling microbiological, cell-based, and analytical testing under one roof.
“The food industry is at a crossroads. To feed future generations sustainably, we must turn vision into scalable reality. Our new center in Janesville is a key milestone on our shared journey – both for our customers and for us as a company,” said Stefan Klebert, chief executive officer of the Düsseldorf, Germany- headquartered GEA Group (pictured above during ribbon cutting ceremony). “With this investment, we are helping our customers scale up the production of novel foods such as precision-fermented egg white and cultivated seafood. At the same time, we are strengthening our North American footprint, where our 1,600 employees at 16 locations support manufacturing, sales, service, training, and testing.”
New Chapter for Janesville
The ATC creates additional highly skilled new jobs in Janesville, including engineering and scientific roles, and complements GEA’s existing operations in the city, where 74 employees work at the Separation & Flow Technologies facility. The center also supported up to 500 contractor and subcontractor jobs during construction and strengthens the region’s food technology ecosystem.
The facility opens at a time when the United States leads the world in alternative protein investments, with Wisconsin poised to play a central role in this next chapter of food innovation. The center’s launch highlights the growing convergence of traditional agriculture, advanced biotechnology, and sustainable manufacturing.
