NUMANSDORP, THE NETHERLANDS — Foodmate B.V., a member of the Duravant family of companies based in Downers Grove, Ill., has acquired Barth Industrial Automation (BIA). Foodmate is a leading global designer and manufacturer of poultry processing equipment, and the acquisition will enhance its technology offerings and expand its services for integrated production line solutions. The addition of BIA will also strengthen the company’s design and development capabilities for their core product portfolio, which spans weighing, grading, cutting and deboning technologies.

Headquartered in ‘s-Gravendeel, The Netherlands, BIA provides engineering, vision, robotics and automation solutions to OEM partners in the food industry. The company specializes in hardware and software engineering services and the deployment of controls solutions for complete production lines.

“Foodmate and BIA have been strategic partners for over 15 years, and we’re excited to bring together BIA’s team of engineers, technicians and automation specialists with Foodmate’s poultry processing experts,” said David Wilson, group president of Foodmate. “Together, we will be able to offer an even broader set of integrated solutions for our customers that will ensure product quality, production efficiency and maximum yield for their poultry processing lines.”

Lisa de Wit-Barth, operations manager from BIA, who will now lead Human Resources at Foodmate added, “Foodmate has a culture of continuous innovation and has had tremendous success introducing new products to the market. The BIA team shares Foodmate’s passion for helping customers configure custom solutions that advance their production capabilities and ensure they operate safely, efficiently and profitably.”