KE Scotland

Industrial Collaboration

October 5th

Heriot Watt University

Ashley Baker

Head of Research and Development

Macphie of Glenbervie Ltd

Macphie - An overview

The UK’s leading independent food ingredients manufacturer

Turnover £45 million –

B2B - Bakery, Food Service & Food Manufacturing

Retail Brands

Two Scottish manufacturing sites - 246 staff

HQ on 2000 acre family-owned estate

700 years of Macphie ownership

Production Facilities

UHT Plant

Ambient stable aseptic liquids

Aseptic pack formats: 200ml to 1000L

Sweet & savoury sauces, desserts

dairy cream alternatives, glazes

Paste Plant

Bakery Concentrates and icings & fillings

Powder Plant

Bakery Mixes

Steam Injection cooking vessels

Rapid In-Line Chill

IQF Forming (pellets) Extrusion (logs)

Product Range Bakery mixes

& concentrates

Medical neutraceutical beverages

Icings, fillings & toppings

Dairy alternatives & custards

Sweet & Savoury Sauces

Pastry Glazes

Desserts

Release agents

Fruit Coulis

Soups

Dips & dressings

Gravies & jus

Marinades & glazes

Formed IQF meal components butters sauces stuffings

Customers Retailers – Tesco,

Sainsbury, M&S etc. Wholesalers Pubs Restaurants Hotels Coffee Shops Event Caterers Contract Caterers Airline Caterers Road & Rail Caterers Food Manufacturers Industrial Bakers

Major company investment

Budget ~5% of annual turnover

c 35 Research and Development and Technical Applications staff

25 R&D Technologists, R&D Managers

Pilot Plant/ Process Technicians

11 Applications bakers, 2 Development Chefs

Range of experience & qualifications

Biochemists, Chemists, Food Scientists, Nutrition Scientists

Range of nationalities including France, New Zealand,

Singapore, Bangladesh, Ireland, Iran

Macphie Research and Development

University Collaborative R&D Projects

We have progressed a broad range of collaborative

projects. Our partner academic institutions include:

Heriot Watt University

Mechanical Engineering Departments

Edinburgh University Physics and Chemistry Departments

Abertay University (AU)

Glasgow Caledonian University Food Science and Centre for Creative Industries

Strathclyde University (SU) DMEM and Chemical Engineering

Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health/ Aberdeen

University (RINH)

Robert Gordon University (RGU)

Institute of Food Research, Norwich (IFR)

University Collaborative Projects: Mixture of short term, focussed on specific problems or

opportunities and longer term, “blue sky” speculative R&D:

Project areas include:

Use of Ultrasound in thermal processing (TSB project)

Mechanical Engineering Projects on Packaging and Energy

Efficiency

Starch/ Protein Chemistry for surface modification

Microstructure in Food Emulsions

Stabilisation of Food Emulsions

Stability of Natural Food Colourants (PhD project)

Packaging and Manufacturing Process Optimisation

Chemical Engineering – UHT process flow characterisation and

improvement

New Packaging Designs for Sustainability and Manufacturing

efficiency improvement

Computer and Web Enabling Product Testing (M.Sc. project)

Student Placement Projects:

Macphie annually support industrial R&D student placements,

of 3-6 months from:

Glasgow Caledonian – B.Sc. and M.Sc. Food Science/ Biotech

Abertay – B.Sc. and M.Sc. Food Science/ Biotech

Robert Gordon University – B.Sc. Nutrition Science

University College Cork – B.Sc. Food Science

Macphie often also support university based student projects:

Strathclyde University – DMEM (2 project teams this year)

Heriot Watt University – Engineering Design Projects

Robert Gordon University – Product Design Project

Computer and Web Enabling Product Testing (M.Sc. project)

We currently employe 5 full time staff and 1 intern in technical,

specialist roles in R&D and QA who were recent, former

student placements.

“Baking with Sound” - Ultrasonic

sonication in the processing of

healthier foods Use of Ultrasound in Thermal Processing of Food

Existing Heriot Watt University Engineering project using

ultrasound to control densities of polymer foams for medical

implants

Doughs, batters and creams are also “foams”

Applied Ultrasound to doughs and batters, significant benefits

in controlling volume, texture and organoleptic properties

Novel, world first technology application

Baking With Sound Holes formed in bread while

baking. Not noticed until the

moment of consumption.

Density and texture optimisation

© Clockwise: Quinn Anya, flickr collection 2007; Rose Levy Beranbaum blog 2008;

Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" (ISBN 1580082688, p. 135-139)

From Bench-top to Industrial

Scale: Small scale prototyping and testing supported by exploratory grant

Scale up to medium scale, real bakery equipment tests conducted by

Macphie and Heriot Watt University

Patent filed with Heriot Watt University in 2011 on technology and

application

Technology Strategy Board supported project

• Project consortium including Nortek Piezo (acoustic transducer manufacturer) and

Mono Equipment (UK’s largest industrial bakery equipment manufacturer) progressing

to industrial scale up.

• Integration of technology into large scale industrial equipment

• £500k project over two years

• Substantial PR Benefits:

• Over 80 articles in National Press, Trade and Technical Journals, from UK, Europe,

North America and Asia (estimated at £200,000 in advertising equivalent value)

• Considerable interest in technology from industrial bakery sector across

Europe

Feasibility study at HWU

(Autumn 2010) EDTC grant supported by Macphie

From bench-top to factory

kitchen (Spring/Summer

2011)

Technology Strategy Board

project preparation

(Autumn/Winter 2011) Consortium of 4 companies and University

TSB project awarded

(spring 2012)

Electronics

Physics

Transducers

Engineering

“Hard-science”

Bakery equipment

Ovens and proofers

Bakery products to end users

Gluten-free & specialty ranges Technology

Strategy Board

Baking with Sound - Consortium

Interface

Interface services were very helpful and added significant

value:

Defining problem/ help sought, communicating it out to broad range of

academic institutions

Rapid, very efficient and professional service

Identification of the right academic expertise, sometimes not obvious

or expected

Catalysing the initial collaboration

Identification of funding to support projects

e.g. Innovation Voucher scheme

Off-set risk/ cost of projects

“Pump Priming” small scale funding often particularly helpful to

enable proof of concept, test the water – if successful, lead to

longer term, larger value collaborations

Challenges of Collaborative Projects

Time-frame for response, project initiation, project scoping

and management sometimes “divergent” between academic

and industrial partners

Potential for simplifying/ standardising the landscape for

businesses when interacting with Universities?

Confidentiality, consultation service agreements, IP

Recognising the value of collaborative projects for Universities is

also in research, publication and teaching, combined potential value

of projects to economy via commercialisation

Some significant differences between best practice and

“less than best” practice in University response, project

management and delivery from a business perspective

Success models for Macphie have led to several long term,

high value collaborations with Scottish Universities

Benefits of Collaborative Projects

Specific problem solving utilising world-class academic expertise

Manufacturing process improvement, product optimisation, packaging

design and sustainability

Enabling speculative, blue-sky, upstream R&D

Longer term collaborative projects are themselves mechanisms for

further discovery, idea generation and technology leads

“Open Innovation” – get the outside in, external focus

Non-obvious technology connections

Builds internal company organisational capacity and expertise

Convert output into commercial value:

Intellectual Property e.g. Patent application on novel application of

ultrasound to bakery process

Big cost savings on packaging, raw materials, processes

delivered: > £1,000,000 delivered to Macphie already in sales

or cost savings as direct result of collaborative projects