Manufacturing Game Changers: GTF Technologies
This article appeared in the February 2025 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.
The RENU System by GTF Technologies simultaneously dries products and turns them into powders within seconds.
During food production processes, 40 to 60 percent of the raw material is wasted. One major beer producer alone produces 4.5 million pounds of waste per year, as the production of every six-pack generates one pound of waste.
All those waste materials could be put to much better use, and Ada-based GTF Technologies has created an innovative system that makes it possible to significantly reduce this food waste and therefore contribute to carbon reduction initiatives.
Through GTF’s RENU™ Drying & Milling System, food waste or excess and irregular foods can be simultaneously dried and micronized into a highly nutritious powder within seconds. That powder can then be sold to food, beverage or pet food manufacturers for use as an upcycled ingredient, or it can be sent to communities around the world where populations are experiencing malnutrition.
The highly computerized machine is unique in the industry for several reasons. One is that RENU can dry and pulverize products simultaneously — and do so within seconds. For example, an alternative method of preserving food, freeze drying, can take up to 25 hours, says Gary Schuler, Founder and President of GTF.
“Our ability to dry that quickly makes this more energy-efficient and less costly,” he says, adding that RENU can process up to 3,000 pounds of raw material per hour, depending on the material.
Another important benefit is that RENU preserves more of the color, aroma and nutritional value of the original products when compared with traditional heat-drying systems. Because of the high speed and low operating temperature of the system, powders are more closely aligned with the original product, Schuler says.
Additionally, the system, which can fit into 600-square-feet of space, can be installed directly in- line with food processing equipment, reducing the need to transport waste to landfills and minimizing food waste due to perishability.
“You must stabilize perishable foods; that’s the key,” Schuler says. “If we can stop the rot on-site, all the nutrients will remain in the powder, which has a shelf life of three to five years without refrigeration.”
Further innovations the company has been focusing on over the past several years have included additional applications for the powders the system creates. As a result, RENU’s food powders can now be used to create biodegradable cutlery, trash bags, and many other sustainable packaging materials to reduce our dependency on petroleum-based plastics and virgin wood for paper-based packaging.
“We’ve made disposable forks and knives with lemon peels and shrink-wrap film using brewers spent grain,” Schuler says, adding that the company worked with a lemonade producer and brewer to create these solutions.
He says some European companies have even approached GTF Technologies with hopes of creating food-to-energy applications, as the materials processed through their systems could make excellent biofuels.
This innovative, forward-thinking company and its groundbreaking product can make a significant impact for manufacturers throughout Michigan, on our state’s economy, on the health of people and on our environment.
Learn More About Our Game Changer
Headquarters: Ada
Web: gtf-technologies.com
Have a manufacturing story to tell? E-mail communications@mimfg.org.