History

Sixty Years Of Firsts

In 1946, former blacksmith, Ray Townsend, introduced the Townsend Model 27 Pork Skinner. The rest, as they say, is history.

Townsend followed that original invention with fifty-nine years of innovation and reliability. To thousands of meat processors around the world, the Townsend name means something. They know that Townsend invented the first automatic pork skinner, the first pork belly skinner, first conveyorized skinner, automatic sausage linker,the low-pressure injector, first automatic trimmer with light sensor technology, and continuous casing system.

Then in 2001, Townsend Engineering Company purchased Protecon-Langen. The marriage of their respective coextrusion technologies created the QX System Quality Coextrusion and tremendous opportunities for sausage processors.

Today, our tradition of innovation and reliability continues. We are the leading global provider of advanced equipment, systems and services to the fish, meat and poultry industries. Our brands – Marel Meat Processing, Stork Poultry Processing and Townsend Further Processing – are among the most respected in the industry. Together, we offer the convenience of a single source to meet our customers’ every need. With offices and subsidiaries in over 30 countries and a global network of 60 agents and distributors, we work side-by-side with our customers to extend the boundaries of food processing performance.

Representing a multinational company with more than 3,500 employees worldwide, Our business units are located in the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Iceland, Slovakia and Singapore. The largest number of our employees is based in the Netherlands, followed by Denmark, the United States and Iceland, with the remainder spread out across the globe – from Brazil and several other locations in South America all the way across to Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific.

We are a single source provider for food processors the world over. We are the global leader in integrated systems for the fish and poultry industry segments, and a major provider in the meat industry. From harvesting raw materials to packaging the final product – from standardized stand-alone units to all-inclusive integrated turnkey systems – our products are designed to meet our customers’ every need.

Thriving on imagination and ingenuity with our annual investment of 5-6% of income in research and development – far above the industry average – we are constantly pushing the envelope of what is possible. Our cutting edge equipment and software components help food processors of all sizes, in all markets, to operate at peak productivity, whether it be in the processing of fish, meat, poultry, cheese or prepared foods. Our products positively and directly enhance the overall quality and value of food.

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