Our History

“Even as a child, they called me an inventor.”  Company founder Louis A. Bettcher, Jr. was a self-made man who saw a need, and proceeded to revolutionize the industrialized food processing field.
 

Inspired to do more than just equipment repairs for meat processors, Bettcher introduced a carcass splitter. It was the beginning of a long line of innovative products that changed an industry.

Trimmers were sold to plants all over the United States, and export sales began in 1959. Bettcher sales passed the $1 million mark in 1965.

In 1978, Bettcher opened a European sales and service company in Switzerland, sparking heightened growth in international markets. By 2001, our international sales volume reached half of total annual revenues for the first time. Additional offices were opened in Brazil and China, with product distribution in more than 70 countries serving more than 20,000 customers.

We hold more than 100 active patents in several countries. The Bettcher Innovation Center embodies our spirit of innovation. It’s where we explore, develop and commercialize the next generations of Bettcher products and market solutions.

Since 1954, we have introduced successive generations of powered handheld trimmer systems. Today, we continue to hold more than 95% share of the market worldwide.

 

Our subsidiary, Cantrell-Gainco Group in Gainesville, GA, manufactures equipment and systems to measure and manage yield, productivity, food safety and quality. Four major categories of solutions cover product weighing, deboning, inspection and yield management.

What makes a company most successful is the quality of its workforce. In 2014, Bettcher became an employee-owned company, and in 2017 MPE Partners made a substantial investment in our business. Our 300 employee-owners are fully committed to serving the Bettcher customer base. After all, each customer’s success is our success.