Miller Magazine Issue: 118 October 2019

22 NEWS MILLER / OCTOBER 2019 United Kingdom’s “Innovation Oscar” goes to Bühler’s optical sorting Bühler has received the United Kingdom’s most pres- tigious innovation award – the Queen’s Award for En- terprise – for its optical sorting technology. In an official ceremony on 12th September, in which the award was handed over by John Barber, representative Deputy Lieutenant for London Borough of Newham. Johannes Wick, Bühler Group’s CEO for Grains & Food, said: “This breakthrough technology will make the differ- ence for us in the market for years to come. What is now in reach are applications to grade raw materials for composition and to remove invisible contaminations. This will be a major contribution to provide healthy and safe nutrition around the world.” The Queen’s Award could be described as United Kingdom’s “Innovation Oscar”, which this year ac- knowledges the leading technology position of Bühler. It is the highest award for British businesses which have excelled in the fields of international trade, sustaina- ble development, or innovation. This is the seventh Queen’s Award Bühler UK has won since 1968. This year’s win is in recognition of Bühler’s development of a unique camera technology used in sorting machines, capable of recognizing the subtlest of color and shad- ing contrasts in materials and foods, thereby signifi- cantly increasing detection rates for foreign materials, potential choke hazards, or contaminated foods. “Bühler are old hands at receiving these awards. Af- ter my first visit to the factory I could see why they Bühler has won this year’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in recogni- tion of its pioneering research into camera technology used in sorting machines. The Queen’s Award is the highest award for British businesses which have ex- celled in the fields of international trade, sustainable development, or innovation.