USA, Gainesville, Georgia. Marel celebrated 75 years of operations at its location in Gainesville, Georgia.
In 1944, Gainesville Machine Company was established as a metal working job shop, specializing in welding fabrication and machining. A major milestone for the company was in 1960 with the development of the first non-reverse defeathering machine. This development allowed processors to increase line speeds from 200 birds per hour to 12,000. By 1973, the company needed more space, so Marel moved operations to the current location at Airport Parkway. In 1975, Stork Acquisitions Corporation acquired the company and in 2008, Marel Food Systems acquired Stork Food Systems.
Today, Gainesville is Marel’s key manufacturing facility operating in North America and part of Marel’s global supply chain, which spans 13 manufacturing sites in total. There are 380 full-time employees based out of Gainesville who work in a diverse range of functions including specialized and technical manufacturing jobs, marketing and sales, service, engineering, finance and more. The facility not only manufactures advanced food processing solutions, it also stores and ships all spare parts orders from this location to customers in North and South America. The poultry industry remains the largest focus of the business in Gainesville; however, the facility also manufactures and services equipment for the meat industry.
In the US, Marel is active in poultry, meat, fish and further processing. There are over 800 employees throughout North America and there are operations in four locations: Kansas City, Kansas; Des Moines, Iowa; Gainesville, Georgia and Seattle, Washington.