Revolution in the food industry – EXDIN Solutions

The food industry is one of the most demanding business sectors, as it must reconcile the needs of the manufacturer, who cares about a competitive price for their products and a longer shelf life, with the needs of the consumer, for whom high product quality, nutritional ingredients, and aesthetic qualities are paramount. These needs are perfectly reconciled by EXDIN Solutions, a company that started with the support of the Krakow Technology Park Seed Fund.

A common food processing method is thermal treatment, known for centuries, during which the product is subjected to high temperature for preservation purposes. It is a very safe process; the temperature kills bacteria and extends the product’s shelf life. However, there is one major flaw in this method of food processing: under the influence of high temperature, the nutritional value, taste, and color of the product change, which, for instance, strips vegetables of most of their qualities.

The EXDIN Solutions team responded to this food industry challenge, revolutionizing the approach to food processing.

A strong position in the fight for funds

Right at the very beginning of the company’s operations, the concept, well-thought-out prototypes, understanding of the technology, and awareness of the uniqueness of the solution placed EXDIN Solutions in a strong position in the fight for development funds. This excellently prepared business concept made a great impression on the representatives of the KPT Seed Fund.

“At the fund, we were slightly discouraged by startups building yet another app, and we began looking for projects developing somewhat harder technologies with higher competitive barriers. During that period, we invested in Coolomat, Husarion, Synerise, and precisely in EXDIN Solutions. The financial resources involved – relatively small – allowed for the establishment of the company, building the core of the team, organizing intellectual property issues, building a virtual prototype, submitting an application to the Fast Track program, and finding a fully private investor who took over further financing of the project. On this occasion, the fund exited the company, considering that it had fulfilled its role and – last but not least – achieved the assumed rate of return. EXDIN Solutions was definitely one of those companies that convinced us to invest in ambitious projects based on research and development, which we are now successfully implementing within our next fund, INNOventure,” says Marcin Bielówka, President of the INNOventure fund, then President of FZKPT.

 

“We had known the Krakow Technology Park since our time working at the Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology. Checking what KPT offers to young entrepreneurs was a natural step. That is how we found the Seed Fund, which made a very positive impression on us right from the first contact. During our cooperation, we had a lot of freedom of action, which is essential for the proper development of a technology company. Errors are calculated into the operation of young companies, and actually necessary to build lasting foundations, so understanding from the Fund regarding how a company’s know-how is built was all the more important to us. It is vital to draw conclusions from mistakes as quickly as possible and prevent them from happening again,” says CEO Grzegorz Widłak.

 

But such a great business plan and revolutionary idea did not come out of nowhere. The EXDIN Solutions team, originating from two Kraków universities – the Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology – consists of people who gained their first experience abroad.

Dr. Grzegorz Widłak spent the first years of his professional career in Norway, working for major technology companies. There, he gained experience and know-how related to modeling, designing, and manufacturing pressure equipment in heavy industry.

“We designed many unique structures, which represented a professional challenge for us almost every single time due to the extreme loads and operating conditions they had to withstand. Today, the equipment we co-created back then operates in the Barents Sea or the North Sea. It was a great and well-paid job, allowing full professional fulfillment, yet we constantly had a creative restlessness in our minds. After a few years of working in Norway, we heard that some Swedish acquaintances were working on ultra-high pressure technology, reaching 6,000 bar. That is 6 times more than at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. They generate massive forces, comparable to those produced by a space rocket during launch. In our industry, it might not be rocket science, but it’s close,” comments Grzegorz Widłak, CEO of EXDIN Solutions.

 

The idea was born over lunch

“We met a few Swedes who were creating HPP high-pressure technology. During a subsequent lunch where we were discussing this, we came up with an idea of how we could design and make faster and more efficient technological equipment, which is crucial for the development of this technology,” recalls Grzegorz Widłak about the beginnings.

The company’s entire concept focuses on using high pressure for food preservation – HPP (High Pressure Processing) and building equipment that is targeted at the food industry.

EXDIN Solutions’ technology allows for the retention of beneficial taste and nutritional values because high pressure does not destroy small particles such as vitamins, while it eliminates pathogenic and food-spoiling microorganisms such as salmonella. Thanks to this, it is possible to obtain a product as healthy as a raw one, with unchanged taste and color, and at the same time a longer shelf life. This process also yields real benefits for food manufacturers.

The food industry – a tough nut to crack

The food industry is not typically associated with high and modern technologies. Meanwhile, the opposite is true; manufacturing plants are at a very high technological level, and additionally, food raw materials in Poland are of the highest quality, giving EXDIN Solutions huge development potential.

This industry poses the greatest challenge compared to other branches of industry utilizing high-pressure technologies, because it demands the use of the highest pressures, combined with a high frequency of repetitions. Only companies with a very high engineering potential are able to meet its expectations.

EXDIN Solutions can undoubtedly boast such potential. The company’s engineers designed high-pressure chambers that hold international patents. There is also a range of solutions that they decided not to disclose to anyone for fear of competition, as the company possesses know-how and knowledge acquired over years.

“We did not know this industry before, but looking back, we grew very fond of it. Almost everyone values natural food, especially if it brings back childhood flavors, but that was still too little to know this industry well. Today, working for consumers and food manufacturers, we know it inside out. We know what is important, what to pay attention to, and that an individual approach is essential both to each type of food product and to each food manufacturer. We know that nature should not be changed, it should not be improved, but it can be gently preserved, because that constitutes the highest value.”

 

“Starting our business in 2015, we needed a few years to develop prototypes, scale them to industrial size, and confirm reliability in real production conditions. This is a very short period when looked at from the perspective of the scope of the manufactured equipment and its technological advancement. Furthermore, we developed local sub-suppliers and cooperators. All components of our high-pressure devices are manufactured in Poland, which gives us tangible competitive advantages resulting from the highest quality of the products. While testing the equipment, we collaborated with fruit processors, including juice producers, which was a very good experience. Thanks to this, we decided to concentrate on activities in the fruit and vegetable industry and adapt the equipment to the needs of this sector; we see the greatest growth potential here, and the utility of our solutions is also confirmed by the producers themselves. Technologies of this type, like HPP, meaning gentle preservation where we don’t change the food but allow it to remain consumable for longer, offer the greatest chance of success,” adds the CEO.

 

Cooperation with the client is very close; HPP technology is customized for a specific food product. First, tests are conducted on the product, which is subjected to a process called pascalization under various conditions of pressure and time. Organoleptic characteristics are evaluated, and the physicochemical properties as well as microbiological safety of the food are verified. This is the stage of testing the ideal conditions needed to preserve, for instance, a bottle of natural juice, so that it features the highest quality and is simultaneously safe for the consumer.

Technology versus the market

“Cooperation with the client is long-term; we have to create a so-called recipe for processing a specific product. HPP technology has been known in Poland for some time, and many manufacturers already knew about it, but they chose not to implement it because it was too expensive,” comments the CEO.

 

EXDIN Solutions has adapted the solution to every type of enterprise; it can be used by large, small, and medium-sized companies alike, and introducing the technology will still be profitable. The company’s ultimate sales model is the global sale of equipment and complete bottling lines utilizing HPP.

“We treat the Polish market a bit like a testing ground because it is very demanding. Food products are of high quality, but food is cheap compared to other countries. When developing the technology, we analyzed it from the perspective of making it profitable for a manufacturer to introduce it even in markets as competitive as the Polish market,” says Grzegorz Widłak.

 

At the same time, Polish food products are of very high quality compared to, for example, other European countries, which provides an opportunity to export top-quality food with a longer shelf life at very attractive prices.

In the world, there are no devices utilizing HPP technology that were developed strictly for the food industry; those currently in use were implemented from heavy industry. EXDIN Solutions has developed its machines in detail for the food industry, which means the Polish company is realistically revolutionizing the global food industry, and this is not just a marketing slogan but an effect of hard work confirmed by patents and implementations.

“Plans for the future have remained unchanged for several years; they concern selling high-margin products and technologies on the world market that possess strong barriers to entry for competition, and they are being consistently realized. Currently, we are working on projects located in Western European countries, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. Personally, I am most proud of the fact that we managed to build a very strong team in Poland, which shows that a successful high-tech business is primarily about people, their knowledge, and their skills,” summarizes Grzegorz Widłak from EXDIN Solutions.

 

Exdin Solutions is a company worth keeping a close eye on, and one that will likely be widely heard about very soon.

Exdin Solutions:

• Manufactures HPP equipment designed for small and medium-sized enterprises – producers of natural food.
• Allows for the implementation of HPP technology that is cost-effective even on a smaller scale of production, something that none of the devices from competing companies allowed for until now.
• Also helps large producers introduce automated HPP processes in accordance with the concept of Industry 4.0.
• Is the only company capable of securing the entire HPP processing chain.

Visit the company’s website: https://www.exdinsolutions.com/