BeeHex Move R&D Operations to Ohio
BeeHex is a 3D food production company, best known for their 3D printed pizzas. The company started as a NASA project to produce the first 3D printer to create food for astronauts (3D printing material can be stored for much longer periods than perishable and processed foods.)
Now the company is adapting to sell their printer technology commercially. BeeHex will develop production models of the 3D printers in its new Gahanna lab, which should be available to certain pilot customers by the end of 2017. Co-founder Jordan French believes that “a lot of industries are looking for solutions like this, giving employees tools to do things more efficiently.” Potential targets could include sports arenas, theme parks, restaurants or even the military.
BeeHex uses fresh ingredients to make fresh and freezable, oven-ready pizzas, which is an ideal food for 3D printing as it is constructed in layers.
The company aims to create printers that can take the customer’s preferences into account and make food on-the-spot. They have built an app that allows the customer to choose their preferred pizza size and type of dough, topping and cheese. A conveyor belt that allows robots to then add toppings is also being developed. The technology could make it faster and easier to produce food for consumers with special requirements, without a chef having to learn specialized skills.
Like normal 3D printers, the pizza printer receives instructions from a computer and creates the pizza using layers. However, BeeHex printers use pneumatic systems instead of additive technology to move ingredients around. Initially taking six minutes to print, it now takes only a minute for a 12” pizza. A small sized pizza can then take just two minutes to cook.
Worried about the taste? BeeHex has partnered with Pasquale Cozzolino, a renowned pizza chef, who uses only the best Italian ingredients at his pizzeria, Ribalta. He stated, “I am looking forward to using my experience in the culinary industry to create a pizza that can be 3D printed without sacrificing quality ingredients and taste.”
If your company is using 3D printing, you may be eligible for the federal and Ohio R&D Tax Credit. Contact a Swanson Reed specialist to see if you qualify.
