BELOIT, WI & RALEIGH, N.C. – (2/28/2017) TRU Aseptics, LLC is pleased to announce that Dr. Kenneth R. Swartzel has joined the company’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) Team as its new aseptic technology advisor. In this role, Swartzel will serve as a key advisor in all matters related to aseptic processing. Swartzel is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus from North Carolina State University.
Holding both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from N.C. State, Swartzel joined Raleigh University in 1975 as a research technician. In 1979, he earned his Ph.D. from the department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. While in academia, Swartzel published more than 120 scientific papers and acted as principal or co-principal on numerous projects, garnering outside monetary support surpassing $26 million. Among his research goals were new, thermal-preservation processes that yield high-quality, nutritious, safe and economical foods – goals central to TRU Aseptics. In 1987, he founded the National Science Foundation Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS), an industry/university cooperative research center.
Dr. Swartzel has received countless international accolades in his four decades of academic dedication. Among his most prized achievements – as a lifelong proud North Carolinian – are the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine, as awarded to him by Governor Bev Perdue in 2012, and being named Tar Heel of the Week by Raleigh’s The News & Observer. Swartzel also received the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Nicholas Appert Award for preeminence in, and contributions to, the field of food science and technology, among several other prestigious IFT awards. In the spring of 2016, Swartzel was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the loftiest distinctions accorded to any engineer.
“We are very pleased and honored to have Dr. Swartzel’s extensive experience and knowledge available to us and our customers at TRU,” said James Hurley, CEO & President of TRU Aseptics. “As we move forward to deploy advanced aseptic and minimally processed food products for our contract-packaging customers, Dr. Swartzel’s wisdom and expertise will be invaluable to the TRU Team and our trading partners. ”
Dr. Swartzel added, “I look forward to working with the TRU Aseptic team to develop and deploy aseptic products and technologies that can benefit life, health and well being.”
TRU Aseptics, LLC (TRU) is a new and highly innovative contract processor of aseptic products for the beverage, food service and food ingredient markets. TRU was formed in 2016 to fulfill otherwise unmet needs in the food and ingredients marketplace.