“Fortifi’s strategy is centered around a relentless focus on innovation, unparalleled customer service, and expansion through continuous improvement and complementary acquisitions of other leading brands and capabilities,” says CEO Massimo Bizzi. “As a strategic partner to our customers, we strive to offer a full portfolio of solutions across the food processing value chain.”

The closing of the acquisition of MHM Automation (MHM), a New Zealand-based provider of post-harvest processing, protein processing and packaging solutions, strengthens Fortifi’s capabilities with equipment that improves safety, optimizes product quality and extends automation and robotics capabilities. 

Fortifi has also signed definitive agreements to acquire LIMA France (LIMA), a supplier of meat-bone separators, deboners, grinders and desinewers, and Reich Thermoprozesstechnik GmbH (Reich), a Germany-based manufacturer of thermoprocessing food systems. Both companies are expected to join Fortifi in the first half of 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. 

The formation of Fortifi began in 2021 when investment funds affiliated with KKR, a global investment firm, acquired Bettcher Industries, a provider of innovative protein processing tools. The following year, Bettcher acquired Frontmatec, a global supplier of automated pork and beef processing equipment, forming an end-toend provider of protein processing solutions. 

MHM adds capabilities across new food processing segments and applications, including dairy and fruits and vegetables, and further expands Fortifi’s global reach by establishing an even stronger local presence in the Asia-Pacific region. 

"I am thrilled to welcome MHM into the Fortifi portfolio, and I look forward to welcoming LIMA and Reich as well,” says Dan Daniel, Fortifi’s chairman of the board. “The global footprint, technologies and expertise these brands bring will help Fortifi continue to serve its customers with excellence.”

All employees of MHM, Reich and LIMA will join the existing Fortifi team as participants in a broad-based ownership program that provides all Fortifi employees the opportunity to participate in the benefits of equity ownership. This strategy is based on the belief that employee engagement is a key driver in building stronger companies. Since 2011, KKR portfolio companies have awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 60,000 non-management employees across more than 40 companies.