Transforming traditional industries
A
t first glance, linking local food and farm businesses with the advanced technology at the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing might seem like an odd fit.
“The ultimate goal will be to design new technologies for farm-to-market users that will transition to marketable products, useful innovations and, in the final analysis, new jobs and model programs to be shared with the nation.”
Innovation in West Virginia’s traditional industries is one of the keys to job and business growth, however, so a new initiative funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation is leveraging RCBI’s high-tech capabilities and workforce development programs to help increase the productivity of the local food supply chain. RCBI will be working to strengthen a food supply consortium, design a food supply website and mobile application, help introduce technology-driven products and services to the industry, and deliver training on quality control processes. Charlotte Weber, RCBI’s director, said, “The ultimate goal will be to design new technologies for farm-to-market users that will transition to marketable products, useful innovations and, in the final analysis, new jobs and model programs to be shared with the nation.”