The network

In Lower Saxony, the food industry is of very great relevance due to its economic power, technological know-how, and large number of employees. It is the most important business sector in the state after the automobile industry. NieKE bundles the competencies of this sector and creates synergies between the participants. Networked under the NieKE umbrella are scientific institutions, users, producing companies, service organisations and banks. The services offered by NieKE are focused on SMEs.

Main activities

The participants in this network are characterised by a high level of skills and close affiliation to the food industry. This enables NieKE to contribute towards improving performance within food sector businesses, thus strengthening the state’s second most important economic sector. Central to these activities is the dynamism and innovative power of the branch.
Primary tasks
• Initiation and scientific support of regional value-added chains
• Determination of research and development requirements of companies and preparation of research projects
• Support for the development of new functional foods and in the preparation of production lines
• Ensuring health and welfare in livestock units
• Working for quality and safety in production, harvesting and processing of foods
• Support and implementation of product and procedural developments
• Support, advice and assistance for primary agricultural production
• Knowledge and technology transfer

The technological focus

The competitive capabilities of food producers in the market depend very strongly on the production methods applied. Consumer expectations concerning product safety and quality are increasing, requiring, beside the optimisation of existing technologies, the development of new technical processing possibilities for commercial use. In addition, requirements for electronic documentation are increasing due to the ever more complex systems involved. In this respect, traceability and food safety are central aspects of operations across all food chains. The focus in this area is on the fully automatic documentation of work processes by means of RFID and telematic systems. The significance of such promising technologies as optical technology and nanotechnology will increase in all areas of food production. Nanotechnology, for example, will be of special importance for coating surfaces which have contact with foods. Modern agricultural machinery involves very many technology fields, with electronics increasingly developing into a core competence in this respect. Networking individual systems to enable interaction between system technologies with classic engineering and mobile hydraulics opens up the possibility of creating a complex total system.

Highlights

The greatest strengths of the network are its up-to-dateness, the possibilities it offers for knowledge transfer and the services it provides. These include forums on specific topics, studies, newsletters, discussion events and technology transfer.
The network participants are characterised by very high professional qualifications and a close association with the food industry. The main goal of network activities is to promote the vitality and innovative strength of the sector. Among its most important tasks are:

• initiating and offering scientific guidance for value chains, determining research and development requirements in enterprises, preparing projects

• supporting the development of new functional foods, designing production lines

• ensuring health in farm animals, including animal welfare issues

• securing food quality and safety

• supporting and supervising product and process developments.