Fifty years after Robert Reiser & Co. first began to import German-made food processing equipment for resale to North American meat packers and food processors, the company is celebrating its milestone anniversary and still supplying the food industry with a wide variety of food processing and packaging equipment.

Highlights include:

In 1959, Reiser became the exclusive North American sales and service agent for Vemag, a German manufacturer of food processing equipment best known for its line of continuous vacuum stuffers.

In 1962, Reiser added Seydelmann cutters and grinders to its product line. In 1971, the company added Holac dicers and slicers, and then, in 1980, the company added Fomaco injectors and tenderizers. Along the way, Reiser continued to add other complementary lines of equipment, including Ross tray packaging, AMFEC meat processing equipment, Supervac vacuum packaging equipment and most recently Repak form/fill/seal packaging equipment.

As the business grew, in 1984, Reiser moved to its headquarters in Canton, Mass. In 1987, Reiser opened an office in Canada and then in 1993 opened a third office in England, allowed the company to better serve its customers in those regions.

Today, Reiser owns a majority interest in many of the same companies it represents, including Ross Industries, AMFEC, Vemag and Holac. The company continues to grow. A new Customer Center is under construction at the Canton office and is slated to open later this year. The Center will be used for demonstrations of Reiser equipment and to allow customers to test new products and processes.