Northwest Food Processors Innovation Productivity Center is ERI’s action/outreach arm. Its mission is to position the Northwest food processing industry to compete successfully in the global economy by identifying and developing more effective ways to improve productivity and enable innovation, and by educating and guiding member companies in the adoption of these practices.

IPC oversees pilot project research of new innovations, conducts in-plant productivity and energy efficiency research, and hosts innovation workshops and seminars designed to enhance the productivity and success of the Northwest food processing cluster as a whole. In 2008 alone, IPC’s successful field productivity consultations generated $6.5 million in savings and enabled the 21 participating Oregon companies to save or retail 350 full-time jobs.

In 2009, NWFPA signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy, voluntarily committing the Pacific Northwest food processing industry to a 25 percent reduction in energy intensity over the next 10 years. IPC staff are working food processors in all three Northwest states to find ways to conserve energy and reduce their carbon footprints in pursuit of this goal.

Knowledge gained through IPC research, programs and direct field experience is made available to all Northwest food processing companies through the KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE, through various NWFPA publications, through direct consultation and through seminars and training sessions held throughout the region. IPC and its parent organization, ERI, are seeking funding that will allow IPC to expand its fieldwork to Washington and Idaho.

The Innovation Productivity Center is funded in part with Oregon Lottery Funds administered by the Oregon Business Development Department. Northwest Food Processors Education and Research Institute (ERI),  its Innovation Productivity Center and the Knowledge Exchange program utilize expert consultants, advisors and other contractors. For a listing of contractors contributing to our OBDD grants, click here.