JBT Marel is a global food processing company that began as a project at the University of Iceland in 1978. The company was initially founded in 1983 when a group of engineers created motion-compensating scales for the fishing industry. Through this new innovative technology, JBT Marel quickly gained prominence and became a public limited company in 1991. In 1992, JBT Marel listed on the Nasdaq Iceland. Following the listing, JBT Marel began acquiring companies to gain an international presence and to further develop its brand.
Today, JBT Marel owns and operates regional offices and processing facilities in thirty countries across six continents. As a global leader in its industry, JBT Marel serves an international customer base in over 140 countries with a team of 7,500 employees. With safety, sustainability, and affordability at the forefront of its business practices, JBT Marel consistently improves its existing technology and invests in research and development to stay at the top of the industry. One way JBT Marel does this is by investing 5-6% of annual revenue into innovation.
On January 3, 2025, John Bean Technologies Corporation (JBT) announced the completion of its voluntary takeover of Marel through the purchase of all issued and outstanding shares. Additionally, the company has noted that optimizing finances, improving operational efficiency, and increasing efficiency through digitization will be paramount when looking ahead.
For more than four decades, JBT Marel has pursued a simple but important mission: to transform the way food is processed. In 2023, our commitment remains unwavering. We play a vital role in supporting our customers as they harness precious resources to feed the world’s growing population. Moreover, we recognize our responsibility to lead the changes needed in the industries and markets we serve.
Recent achievements
JBT Marel is proud to highlight numerous accomplishments in the realm of sustainability in 2023. These include developing our first pilot for green steel scales, starting our EU taxonomy reporting journey, concluding our second materiality assessment in alignment with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), chairing Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future, and the introduction of paid parental leave for all primary caregivers. Additionally, JBT Marel is on track or well ahead of meeting all targets of our 2026 Sustainability Program and our Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi) carbon reductions.
Commitments and opportunities looking ahead
JBT Marel’s consistent dedication to sustainability and ESG has built a strong foundation to meet our stakeholders’ increasing expectations in 2024. We are seeing consumer demand for sustainable food processing grow as upcoming regulations add structure and transparency to ESG reporting and push large companies to make disclosures on the environmental and social impacts of their entire value chain. In 2024, Marel will continue to help customers understand and optimize their environmental and social impact and identify sustainability opportunities and risks.
Focus on three key UN Sustainable Development Goals
JBT Marel became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in 2015 and has been an active participant ever since. We continue to drive decisions with a focus on the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to benefit people, the planet and our operations.
Sustainability program: JBT Marel is committed to being net-zero by 2040. To drive and monitor our progress in the medium term, we launched a five-year sustainability program, running from 2022 until the end of 2026. It set ambitious ESG targets to guide JBT Marel and the food processing industry on a more sustainable path.
Environmental Targets:
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