A Year of Growth, Innovation, and Industry Leadership
As we close the chapter on 2025 and step into a new year, below are my reflections on what has been an extraordinary year for Emydex Technology. A year marked by significant achievements across our customers, projects, people, and partnerships – each reinforcing our commitment to innovation and excellence in the global food processing industry.
Celebrating Our Successes in 2025
Industry Standard Project: Setting the Benchmark
A recurring theme throughout the year has been a major new product development initiative, our Industry Standard Systems project, now in its fourth year. Known internally as Project Vexillum (the Latin word for ‘standard’), this project initially focused on Beef and Lamb but will expand in 2026 to include other species, such as Pork, Poultry as well and Value-Added products. Our goal is clear: to establish a unified, best-in-class standard that drives consistency, compliance, and innovation across the industry. This project reflects our long-term vision to lead the digital transformation of food processing worldwide.
The first customer rollouts of our new Industry standard systems occurred in 2025, with Irish County Meats going live with Emydex’s new Lamb Industry Standard system in their flagship Camolin plant in Co. Wexford in Ireland, followed soon after with Sustainable Beef in the US going live with our Beef Industry Standard system in May 2025. This new greenfield, state-of-the-art plant in North Platte, Nebraska, employs over 850 local people. It is currently processing 1,200 head of cattle per day, with plans to increase throughput to 1,500 at full capacity.
Customer Partnerships and Global Expansion
2025 saw Emydex deepen relationships with leading processors worldwide, from red meat to poultry and beyond. Our collaboration with BAADER continued to flourish, enabling us to deliver integrated digital solutions across multiple species and markets. Together, we expanded into new territories and celebrated milestones such as supporting Murray’s Chicken in New York. These partnerships underscore our ability to combine cutting-edge technology with industry expertise to deliver measurable value for our customers.
In the UK, we delivered significant advancements to some of our key UK customers. Forresters Chicken continued operating our Emydex Quality Management System, supporting their existing Emydex MES modules for packing and labelling. Corvedale Fresh (previously Euro Quality Lambs) received regulatory enhancements, including AHDB deadweight sheep price reporting, building on its established lamb kill-line system. Dawn Meats UK (trading as Dunbia) expanded their roll-out of Emydex Quality Management across multiple UK plants, with agile development delivering site-specific and group-wide improvements to strengthen compliance and quality processes. In Scotland, Emydex is working with Vivers Scotlamb to roll out our Lamb Industry Standard MES system across Kill Line, Packing, and Warehousing. The project includes a custom Lamb Grading form to streamline operations and reduce costs, with commercial terms agreed to enable implementation.
In Africa, Emydex supported Meatco in Namibia with the commissioning of two new slaughter and carcass loadout plants north of the veterinary fence, following the successful Rundu site go-live in August. For Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) in Botswana, Emydex continues to provide enterprise-level processing solutions, reinforcing its role as the technology partner for the region’s largest beef processor. Both projects highlight Emydex’s focus on scalable systems and operational efficiency to meet throughput and licensing requirements across Southern Africa.
In Australia, Emydex was successfully implemented into leading Lamb processor, WAMMCO’s production facility in Katanning (WA), with Goulburn (NSW) due to go live in January, delivering advanced capabilities in livestock processing, production management, and integrated financial operations. This transformation strengthens efficiency, traceability, and compliance throughout the organisation. The next phase will see both plants achieve full go-live, alongside the introduction of additional modules, including Warehouse Management and export Sales Order Processing, as well as the newly developed Meat Messaging add-on, ensuring continued innovation and operational excellence.
2025 also saw the appointment of Shane Hayes as General Manager for the region, as he relocated back to his native home in Adelaide with his family. I joined Shane for a two-week road trip across Australia and New Zealand in November, attending customer and prospect meetings in Western Australia, Queensland, NSW, South Australia, as well as both North and South Islands in New Zealand. GM Australasia appointment.
In New Zealand, we completed the implementation of Emydex’s Manufacturing Execution System across all six Silver Fern Farms beef plants. This milestone delivers improved traceability, consistent processes, and enhanced reporting across the network. The current focus is on Venison and Lamb, with continued progress toward a fully integrated operational environment.
Major Projects and Product Innovation
We made significant strides in product development, particularly with two flagship product development initiatives:
- Carcass Cutting Specifications
- Bill of Materials and Recipe Yield
These projects are not just technical upgrades – they represent a leap forward in operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making for our clients. They also set the stage for future opportunities across processing plants globally.
Our People: The Heart of Emydex
Behind every success story is a team of dedicated professionals. In 2025, Emydex was once again certified as a Great Place to Work®, a testament to our culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. With 80% of employees rating Emydex positively, we continue to prove that when our people succeed, our customers succeed too.
Companywide highlights
In August 2025, our annual Emycon event took place. This global team conference event connected teams across Ireland, Canada, ANZ, the US, UAE, India, Italy, Poland, Slovakia & Colombia; BAADER joined, reflecting momentum in collaboration.
Thought leadership & exhibitions
Traceability guidance and participation at both the IPPE trade show in Atlanta and IFFA in Germany showcased Emydex’s expertise to the wider market.
Looking Ahead: Goals and Ambitions for 2026
As we enter 2026, our ambitions are bold and focused:
- Accelerate Delivery and Go-Live Milestones: We are committed to shortening sprint cycles and improving turnaround times, ensuring faster deployment and greater responsiveness for our clients.
- Expand Industry Standard Across Species: Building on our success in beef and lamb, we will extend our standards to pork, poultry, and value-added products, reinforcing Emydex’s role as a global benchmark.
- Drive Sustainability and Compliance: With sustainability moving from differentiator to expectation, we will embed transparency and environmental responsibility into our solutions, helping customers meet evolving regulatory and consumer demands.
- Leverage AI and Data Analytics: We will continue to invest in advanced analytics and automation to enable smarter decision-making and operational excellence across the supply chain.
A Message of Gratitude and Optimism
None of this would be possible without the trust of our customers, the dedication of our people, and the strength of our partnerships. As we look to 2026, we do so with confidence and excitement. The challenges ahead are real: tightening supply chains, evolving consumer expectations, and the need for greater sustainability, but so are the opportunities. Together, we will continue to innovate, lead, and deliver solutions that shape the future of food processing.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to a successful and transformative year ahead.
David McMahon, CEO, Emydex Technology
