About BTH Americas
Founded in 2003 by engineers who had spent their careers in the egg sector — and built around a single complaint: that the equipment on the market was hard to maintain and badly supported.
Built as an answer to bad service
BTH — Zibo Tianxing Food Machinery Co. — was founded in 2003. It started from a gap that processors kept running into: the incumbent breaking equipment suppliers were slow on spare parts and thin on service, and plant operators had no good alternative.
The engineering was led by Mike Harris, with production engineering under Bobby Thatch — the two people behind the design of the BTH equipment range. Working to USDA standards and 3-A sanitary design requirements, they put BTH's first breaking line, built on a parallel-lines design, on the market in 2005.
Today more than 150 BTH breaking units are installed and operating worldwide, and BTH units have replaced more than 70 Pelbo units in working plants. BTH Americas, LLC serves the United States market from Seattle, Washington.
BTH Americas, LLC is incorporated in the United States and based in Seattle, Washington. Equipment is manufactured in China, built to USDA and 3-A requirements for the U.S. market.
Design philosophy
What the equipment is actually optimized for.
Maintainability first
Units are mechanically more robust and easier to maintain, with significantly less maintenance time and lower spare parts cost over the life of the machine.
Reproducibility
Design is directed at quality, efficiency, yield and repeatable results run to run — not at headline throughput alone.
Tested before it ships
BTH runs its own breaking and pasteurizing plant. Every unit is tested there before delivery, and it doubles as the test bed for any technical change to the range.
Milestones
- 2003
BTH founded
BTH (Zibo Tianxing Food Machinery Co.) is founded in response to gaps in parts supply and service from the incumbent equipment suppliers in the egg sector. Engineering is led by Mike Harris, with production engineering under Bobby Thatch.
- 2005
First breaking line to market
BTH develops its breaking line to USDA standards and 3-A sanitary design requirements, and places its first breaking line — built on a parallel-lines design — on the market.
- 2008
The market realigns
Following the acquisition of Diamond Systems by MOBA, supplier relationships in the breaking equipment market break down and a gap opens for an independent manufacturer focused on parts, service, and maintainability.
- Today
150+ breaking units installed worldwide
More than 150 BTH breaking units are installed and operating worldwide. The emphasis has been on smaller breaking lines — 200 cases per hour and below — with successful entry into higher-capacity lines.
- Today
70+ Pelbo units replaced
BTH units have replaced more than 70 Pelbo breaking units in operating plants — the practical measure of the design philosophy: robustness, maintainability, and lower spare parts cost.
- Today
In-house breaking and pasteurizing plant
BTH operates its own breaking and pasteurizing plant. Every unit is run and tested before it ships, and the plant serves as the test bed for any technical change made to the equipment range.
- Today
BTH Americas serves the US market
BTH Americas, LLC serves the United States market from Seattle, Washington.
Leadership
The two engineers behind the design and development of BTH equipment.
Mike Harris
Engineering lead
Microbiologist and mechanical engineer with a long career in the egg sector.
- Former USDA official; part of the group that wrote and defined 9 CFR Part 590 (Egg Products Inspection Act), and still part of its review and update group — including the 9 CFR Part 590 update of 15 September 2023 and the 7 CFR Part 57 update of 8 February 2024.
- Member of the 3-A Sanitary Standards committee, to date.
- Former Director of the Process Division at Diamond Systems, where he advised directly on breaking-head and inspection-zone changes for other manufacturers in the sector, and designed the Granja Buenos Aires plant — today Avícola Triple A.
Bobby Thatch
Production engineering lead
Certified sanitary welder who moved into equipment design and development.
- Certified sanitary welder; began working under Mike Harris at Diamond Systems.
- Specialized into product design and development, and leads engineering at production level.
- Co-designer of BTH's breaking and separation equipment — the combined work of Mike and Bobby is the basis of the current range.
USDA compliance and sanitary design
9 CFR Part 590
Egg products processing in the United States is regulated under the Egg Products Inspection Act, implemented at 9 CFR Part 590 and inspected by USDA FSIS. The regulations govern plant sanitation, processing operations, and the pasteurization of liquid egg products — including the requirement that pasteurization equipment carry a holding tube, an automatic flow diversion valve, thermal controls, and continuous automatic temperature recording.
BTH pasteurization systems and CIP systems are configured to support plants operating under those requirements, with the instrumentation and recorded cycle data an inspection program expects.
3-A Sanitary Standards
3-A standards define the hygienic design criteria — materials, surface finish, drainability, cleanability — applied to equipment used in food processing in the United States.
BTH's engineering lead, Mike Harris, sits on the 3-A Sanitary Standards committee, and the BTH breaking line was developed to 3-A sanitary design requirements from the outset.