Resato High Pressure Technology
Resato High Pressure Technology is a Dutch manufacturer of high-pressure systems and equipment, headquartered in Assen, the Netherlands. The company has been active in high-pressure engineering for over thirty years and operates in markets including oil and gas, automotive, waterjet cutting, hydrogen technology, and — since expanding its food-sector portfolio in recent years — high pressure processing (HPP) of food and beverages. Resato distinguishes itself from dedicated food HPP suppliers through its engineering capability to design systems up to 10,000 bar (1,000 MPa), exceeding the 6,000 bar (600 MPa) range of most commercial food HPP installations.
Company profile
| Full name | Resato High Pressure Technology B.V. |
| Headquarters | Duitslandlaan 1, 9403 DL, Assen, Netherlands |
| Founded | Mid-1990s |
| Core competency | Design and manufacture of high-pressure systems for industrial, scientific, and food applications |
| Pressure range | Up to 10,000 bar (145,000 psi) |
| Temperature range | −20°C to +100°C |
| Certifications | CE; international safety standards |
Business units
Resato operates three distinct business units:
- Resato — core high-pressure solutions for industrial, scientific, and food applications
- Resato Waterjet — high-pressure waterjet cutting systems
- Resato Hydrogen — high-pressure hydrogen refuelling and testing technology, serving the emerging hydrogen energy market
Technology and engineering capability
Resato’s central technical capability is the creation, control, and manipulation of high pressure in fluids and gases. The company designs and manufactures:
- Pressure vessels and autoclaves
- Pressure intensifiers and pumps
- Complete integrated HPP systems
- Test and validation rigs for pressure components (hose testing, hydrostatic testing, gas pressure testing)
The 10,000 bar ceiling is significant in the context of food processing: standard commercial HPP food systems from dedicated suppliers (Hiperbaric, Avure, JBT Fresherized Foods) typically operate at 400–600 MPa (4,000–6,000 bar). Resato’s engineering range extends to pressures relevant for pressure-assisted thermal sterilisation (PATS) — also called high-pressure thermal processing (HPT) — which requires 700–1,000 MPa (7,000–10,000 bar) in combination with elevated temperature to inactivate bacterial spores and achieve commercial sterility in low-acid foods.
High pressure processing for food and beverages
Resato entered the food HPP market as an extension of its industrial high-pressure expertise. Its food-sector systems apply isostatic pressure to packaged products or research-scale samples for pasteurisation, sterilisation, thawing, and process optimisation.
Applications by food category
| Food category | HPP application | Key benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Meat and deli | Inactivation of Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli | Post-packaging treatment without chemical preservatives |
| Seafood | Vibrio elimination; shellfish shucking | 100% meat recovery from oysters, lobster, crab without heat |
| Juice and beverages | Cold pasteurisation | Shelf life from days to months; vitamin and flavour retention |
| Ready-to-eat meals | Pasteurisation or sterilisation in final packaging | Weeks of additional refrigerated shelf life |
| Guacamole and dips | Prevention of browning; microbial reduction | Shelf life extended from 3 days to 30+ days |
| Dairy | Fresh cheese and yogurt shelf-life extension | Minimal heat applied; texture preserved |
| Baby food | Pathogen elimination with nutrient preservation | Alternative to thermal sterilisation |
| Pet food (raw) | Salmonella elimination from raw meat ingredients | Maintains raw product labelling |
PATS capability
A technically significant aspect of Resato’s food portfolio is its capability to design systems for pressure-assisted thermal sterilisation (PATS). In PATS, the food product is pre-heated to approximately 70–90°C before pressurisation. Adiabatic compression at pressures of 700–1,000 MPa raises the product temperature to sterilisation levels (≥121°C) for a short hold time, then pressure release causes rapid cooling. This combination inactivates Clostridium botulinum spores and achieves commercial sterility — a target that conventional HPP at ambient temperature cannot reach. The US FDA issued a letter of no objection for PATS-treated products from 2009 onward.
Resato’s 10,000 bar engineering capability positions it to design equipment for both research-scale PATS validation and commercial PATS systems, a market that most dedicated food HPP manufacturers have not fully entered.
Continuous recording and certification
Resato’s food systems include continuous recording of temperature and pressure throughout each processing cycle, supporting process validation and regulatory submission requirements (HACCP, FDA process authority documentation).
Research and scientific markets
Beyond commercial food processing, Resato supplies high-pressure systems to:
- Universities and research institutions — for fundamental research into pressure effects on food components, enzymes, proteins, and microbial inactivation kinetics
- Biotechnology and bioprocessing — enzyme modification, protein folding studies, and structural biology applications
- Medical and pharmaceutical — including research into viral inactivation at high pressure (relevant to novel vaccine development) and sterile processing applications
- Material sciences and engineering — phase transition analysis and structural testing of materials under extreme pressure
Industrial markets
Resato’s established core markets outside food include:
- Oil and gas: pressure testing of components, valves, and downhole equipment
- Automotive: hose and component pressure validation
- Hydrogen: high-pressure hydrogen storage and refuelling equipment testing, supporting the transition to hydrogen energy infrastructure
Market context
The global HPP equipment market was valued at over USD 6 billion in 2024 and is growing, driven by consumer demand for minimally processed, clean-label food products. The technology was first demonstrated at commercial scale in Japan in 1990 (fruit jams and jellies) and expanded to guacamole in the US in the late 1990s (Avomex, later marketed under the Wholly Guacamole brand). The dominant commercial food HPP markets are now ready-to-eat meat, cold-pressed juice, guacamole, and shellfish processing.
Resato’s position in this market differs from dedicated food HPP manufacturers: rather than focusing exclusively on high-throughput commercial food lines, it serves a broader spectrum from laboratory-scale research units to custom industrial systems, and is one of the few suppliers with both the engineering capability and the pressure range to address PATS sterilisation applications.
Services
Resato offers maintenance contracts, operator training, spare parts supply, equipment rental, and a global distributor network for its food and industrial systems.