Our Auspicious History
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Cuyler - First Family of Food Machinery
The history of the Cuyler Family in the food processing industry goes back to 1897, spanning 3 centuries and 4 generations. Here is a peek at the ancestral journey that informed and enriched our distinctive legacy.
Otto Cuyler, Sr, Lillie Waters Cuyler and Virginia Cuyler
Introduction
The experts at Cuyler FoodPro are sought-after consultants in industrial food processing, packaging and related machinery. We are unique in our field, boasting a degree of specialization not offered by our competitors. Our fees are consistently lower than most general appraising groups due to our focused expertise and lower overhead. To understand the depth of our specialization, it helps to take a look at our family's impressive history in the industry.
Otto Cuyler, Sr. (1897-1979)
The father of our current proprietor, Otto Cuyler, Jr., acquired an affinity for machinery while coming of age during the beginning of the power-technology phase of the industrial revolution. His intrigue and curiosity eventually led to his owning two vegetable processing canneries in the 1930s.
The senior Cuyler built relationships through his canning business that evolved into a brokerage of sorts, where he would connect associates to one another who needed each other's used equipment. His consulting and resale business grew organically from there.
In 1942, Otto Sr’s purchased 200 acres of land in Webster, NY, where he was the first to help design, rebuild and export used food machinery to Cuba in the early 1960’s, expanding his business model even further.
Otto Cuyler, Sr.
The Grandparents
Lillie Watters Cuyler, mother of Otto Cuyler, Sr., worked as an apple processing forewoman at a cannery in Red Creek, NY, from 1897-1905. The canned sliced apple product she worked with is still sold today under the Comstock brand.
Frederick Cuyler (1867-1935) was a food industry consultant for 27 years, beginning in 1903. He also patented an industrial can opener in 1925.
Virginia Cuyler and Lillie Watters Cuyler
Frederick Cuyler
Schematic from can-opener patent by Frederick Cuyler
Otto Cuyler, Jr.
Cuyler FoodPro President, Otto Cuyler, Jr., started working with his father at the age of 14, when he began dismantling, evaluating and rebuilding used food machinery. As his knowledge expanded, he traveled with his father on consulting and appraisal trips and eventually assisted with plant liquidations, auctions and plant dismantling. With the passing of his father in 1979, Otto officially took over the respected family business and has been at the helm ever since. During his tenure, Cuyler FoodPro became the first used food machinery dealer online with the launch of www.foodmachinery.com in 1996.
Otto as a child, ready at the helm
Cate Cuyler
As a scrappy 8-year-old, Cate Cuyler started acclimating to the family business by typing inventory lists and stuffing envelopes, and she has continued to accelerate her knowledge for the past 20 years.
Cate graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2012 with a BA in psychology and has subsequently pursued continuing education in business, marketing and personal property machinery valuation. Cate officially became Appraisal Services Manager for Cuyler FoodPro in 2016.
Young Cate Cuyler
At Cuyler FoodPro, we offer unparalleled history and unmatched expertise.
We are pleased to offer our clients and customers significant advantages based on our extensive food machinery resources, our network of major food equipment dealers and our relationships with a number of banks. Add to that our stellar reputation for efficiency and easy relationships, and you can clearly see why we are widely known as the best value in the business.