Mission
Reflectronics is dedicated to delivering intelligent optical sensor technologies to the dairy, food, and related industries empowering processors to monitor and control operations with precision, reliability, and insight.
History of Innovation
Fred Payne grew up on a dairy and cattle farm in western Kentucky. In 1965, he left the farm to pursue his passion for science, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in food engineering in 1980. He joined the University of Kentucky in 1985 in a teaching and research position - a role that allowed him to engage in technology development and pursue his lifelong ambition of founding a Kentucky-based technology company. His research focused on developing fiber optic sensors to monitor and control food processing operations.
In 1987, Payne began investigating the use of infrared light to monitor milk coagulation. Encouraging results led to early commercial interest from the cheese-making industry. A comprehensive coagulation study conducted in 1990 laid the foundation for an algorithm to predict optimal cutting time.
To commercialize the breakthrough, Payne founded Reflectronics in 1993 to manufacture the CoAguLite optical sensor. The technology was initially adopted by the Damrow Company, which facilitated the first installations. In 2006, Tetra Pak acquired the technology and continues to market it globally. Today, CoAguLite sensors have been deployed in nearly 500 cheese vats worldwide.
In 2012, Payne conceived a fluorescence-based method for measuring protein content in whey permeate to assess membrane performance. Between 2014 and 2020, prototype sensors underwent field testing by dairy processors, with iterative improvements made to optics, electronics, algorithms, and design. However, practical use revealed that fluorescence signals fluctuated with solids content, compromising measurement accuracy.
In response, development began in January 2020 on a modified fluorescent technology that compensates for whey permeate solids variability. The resulting sensor—FluorLite-LX—automatically adjusts for solids concentration, proving successful in plant trials. Commercialized in 2022, FluorLite-LX is now available in both inline and laboratory configurations and is poised to play a vital role in monitoring whey membrane systems worldwide.
Separately, a fluorescence-based sensor tested in 2014 for milk coagulation revealed an unexpected insight: the sensor signal remained steady until a rapid drop at the “flocculation point,” a key moment in coagulation. This discovery enabled more precise identification of the coagulation endpoint. The technology, FluorLite-MC, was introduced in 2018 and has since been implemented in cheese-making facilities in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Australia.
The Reflectronics Team
Reflectronics owes its foundation to the contributions of many students, faculty colleagues, and technicians at the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky who played a vital role in developing the fiber optic sensor technologies that underpin the company’s product line.
Today, the team includes dedicated professionals who have consistently provided their expertise in the manufacturing of these advanced sensor technologies. Their long-standing commitment continues to drive innovation and reliability in Reflectronics’ offerings.