Vegetable processing can often take place somewhat rougher than processing fruit. After all, it is less vulnerable. Where ZTI smart machines from Tuitjenhorn specialize in processing soft and fragile fruits, they also have solutions in the vegetable processing industry. This is, of course, partly driven by the increasing demand for convenience products in the supermarket. But the demand for pre-peeled or cleaned products is also increasing to produce the popular fresh diner packs and meal boxes.
Sorting lines for cabbage, broccoli, and pumpkins
Hans Keijzer, director of ZTI, talks about the growth of this division within his company. “Fruit processing remains our core business, but vegetable processing is now an increasingly important part of our machine range too. Previously, we made these vegetable processing machines very demand driven. For example, a large cabbage grower and processor is located close to our company. They were looking for a sorting line for their cabbage and, because of our local reputation, they quickly came to us. Well, ZTI is a company always engaged in the development of new machines. And we saw a great future in a sorting line. And that turned out to be true. Cabbage sorting and weighing lines are now running worldwide, built by us and equipped with all supply and discharge belts. And it's not only suitable for cabbage, broccoli or pumpkins can also easily be sorted out.
Coring and parting in one machine
Because the connection with the cabbage growers had now been made, we were also asked to develop a cabbage corer. That is now 20 years ago. We recently added an upgrade to this. The Cabbage Corer not only removes the core from the cabbage but can also split it into two or four pieces if desired. In this way, the cabbage can be further processed more easily be handled in a cutting machine. Or the quarters disappear in a fresh food box.
Now the range of our vegetable processing machines is even more expanding. We have a cutting machine that cuts off the head and butt of a long product such as carrot, parsnip or cucumber. If desired, this machine can also slice the products. Lengthwise cutting is also an option.
More wedges
The Fruit and Vegetable Wedger was developed a few years ago for cutting celeriac and turnips into wedges. Those are very hard products. No wonder that the machine can also be used for various types of fruit and vegetables, such as cabbage, pumpkin, pineapple, or apple. You can do all kinds of fruits and vegetables on this versatile machine,' says Keijzer.
Versatility is an asset
“To return to the demand-driven development of machines; we are increasingly looking at our existing machines and what other products there can be processed on them. For example, we recently delivered the first Fruit Cutter especially for processing bell peppers. These are used, for example, in shaslick sticks and salads. And de-trussing cherry tomatoes also works on the Destemmer, which was originally intended for de-trussing grapes."
Onions
Nice to mention is the onion cutting line that we recently developed and supplied. During the onion breeding process, part of the onion is cut off to get an idea of the number of rings of the onion, any double cores, or other deviations. An elevator belt lifts the onions from a tray and throws them one by one onto a transport. They are oriented by hand and then cut through in a controlled manner. One part is discarded, and the other part goes to the analyst.
Enough developments and ideas at ZTI, also in the field of vegetable processing machines.
