German fruit and vegetable processing company partners with Union Machinery to create a fully automatic cleaning and drying production line capable of processing 1,000 kilograms per hour, achieving a double leap in efficiency and quality!

 

Customer Background: Capacity upgrade demand of leading fruit and vegetable processors in Germany

In January 2024, a well-known fruit and vegetable processing enterprise from Bavaria, Germany urgently needed to upgrade its production line due to business expansion. This enterprise focuses on deep processing of organic fruits and vegetables, supplying products to large European supermarkets and catering chains. It has extremely high requirements for equipment processing efficiency, hygiene standards, energy consumption control, and automation level. The core pain points include:
 

• The original semi-automatic equipment has insufficient processing efficiency (only 600 kg/hour), which cannot meet the demand for peak season orders;
• The manual cleaning process results in a high product loss rate (about 8%) and poses a food safety risk;
• Uneven drying effect affects subsequent packaging and product shelf life.

 
After on-site inspections and technical comparisons with multiple equipment suppliers in Europe and China, the customer ultimately chose to cooperate with our company and order a fully automatic fruit and vegetable cleaning and drying production line with a processing capacity of no less than 1000 kilograms per hour. The goal is to achieve "efficiency improvement of 60% + loss rate reduced to below 3%, and unmanned operation throughout the entire process".
 

Solution: Customized fully automated production line to overcome three core challenges

Union Machinery, an industry expert with 11 years of experience in food machinery exports, has provided a full-process customized service for German customers, covering "process design - equipment manufacturing - installation and commissioning - personnel training". The core solutions are centered around the following three dimensions:

1.Ultra-efficient Cleaning System: Two-stage surging + bubble spray, achieving a stable output of 1000 kilograms per hour
· First-stage Surging Cleaning: Utilizes an inclined mesh belt conveyor, combined with high-pressure surging water flow (pressure 0.3 - 0.5 MPa) and bubble bursting technology, quickly removing mud, insect eggs, and pesticide residues from the surface of fruits and vegetables. The processing capacity can reach 1200 kilograms per hour (with a 20% redundancy design to handle peak demand);
· Second-stage Spray Cleaning: Equipped with a 360° rotating spray arm + food-grade brush rollers, adjusting the brush spacing and rotation speed according to the different characteristics of leafy vegetables and root vegetables to ensure thorough cleaning without any blind spots. At the same time, through the PLC control system, it automatically matches the cleaning parameters for different products (such as carrots, lettuce, apples);
· Continuous Lifting and Draining: Utilizes a vibration draining + air knife pre-suction design to effectively remove surface free water, laying the foundation for the subsequent drying process.
 
2. Low-temperature and Efficient Drying: Air circulation + variable frequency temperature control, energy consumption reduced by 20%
· Multi-layer Mesh Belt Drying Tunnel: Made of 304 stainless steel, with a length of 8 meters, divided into a preheating zone (60℃), a drying zone (adjustable from 75-85℃), and a cooling zone (room temperature). Through PID constant temperature control, it ensures uniformity of drying (water content deviation ≤ 1%);
· Waste Heat Recovery System: Utilizes heat exchangers to recover heat from the drying exhaust gas and reintroduce it into the preheating zone. Compared to traditional equipment, energy consumption is reduced by 20%, meeting the EU ERP energy efficiency standards (IE3 motor);
· Online Moisture Monitoring: An infrared moisture sensor is installed at the outlet to provide real-time feedback on the drying effect, automatically adjusting the mesh belt speed and hot air temperature to avoid product loss due to over-drying or over-humidification.
 
3. Full-process Automated Control: PLC + touch screen, achieving automation and data traceability
· Central Control System: Utilizes Siemens PLC, combined with a 15-inch color touch screen, allowing for the presetting of over 100 product process formulas, and enabling one-click switching of production modes;
· Remote Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis: Supports real-time viewing of equipment operation data (such as production capacity, energy consumption, fault alarms) through the industrial internet platform. The Union Machinery technical team can provide 7×24-hour remote assistance;
· Safety Interlock Design: Equipped with emergency stop buttons, overload protection, door opening stop, etc., meeting the German DIN EN 1672-2 food machinery safety standards and obtaining CE certification.
 

Project Outcome: German customer satisfaction rate reached 100%, and all four core indicators exceeded expectations.

In March 2024, the production line was installed and debugged at the German customer's factory and officially put into operation. After three months of stable operation, the data showed:
· Efficiency met Standards: The actual processing volume remained stable at 1100 kilograms per hour (exceeding the contract's 1000 kilograms), with peak daily processing volume reaching 8.8 tons, meeting the maximum order requirements of the customer;
· Quality Improvement: The product loss rate decreased from 8% to 2.5%, the cleaning qualification rate reached 99.8%, the moisture content after drying remained stable at 5-7%, and the shelf life was extended to 15 days (originally 8 days);
· Cost Optimization: Labor costs were reduced by 70% (6 operators were reduced), energy consumption costs decreased by 22%, and it is expected that the equipment investment can be recovered within 10 months;

Customer evaluation: "The equipment of Union Machinery not only solved our capacity bottleneck, but also enabled us to receive high praise from the German Food Supervisory Authority (LFGB) in the food safety audit. This is the most correct decision for us to choose Chinese equipment!" - Mr. Schmidt, the customer's technical director.
 

Why Choose Union Machinery?

· Expert Team: End-to-end engineering support from design to commissioning.
· Global Expertise: 11+ years in food machinery, serving 50+ countries.
· Certifications: ISO9001 and CE compliant.
· Custom Solutions: Full-service support, including plant layout optimization.
· Support: 24/7 technical assistance, spare parts availability, 1-year warranty.
 
Take action now and start your productivity revolution!
If you are also experiencing issues such as insufficient production capacity, unstable quality, and high labor costs, please feel free to contact us to obtain our customized solutions specifically tailored to your needs!
 
Union Machinery， A global leader in food packaging, committed to enhancing customer competitiveness through innovative machinery. Complete export certification and 100% on-time project delivery rate.
 
Union Machinery——Make each product become your quality endorsement!