The food processing industry keeps people eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and new food processing technology is always coming out. After researching the products you want to make, you need to figure out what equipment you'll need. Many entrepreneurs don't realize how much is involved in the process; getting started in the industry takes time and planning.
Here are a few clues, by way of example: a plant specializing in frozen pizza snacks needs a mixer (for dough), a divider to cut the dough into sections, a former to create pockets in the sections of dough, a machine to insert sauce, cheese and pepperoni into the pockets, a fryer or oven to cook the snacks, a flash freezer to quick-freeze them and a machine to package the snacks into saleable portions. All of this is run by a conveyor system and a machine that randomly performs quality control inspections.
1. Figure out your niche and buy the proper food processing machinery.
2. Speed up your operations using food processing conveyors.
3. Buy other food processing equipment that you might need, including inspecting and freezing devices.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Find a food processing machine for your specialty
Decide if you want any humans working in your plant or if you want the entire operation to be automated. This choice depends largely on the type of food you're making, but rest assured, there are machines for every want and need out there.
I recommend: Search through a huge selection of processing machinery at
CFS. From battering to freezing to forming to cooking, they have it all.
Aaron Equipment is your one-stop shop for used food processing technology.
Use a food processing conveyor to speed up the process
A conveyor system is the most efficient way to get your product from one machine to the next. If your system if fully automated, this is the only way to go.
I recommend: Get a custom-made system from
A&B Process Systems that cuts, cubes and conveys your product, with three different conveyor belts to choose from.
Meyer Industries offers a range of conveyors that are sure to fit your needs.
Locate other industrial food processing equipment
To ensure that you're only selling your best products, you'll need a few other types of equipment. Machines that randomly inspect your product will pick up on any errors and allow you to make adjustments accordingly. Flash freezing is the most economic way to properly freeze your food before it goes to the packaging department.
I recommend: Conduct quality assurance with all kinds of inspection equipment from
S+S Separation and Sorting Technology. If your plant needs to flash freeze your products, check out the blast freezers at
International Freezing Systems.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Consider working in beverage processing if you haven't opened your plant yet. This type of processing involves purifying water or enhancing the color, smell and flavor of sodas and juices.
The official source of Food Processing Industry is
the Food Processing Industry page at Business.com
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