Cutting potatoes is one of the primary processes in a potato processing line. There has been some significant developments the last couple of years in the way processors cut their raw material. In certain instances, scientific advancements play a crucial role, while in other scenarios, basic intuition prevails. Kiremko leads the way to hydro cutting technology of the future by truly understanding each parameter of the cutting process in relation to product quality and efficiency. It is a clean cut between guessing and knowing.
Hydro cutting
Hydro cutters are machines which “shoot” tubers through knife blocks using water pressure. These hydro cutters have the ability to cut large amounts of tubers into perfectly long strips. The advantages compared to mechanical cutting are that hydro cutters can handle higher volumes of raw material and guarantee the desired longest strips. Switching between different strip and cut sizes is easy and can be done quickly. However, the strips always need to be cut lengthwise and a hydro cutter is therefore less versatile than a mechanical cutter.
Hydro vs. mechanical cutting
A mechanical cutter uses a complex mechanical system to cut the potato in slices, strips, crinkle strips, dices or other shapes. While mechanical cutting offers the advantage of flexibility in shaping various forms, it generally falls short in terms of capacity when compared to hydro cutting. Moreover, it cannot ensure the same level of precision in achieving a consistent strip size as hydro cutting can.
24/7 production demands
Many processors have multiple cutting systems installed working simultaneously on the requested product shape to keep up with production demands. With demands growing, the complete installation is designed to work around the clock to meet these capacities. For straight cut strips the heart of the cutting system is the hydro cutting system.
The longest strips, the highest output
The heart of the hydro cutter is the knife block. The knife block has a tunnel-shaped passage with firmly mounted knives that cut potatoes into strips. This knife block Is mounted into the knife block holder which consists of an alignment tube called a Venturi with a profiled polyurethane lining that inserts the potato lengthways into the knife block. Thanks to the precise aiming capacity of this tube, the tubers are lined up in a way the longest strips can be achieved.
Maximize French fry length
The length of the end product is for a large part determined by the way the raw product is cut. To ensure the best possible cut, a solid pre-sorting installation will make the difference to get the longest fries and the least amount of product waste. Processors gain a lot by making sure that especially the smaller potatoes are sorted correctly.
For more information: 
Kiremko
Tel.: +31 (0)348 - 47 94 00
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