Fresh-cut fruit is often considered as part of the "processing industry" when actually there are thousands of producers and processors worldwide that are small, almost artisans. That is why the producers of processing machinery wanted to find the best solutions for these small and medium-small businesses.
"We have been providing solutions to large companies from the fresh-cut sector located all over the world. Our attention has now turned to smaller businesses, for which we design smaller machines," explains Virginia Cascella, export manager at PND, which showcased its machinery at Fruit Logistica 2024.
Virginia Cascella
"There are many processing start-ups looking to diversify their income by modifying their business and entering the fresh-cut world. We therefore started to design efficient yet smaller machinery perfect to obtain finished products of the highest quality."
PL4M mango peeler
Two of the systems showcased by PND in Berlin stand out in particular because they represent the state of the art of fruit processing machines for both larger and smaller volumes. One of them is SM2 for the mechanical shelling of pomegranates.
SM2 pomegranate shelling
"SM2 is a very compact model developed to meet the need of fresh-cut companies to meet new consumer trends, as fresh fruit salads and mixes feature pomegranate arils more and more thanks to their color and flavor. This model is suitable for small businesses wishing to approach product processing or small laboratories wanting to improve or set up a pomegranate line without giving up too mush space. The machine can process 5-6 fruits/minute, boasting a considerable processing capacity despite its reduced size."
Above: peeled mango; below: pomegranate arils
The other machine showcased at the fair - PL4M - is dedicated to the peeling of mangoes, another product increasingly popular outside its producer areas.
"Our PL4M is a reduced version of PL8M, which we showcased in Berlin last year, and features 4 peeling stations instead of the 8 of its larger counterpart, which remains the fastest machine on the global market. Despite its reduced size, PL4M processes 44-56 fruits per minute, i.e. around 600 kg per hour. The high engineering level leads to an extremely precise setting with waste that only amounts to 12-14%, combined with high execution speed and processing that is practically perpetual. Just like all other PND machines, it is built to last and only needs swift and intuitive maintenance."
For further information:
Virginia Cascella
PND -
Fruit Processing Machinery
Via Brancaccio, 11
84018 Scafati (SA) – Italy
+39 0818509368
[email protected]
www.pndsrl.it