Convenience fruit sales have risen considerably in recent years. Mixed fruit salads containing grapes are very popular in supermarkets all over the world. Small wonder, then, that the Destemmer is one of the Dutch company, ZTI's, international best-selling machines. It's well-know that it destems grapes well. But this machine can just as easily destem cherry tomatoes.
Special rotating process
Machiel Honig co-owns and is an engineer at ZTI. He designed this machine several years ago. He wanted to develop a machine that twists fruit from their stems. "It's not difficult to come up with a machine that pulls or shakes the fruit off their bunches their stems. You can, indeed, quickly rip fruit from its bunch."
"But the fruit's shelf life is important. So, you need to treat it with the utmost care. The fruit is rotated thanks to silicon cushions. That ensures it gets twisted off its stem. Its growth point, therefore, remains intact, which means it lasts longer. That's, of course, what we, and our clients, want," Machiel explains.
You no longer have to destem cherries tomatoes by hand, either. The Destemmer can quickly do that. The trusses are fed into the top of the machine. The fruit is then, neatly and carefully, twisted from its stem. The machine's soft silicone' friction pads' ensure the fruit isn't bruised. The loose fruit then rolls onto a conveyor belt.
Capacity and usability
Depending on the variety, the Destemmer can process about 500kg/hour. The machine can also be fitted with several additional options. These include feeding and outlet conveyor belts, a washer, shaker, and dryer. You could even add a funnel or bunker. These feed grapes into the machine. A volume detection system automatically stops the feeding conveyor belt when the bunker reaches capacity.
You can use the Destemmer to destem dates too.
For more information:
Hans Keijzer
ZTI smart machines
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.zti.nl