The bowl of Seydelmann’s K 1004 AC-8 industrial cutter – the largest cutter in the world – holds a thousand liters. It can process circa 800 kg of material in a single operation, or even more depending on the application. Guus Ysebaert, owner of the Belgian convenience-food manufacturer Vlevy, has used the cutter for approximately three years. In this Fleischerei field test, he discusses his experiences with the high-performance machine.
Vlevy was founded in 1891 in the Netherlands by Eduard Ysebaert, the great-grandfather of the current owner. The name “Vlevy” is short for “Vleeswaren van Ysebaert” – meaning “meat products made by the Ysebaerts”. Today, the company’s headquarters are in the Belgian town of Desteldonk, a district of Gent. 90 employees generate revenues of 26 million euros per year in a plant covering approximately 13,000 m2. Vlevy specializes in producing convenience products – from blocks of formed ham to meatballs to pizza toppings. Some 60 percent of the company’s products go directly to the convenience food industry; 40 percent are marketed by wholesalers.
Vlevy has worked with Seydelmann for generations. “As long as I can remember, we have used Seydelmann machines,” explains Guus Ysebaert. In addition to the 1,000-liter cutter used today, the company has four Seydelmann meat grinders and a 120-liter cutter for product developments.
Large batches save time and labor
“We didn’t need any familiarization time,” remembers Ysebaert. “We had already worked with Seydelmann cutters in the past, and the bigger one is only slightly different in terms of operation. We used to load our 750-liter cutter by opening the noise-absorbing cover, which had an integrated loading system for 200-liter trolleys. To load our new 1,000-liter cutter, we do not need to open the lid. All material required for the batch is stored in an integrated loading hopper and evenly distributed into the cutter at the beginning of the process. The emulsion is monitored through a viewing window in the closed noise-absorbing cover.”
Despite the fact that its bowl volume is twice the size, the bowl of the K 1004 AC-8 is no higher than the bowl of the 500-liter Seydelmann cutter, that is, at hip height. The high performance machine is accessible from all sides and can be operated just as easily as a smaller cutter. Ysebaert obviously gives the machine the best ratings for this.
He rates the machine’s working speed as “excellent” as well. This assessment is due last but not least to the machine’s bowl volume. Although the time needed for the cutting process depends on such things as the sausage mixture and the intended result, the times for filling and emptying the cutter bowl, for example, decrease for larger and larger batches. At 800 kg of material per batch, the K 1004 AC-8 enables an actual production capacity of 4.8 t or even more fine emulsion per hour.
In a company like Vlevy, in which the cutter is operated every day for 18 hours, this production capacity is a key advantage over smaller cutters. “We produce our complete product assortment with this machine,” says Ysebaert, “meaning all convenience products and meat products made in the cutter.”
Using several smaller cutters would be less economical. Take personnel, for example. At least one qualified employee must be available to operate a cutter. Producing the same quantity with two 500-liter or even three 325-liter cutters would require two or respectively three times the personnel, and obviously two or three times the cost.
Other cost factors include expenses for changing and grinding knives, for service, maintenance and cleaning – not to mention the fact that two 500-liter cutters set up for reasonable workflows take up much more space than a single 1,000-liter cutter.
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Safe, clean, quiet
The dynamically shaped lid form of the cutter has a positive effect on the sausage emulsion quality. It also provides hygiene benefits.
Whether or not the emulsion is used for raw, boiled or cooked sausage, almost no unprocessed product residue remains in the lid. The seamless polished surfaces with rounded edges and the screw-free cutter lid facilitate cleaning of the K 1004 AC-8 as well. Dirty corners where sausage emulsion could collect and in the worst case, allow germs to accumulate, are nowhere to be found. The entire machine, including its robust controls, can be cleaned with high-pressure steam. Ysebaert gives it the best ratings in this category as well. “We can reach all areas of the machine easily. It can be cleaned in practically the time it takes to clean a smaller cutter.”
In regard to safety, the K 1004 AC-8 is also ahead of the game. “The fact that we can load the machine through the loading hopper without opening the lid, increases safety.” The special S 24 blade system in the Seydelmann cutter also enables entire blade set to be changed within around five minutes.
Reliable in all respects
In terms of safety and reliability, the separate electrical cabinet also does its part. It makes the machine extremely compact and ensures that the frequency converter and electronics are protected from moisture, condensation and vibration. The machine frame thus has less resonating room, resulting in lower operating noise. It is clear that no cutter is silent, but Guus Ysebaert rates the K 1004 AC-8 as “good” in this category. “It is the largest industrial cutter there is. Two 500-liter cutters together would be much louder.”
The industrial cutter is manufactured from high-quality, thick-walled stainless steel and is resistant to robust handling such as banging against a heavy container.
Anyone like Ysebaert, who bets all of his cards on one cutter, is dependent on reliability. An outfall of several days would cause immense damage. Under this aspect, Ysebaert also rates the service provided by Seydelmann as “excellent”.
Seydelmann’s Belgian representative and service partner is Latré Dirk foodmachinery bvba. Guus Ysebaert’s experiences speak for themselves: “We have used this service for various small things. In some cases, the service technicians have worked through the night to take care of a problem. The next morning, everything was ready to go again, right in time for production.”
Guus Ysebaert would again purchase the K 1004 AC-8. Especially for his production needs, which are oriented to large batches, the world’s largest industrial cutter offers decisive advantages over smaller cutters: higher output with – relatively speaking – a smaller footprint, less noise and lower personnel requirements. The cutter can be used for Vlevy’s entire product range and is completely reliable, thanks to Seydelmann’s efficient partner.