6 Factors to Look for When Buying a Food Conveyor

Conveyors play a key role in any food processing plant. The right food conveyor system can streamline your processing or packaging operation, reduce operating costs, increase the efficiency of your operation, and increase your product yield.

But finding the right food conveyor system – the one that will increase product yield, decrease operating costs, and fit seamlessly with your current equipment – is not an easy task. Do a quick Google search for food conveyor and you’ll find thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of results. How are you supposed to narrow down those results to find the perfect food conveyor system for your plant?

Simple. Look for these six options when purchasing a food conveyor system:

1.) Custom Designed

Purchasing a custom designed food conveyor system is always the best choice. When you work with a custom equipment manufacturer, you get the exact food conveyor system you need, designed to meet your specific goals, and do not have to deal with the hassle of trying to get a stock conveyor to fit your processing line. There are at least six main reasons why a custom designed food conveyor system is the smart choice. Jump on over to this post to read them.

2.) Sanitary Design

Sanitary design is crucial for any piece of equipment in a food processing plant, so make sure the conveyor system you purchase meets all 10 Sanitary Equipment Design Requirements. That means you’ll want to make sure the manufacturer you purchase from understands the food processing industry, has years of experience, and has positive feedback from past clients. Just because someone says their equipment is sanitary, doesn’t mean it lives up to it on the field.

3.) Easy to Clean

A poorly designed food conveyor will cost you time and money when it comes to your cleaning and sanitation process. You want to find a conveyor that is not only easy to clean, but designed to make the cleaning process even easier. Look for features like:

Spray bars that clean out the sprockets
Spray bars aimed at the most open hinge point
Belt lifters to clean belts without needing to remove them
Angles turned in such a way to prevent voids facing down, flat surfaces, or harborage areas

The may seem like unnecessary options, but these simple features will save you time and money when it comes to your cleaning process.

4.) Ergonomically Designed

Ergonomic solutions are a must when it comes to increasing safety in your plant, and your food conveyor system should be designed to be ergonomically sound. Attached ergonomic stands, appropriate conveyor width to prevent over reaching, diverter bars to bring product closer to employees and more should be factored into the design right where you need it.

You can learn more about ergonomic solutions that should be including by checking out this page.

5.) Durable

There’s nothing worse than spending thousands of dollars on a food conveyor system, only to have it break down and need repairs after a few months. Many stock conveyors on the market today are built to look good, but often aren’t durable enough to withstand a demanding environment and multi-shift operation. You want to find a food conveyor system that lasts. It will save you time, money, down time, and ultimately your sanity.

The best option for finding a durable conveyor is to get one custom designed. The custom equipment manufacturer will take your working environment as well as your operating needs into account and build you a food conveyor that can withstand what your operation will throw at it – which brings us to our last factor.

6.) Designed for Your Application

If you’re going to spend the money to replace or add food conveyors to your plant, make sure they are designed for your specific application. Custom sizes, functions, speeds, capacities – everything you need to move your product safely and efficiently from station to station. Even purchasing a specialty conveyor system designed for your specific product. Working with hot dogs or sausages? Consider a hot dog conveyor. Working with bacon? You’ll want a special bacon conveyor. Processing bologna? Consider a bologna transfer conveyor.

It’s worth the time and money to invest in a food conveyor that is custom designed to fit exactly what you need, especially when it comes to increasing your product yield and decreasing your operating costs.

Get It All – In One Place

Are you in the market for a conveyor system for your food processing operation? Fusion Tech can help!

Sanitary food conveyor systems are our specialty. We have over 10 years experience designing and manufacturing custom sanitary conveyor systems for some of the biggest names in the industry. You can learn more about our custom food conveyor design and manufacturing capabilities by downloading our Fusion Move catalog. Simply click the button below!