door seal

What is the Best Style of Door Seal for a Smokehouse?

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The door seal is a vitally important part of any industrial smokehouse, dehydrator, or steam oven.

This one component is responsible for keeping the oven doors sealed tightly in the frame, preventing heat and steam from escaping the cabinet, and in some oven designs, keeps the doors closed.

Imagine the cost you would pay if the oven didn’t have a door seal: utility expenses would spike with the loss of heat from the oven, employees would be burned just being near the oven, and product wouldn’t cook consistently, resulting in product rejections.

The door seal is that important, but not all styles of door seals are created equal.

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spray nozzle

What is the Best Spray Nozzle for Cleaning a Smokehouse?

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Choosing a spray nozzle for the clean-in-place (CIP) system in a smokehouse or dehydrator doesn’t seem all that important, especially when compared to choosing a heating source, damper control system, or the main fan.

While the spray nozzle maybe just a small component part, it plays a big role in effectively cleaning an oven — and reducing the risk of product contamination that can occur in an oven that is not properly cleaned.

The right spray nozzle will give you maximum coverage to clean the inside of the oven. The wrong spray nozzle, however, will give you the illusion of being clean, while leaving a good portion of the oven untouched by cleaning solution — a huge no-no in the world of food processing.

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thermometer calibration log

What Data Do You Need to Record in a Thermometer Calibration Log?

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Good record keeping is an essential part of any smokehouse or dehydrator thermometer calibration.

The ability to review temperature differences, comments from previous calibrations, who performed the calibration, and if the thermometer needs to be replaced is essential to any HACCP program — and will save you the headache of trying to track down the data later.

If you’re cooking product in a smokehouse, dehydrator, or steam cabinet, getting your team in the habit of calibrating thermometers on a regular basis and recording the results is a must!

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chain driven dampers

3 Reasons to Avoid Chain Driven Dampers in a Smokehouse

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Chain driven dampers were the industry standard for decades when it came to “controlling” the breakpoint in an industrial smokehouse or dehydrator.

If you have an older oven, or one manufactured in Europe, chances are the dampers are driven and kept at a 90 degree angle from each other using chains and sprockets.

While this design was revolutionary in the industry when it was first introduced, new technology and updated designs have made chain driven dampers a thing of the past — and a very ineffective way of controlling the breakpoint in an oven.

In order to understand why chain driven dampers should be avoided in a smokehouse or dehydrator, it’s beneficial to know what the breakpoint is and how it’s controlled.

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prevent slips

3 Practical Solutions to Prevent Slips in Your Workplace

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Slips in the food processing industry are a serious issue — one that leaves a large number of employees injured and costs the company thousands of dollars in claims and work time lost.

In Washington state alone, there are approximately 340 workers’ compensation claims each year for slip and trip injuries in the food processing industry. On average, each claim costs $4,600 while the average work-time lost for each of these injuries is 35 days.1

That’s a lot of lost work time and money spent on an easily preventable injury.

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musculoskeletal disorders

18 Easy Principles for Preventing Musculoskeletal Disorders

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According to the California Department of Labor Statistics and Research, the food processing industry has one of the highest lost-workday incidence (LWDI) rates. In 2000, it was almost double than the LWDI rate for all industries as a whole.1

Bruises, cuts, burns, fractures, and amputations are among the top causes of such a high lost-workday incidence rate — due in part to the equipment used in food processing plants.

While those injuries are severe and drive up the LWDI rate, there is a much more common set of injuries that account for the majority of the high LWDI rate: musculoskeletal disorders.

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food processing employee safety

3 Important Reasons to Focus on Employee Safety

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June is National Safety Month — a month set aside to focus on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities, with the ultimate goal that No One Gets Hurt.

What better time to focus on improving safety in your food processing plant?

Employee safety is an important part of any food processing facility — one that should never be “set it and forget it.” Taking time to review employee safety training, procedures, and response time should happen on an annual basis to help reduce the risk of employee injuries.

Why focus on employee safety this month? Here are three great reasons.

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Fusion Tech Expands and Switches to a New Phone Number

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Fusion Tech Integrated, Inc. [“Fusion Tech”], a leading manufacturer of custom engineered food processing equipment and systems, recently rolled out new phone and fax numbers for their office locations in Roseville, Illinois and Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

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small business

3 Reasons We’re Proud to be a Small Business

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Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

We’re proud to be part of that group.

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tariffs

A Letter in Response to Steel & Aluminum Import Tariffs

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Dear Fusion Tech Customers,

As you have heard, President Trump has finalized the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. As of Friday, March 23, 2018 a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% tariff on imported aluminum has been implemented.

A large majority of Fusion Tech’s base materials, including filler materials, have been and will be affected by these tariffs.

Due to the vast uncertainty surrounding new pricing and how it will affect the market, our vendors will no longer adhere to the practice of notifying us of price increases, nor will they be able to honor any previously agreed upon price contracts. We have no control of this price dynamic. We will be forced to pass along these increases as we get them.

How does this affect you?

  • We have changed the valid period on all quotes sent out after March 23 from 2 weeks down to 3 days.
  • Pricing may change upon receipt of a purchase order, depending on fluctuating materials pricing

This will not affect purchase orders that have already been submitted prior to March 23, 2018.

Fusion Tech will continue to communicate the pricing changes as soon as we are notified. We greatly appreciate your business and patience during this time.

Thank you,

Fusion Tech Staff