Very few people outside of the food industry actually consider the mechanics behind food preparation – whether in a domestic environment or on an industrial scale. However, one thing that is common across the board is the need for convenience and speed.
Gone are the days where bakeries stir cake mix by hand, or even bread dough, and where would large-scale industrial kitchens be without conveyer belts moving the food items to the next stage in the preparation process? Even domestic kitchens would be lost without a food mixer or microwave when it wasn’t so long ago these were considered to be luxuries.
The one aspect all food preparation has in common is that as the process becomes more automated and simplified, the more motors are required. The motor manufacturing industry, therefore, has to continue developing and upgrading their motors to fit a smaller envelope, as well as making them quieter and more powerful in order to uphold the requirements of the industry.
Commercial Kitchens
In industrial kitchens one of the main processes is mixing in one form or another; whether dry ingredients, wet ingredients or dense ingredients like bread dough.
The ingredients are worked at a variety of temperatures and a number of speeds meaning the motors used need to be specifically calibrated for the particular job in hand as well as being ultra-hygienic, water-proof and heat-proof.
Commercial (as with domestic) kitchens are filled with certain appliances which require hydraulic or electrical pump motors, including dishwashers, washing machines and ovens. These need to be robust and able to cope with regular use in hot and wet conditions.
Fan motors (evaporator, condenser, and pump) within an industrial kitchen have multiple applications from air ventilation to circulation of hot air in the industrial ovens, to dispersing cool air into the refrigerators and freezers. These motors have to be durable, as they are used twenty-four hours a day continually. Maintenance when it does need to be done should be quick, easy and hygienic in order to prevent excessive downtime to the kitchen appliances. Find out more about our mixing motors here!
Food Display Items
Going out to eat is now a common form of entertainment and motors have played a key part in ensuring eating out is also an ‘experience’. Take, for example, the chocolate fountain which is a staple at many weddings or boutique dessert restaurants. The motors used to operate the fountain have to be able to withstand a great deal of heat essential for melting the chocolate, whilst at the same time being small and more importantly, quiet.
Another key performance element to dining out is the conveyer belt which was made popular with sushi restaurants in the 1990s but is now an integral part of destination dining with desserts and even cheese restaurants using the same systems. In these environments should the motor in the conveyor belt fail, then the entire dining concept cannot work, meaning robust, high-functioning motors are essential.
A common feature of many high street fast-food restaurants is the doner kebab machines, a food display item with the practical element of cooking and warming the meat as it rotates. These motors need to be robust as they are used consistently for hours and hours in a hot and greasy environment.
The food industry is vast and therefore the motors required vary across the range from hydraulic to pump motors as well as AC and DC motors. At Parvalux we have many years’ of experience supplying standard and customized motors to the food industry. We pride ourselves on the quality, reliability, durability and longevity of our products.
If you need to source motors for the food industry, whether for industrial mixing or a revolving display stand we are able to develop a motor specific to the available space envelope and requirements of the project. Alternatively, we also hold a number of off-the-shelf motors to suit all requirements. For more details head over to our conveyor page.
