Many Tummers products are unique to the food processing sector and show exactly what we stand for: enabling our customers to process as safely, quickly and sustainably as possible. The blog series “Tummers Exclusives” this time paints the story behind our patented ZicZac Brusher, which is a sustainable solution for an excellent peeling result.
Tummers Exclusive #2: Innovative ZicZac Brusher
Difference
The innovative ZicZac- brushing machine is an ingenious alternative to the horizontal U-brusher, which is also used to peel potatoes. The main difference between the patented ZicZac Brusher and the U-brusher however is to be seen in the product’s transport direction when being peeled and in the zigzag-arranged brushes, to which this machine owes its name.
Peeling without water
Before harvested potatoes enter the deskinning process, they are destoned and washed, steam peeled and fed into the top of the Zic Zac Brusher. In contrast to products in the U-brusher, potatoes within the ZZ are moved vertically by gravity instead of a horizontal transport screw. The adjustable zigzag-arranged brushes within this machine remove the skins of potatoes, which are thereafter discharged without the use of water.
Minimal wear
Because the brushes of the ZicZac Brusher allow for a gentle brushing, the potatoes do not suffer any damage. The final product is as sustainable as possible due to a decrease in product loss by 1 to 3 percent and a longer lifespan of the brushes. The ‘ZZ’ in addition needs less maintenance than comparable machines and despite its compact size, it is capable of processing up to 60 tons of potatoes an hour.
High demands
During the development of the ZZ-Brusher, Tummers set high standards for their selves. Export manager Wim Lodders explains: “The potato industry was in need of both lower product loss and higher capacities, but at Tummers the one may not exclude the other. Therefore we had to both minimalize the product loss and maximize the capacity, without losing sight of low service costs and an hygienic design.”