The Best Hygienic Spiral Conveyors for Red Meat & Poultry Processing

Americans consume about 274 pounds of meat per year per person on average, not including seafood.  And the total amount of meat consumed in the U.S.A. has increased by 40% since 1961.

To ensure fresh and processed meats reach tables across the country, food processing and frozen food manufacturing companies have to keep up with the challenges & demands of the industry. If you are in the meat processing business, ensure you have the best hygienic conveyors and industrial food grade conveyor belts. 

Why Your Choice of Spiral Conveyor Systems Matters in Meat Factory Operations

With efficient spiral conveyor systems, frozen food manufacturing companies can ensure more uptime, less maintenance on the line & optimal sanitary measures transporting product. Here are some tips to choosing the right spiral conveyor system for your needs:

It’s All About Time

Whether you are handling red meat, poultry, or seafood, time is of the essence when the meat is outside of the refrigerated areas.  Where product is leaving or entering a refrigerated area, we commonly see a need for a quick elevation change.  Our edge-driven spiral conveyor system works wonders in these situations allowing for speedy, controlled transport with an open frame, drum-less spiral design.  This open and accessible design paves the way for easy maintenance and also saves you time cleaning and sanitizing your system.   

While spirals designed for protein operations have existed, they have now been taken to the next level with SideDrive.  The cage / drum or side frames associated with most of the products on the market created inaccessible pockets that can easily retain harmful pathogens. However SideDrive Conveyor Co.’s spiral conveyor systems completely eliminates food harborage points. Learn more in this blog Hygienic Spiral Conveyors Designed for Easy Maintenance & Sanitization.   Shorter cleaning time means less factory downtime.  

Unique Configurations for Specific Requirements

Spiral conveyor systems can be highly configurable to meet your different facility and product requirements. The conveyor configuration possibilities are endless. Here are some examples:

• Spiral conveyors to elevate or lower products: Utilizing an up & down path, you can convey items from an infeed – and bring them up and back down in the same frame.  This configurable pitch to get up and down in the shortest amount of time is fabulous for food products.  This is a major space savings vs virtually any other solution in the market.  
• Oval or racetrack style spirals: This architecture is perfect if you lack factory real estate and cannot fit a round conveyor system on the factory floor. I.e, long skinny rooms and spaces. 
• Spiral conveyors with multiple infeeds or discharge options: Our configurable spiral solutions can improve efficiency. For example, there can be multiple paths on the same spiral for different types of SKUs / products.  These products all come to a single packaging line to be discharged at different points for protein.  These different lines can also run at different speeds! 

Why the Choice of Hygienic Belts Matters

If you are a small meat processor looking for new equipment or a plant engineer looking to upgrade your equipment, edge-driven hygienic spiral conveyors can make your operations more efficient and ensure it is safe and clean.  Here are tips to keep in mind when evaluating the best belting for your sanitary spiral conveyor:  

Belting for Handling Different Types of Meat: 

Whether conveying beef, pork, chicken, sausage, seafood, or other proteins, plastic belting vs metal belting is one consideration. Plastic belting is inherently cleaner than metal (no shavings or black dust), so it takes less time to wash and sanitize.  High friction points with metal belting could also require lubrication.  Residual lubricant tends to be found in metal-to-metal contacts points, this can cause contamination on your line.  But lubrication systems are not used with SideDrive Conveyor Co.’s plastic modular belting conveyor systems, making it the most sanitary spiral conveyor designs on the market.  In addition to being cleaner the belt operates with significantly lower tension which reduces maintenance and increases belt life. We place drives where you need them on the spiral conveyor to spread out the tension.  

Highly flexible sanitary conveyor systems and belting are ideal for the complex requirements of the meat processing industry. SideDrive Conveyor’s hygienic spiral conveyor systems allow you to create factory layouts that can meet your needs.

SideDrive Conveyor Can Help Streamline Your Production Line

The meat processing business belongs to a very competitive and evolving industry. To meet its challenges, you need innovative equipment and technologies.

Contact SideDrive Conveyor today to learn more about how you can integrate our sanitary conveyor systems into your operations.