PND, een Italiaans bedrijf dat tot de meest innovatieve behoort in de productie en marketing van fruitverwerkingsmachines, heeft een interessante nieuwe mijlpaal bereikt met de verwerving van een nieuwe internationale markt. PND's sales manager Valerio De Caro vertelt ons hierover.

"After a long negotiation, our company managed to close a remarkable contract for a frozen fruit company in Central Asia," said De Caro. "Specifically, in Kazakhstan, where we installed a strawberry processing plant. The latter includes as many as six machines and processes about three tons of fruit per hour. The gauging unit, placed upstream, enables to process strawberries of different diameters, ranging from 20 to 50 mm, by simply replacing the fruit support membrane, thus making small interventions to the settings. This is where our innovation lies."

Thus, the month of May has been exceedingly fruitful for the company, as it has repaid for the hard work in the strawberry sector, which has seen a significant increase, especially in the fresh-cut segment. But will there be more after this first installation?

"After the company's achievement in Asia, I am happy to announce that in July we will proceed with the installation of a new plant, of the same type, this time in China, for a large French group that operates in the compote and jam sector. In the same month, the company will be moving to Australia for a new installation, where our strawberry processing machines will once again take center stage."

"We are specifically talking about the model DF12 and DF24 stem removing machine," the manager continued, "which was designed specifically for this fruit and designed to reduce manual labor without compromising on its gentle processing. The device removes the green apical part of the strawberry and, upon request, performs the cutting in half or four of the fruit, ensuring an excellent yield in a short time and without mechanical damage. The two models have many similarities and differ in production capacity and usage of manpower. The DF12 processes 300 fruits per minute with 4 operators, about 300 kg per hour; the DF24, on the other hand, can process 600 fruits per minute with 8 operators, about 600 kg per hour. The operators manually load the fruit into the units, the cutting heads de-stem the strawberries and perform the cutting; the finished product is collected on a belt conveyor and the product then goes on its way to packaging or storage."

PND has managed to win the trust of both industry technicians and customers, who recognize its machinery as irreplaceable tools.

"Relying on us means receiving personalized assistance," concluded the interviewee. “Customer care, in fact, is fast and effective and covers every latitude of the world. All consumable spare parts and routine maintenance components are always available quickly. By being able to provide high quality products and dedicated attention, in a competitive and increasingly globalized market context, is an added value that makes the difference."

PND's next international trade shows are set for 23 to 26 July 2023 at FOODPRO, Australia, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, stand L38.

The interest in fresh and processed pineapple is constantly increasing. PND, a company specializing in machinery for fruit processing and in the development of advanced systems for fresh-cut and processed product businesses, provides answers for this segment. Export manager Virginia Cascella, explained that "clients from all over the world kept asking for a solution to process pineapples that made it possible to obtain cylinders, rings, wedges and chunks. The demand for solutions for the fresh, frozen and dehydrated pineapple market has been increasing a lot over the past few years."

"We immediately replied with our PINCYL8 model, an extremely compact manual-loading machine measuring 1.5x1.5m and capable of processing 14/16 fruits per minute. We grouped all pineapple processing procedures in a single machine capable of guaranteeing high productivity, reliability, robustness, sanitization and maintenance also in post-production. Operators load the fruits and the machine proceeds with the placement, coring and cutting into cylinders. Then the fruits can be cut into rings, wedges or chunks depending on the client's needs."

The Italian company produces two pineapple processing machines, PINCYL8 and PL2D, which boast a similar production capacity. The semi-automatic cutting and coring PINCYL8 machine was created approximately three years ago, while the other model has been available all over the world for the past 14 years and, after various improvements, it is now among the most popular in Europe, US, Canada, South America and Australia.

"The two-station manual-loading semi-automatic PL2D peeler is intuitive, user-friendly and can process 12/14 fruits per minute. In addition, it is versatile and can also be used to peel melons and squash. All fruits are easily peeled even if their shape is irregular and if they have not been graded, with a waste equal to 45%, external parts included."

The machine is made of stainless steel and it must be paired with various cutters depending on the shape needed. Product output and waste conveyors are added to guarantee the maximum organization and cleanliness of the processing environment. Three models are available with one, two or four work stations depending on the production capacity required.

"Both machines are very popular. Our customer care service is swift and effective in all five continents. With 23 years of experience, 19 machines and a business mainly dealing with exports, the company works on a global scale and is present in various continents. To get to know us and to know where to find us all over the world, please refer to our fair calendar on our website."

The innovation for 2023 is the new mango peeler mod. PL4M, which can process 24-28 fruits/minute. It is an improvement of the 6-head version (36-42 fruits/min) developed over 10 years ago. Plus, in addition to the PL4M and very popular PL6M models, there is also a larger model, i.e. the 8-head PL8M peeler that can process up to 112 fruits/min.

The machine is made entirely of stainless steel and materials compliant with food regulations and can peel fruits of all shapes, grades and ripening levels, unlike any other machine available on the market.

Mango peelers are hand-loaded and very easy to use: operators load fruits onto a conveyor, and are then peeled easily. One operator is enough for the PL6M and PL4M models, while the new PL8M model needs two people due to the size of the machine and its speed.

Mango peelers are among the most popular machines and 160 models have already been distributed all over the world, with lively demand in South America and mostly Peru.

The PL8M model boasts several advantages as it optimizes space, saves on labor and allows for flexible processing. The company has decided to make it work for all production capacities thanks to the collaboration of its clients: the company focuses in fact on listening to consumers and cares about their needs and requirements.

"Choosing PND means receiving personalized assistance. Customer care is in fact quick and effective at all latitudes. All spare parts and ordinary maintenance components are available in a short time."

The company has managed to conquer the trust of both sector technicians and clients, who recognize the machines as irreplaceable partners suitable for all kinds of needs.

"This year, once again, we will attend the main fresh-cut fair in Italy: PND will showcase its products at the EXPO Centre at Macfrut on May 3rd-5th (hall B1, stand 195)," reports export manager Virginia Cascella.

"We have been attending Macfrut for twenty years as it is an occasion to combine business, knowledge and networking and open up to the ever-growing Italian market. We will be there with a 32 sq m stand and two machines: mango peeler PL4M and the wedge, slice and stick cutter SS8”.