Projected production targets and equipment required

[EdwinT]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post on this site. I would like to express my thanks in advance for any replies I receive.I am an English expat living in East Europe. I am married and have been here for about 11 years full time, so I know the local business environment and market quite well. I have noticed a niche in the market for a sausage, condiment, and speiality products such as bacon, British style gammon and hams producer.
The owner of my local Irish Pub estimates he will sell around 600 kg of sausages per month (20 kg/day) on average throughout the year. I aim to supply around one to two extra bars/restaurants/hotel outlets per month and feel confident of being able to find a market for around 5,000 Kgs/month after 6 to 8 months of trading.
Currently, I am planning to purchase a stuffer such as the Pro 5L http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/P ... uffer.html and a grinder such as TC12 http://www.sausagemaking.org/acatalog/E ... ncers.html . I will not be producing on weekends so this leaves 21 days of production per month or around 238 Kgs of sausages per day.

My question to those of you who produce commercially is, is this equipment up to the job and are my production targets realistic for 1 or 2 people working in production?

[quietwatersfarm]

If you are going to be making 238 kgs of sausage a day I would get a commercial powered filler/linker, a 5L stuffer would be a nightmare on that sort of run. (unless you want to look like Popeye!)

[EdwinT]

Thank you for the advice quietwatersfarm. It is as I suspected.

[grisell]

This is not my field of experience ( ), but you will need some other equipment and facilities too. Blender, grinder, storage space, troughs etc

[wheels]

For 240kg a day I'd be looking for a larger mincer - probably a #32, maybe a bowl cutter/chopper but certainly a powered meat mixer and a powered stuffer.

You'll almost certainly need a walk in cold room/fridge - make sure that the door's wide enough for your racks to be pushed into it - it avoids unnecessary handling.

You'll also need any machinery related to butchering the meat and packaging.

HTH

Phil

[EdwinT]

Wheels,

Thanks for the additional advice. I was already thinking about a bowl mixer/cutter and you have confirmed my instincts. I will not be starting at 5 ton/month, so I do have a bit of leeway to investigate and decide the best set up for auxillary processing such as grinding, mixing and packing. Your advice in this area is very welcome.

I realise that storage, freezing and refrigeration will form a large part of the production facilities that I will need to set up.

Can you or anyone else provide any advice about the size and type of facility I will need to house this facility? I am concerned about raw material delivery requirements and storage.

Separately, my customers will want the product delivered frozen in packets of 1kg (16 sausages by my reckoning). They have told me that I can freeze the whole pack together but I imagine others will require the product to be frozen in individual sausages. How does this change the requirements for machinery and storage? For example, the square metreage area of storage and production facility I will need.

[wheels]

I'm not a commercial producer so am not best to advise, but you may find this of use:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6556e/X6556E01.htm

Phil

[Epicurohn]

You'll need TWO 15 cu.meter Walk-In Freezers. One for raw material and one for finished product. You'll need a 15 cu.meter Walk-In Cooler for In-Process product.

Your work areas should be:

Recieving for frozen meat
Recieving for dry materials
Wet area (Chopping, grinding, mixing, stuffing) Fully Air Conditioned 10º - 20º C

Hot area (Smoking, baking and boiling)

Packaging. Fully Air Conditioned

Dispatch

Spice Prep. Area

Raw materials storage

Cleaning supplies storage

Locker room and W/C.

Break room.

In all you'll need about 150 sq.meters. The facility should appropiate electrical and water supply for industrial use. Sewer service should also need to be evaluated. You'll probably need a grease trap.

SS work tables, plastic cutting boards, one #32 or two #12 grinders, cutter, 100# Mixer, 50# powered stuffer, carts, trucks, trolleys, smoker, vacuum packers, label coders, etc.