How to plan industrial food machinery for growing production
How to Choose Industrial Food Processing Machinery for Food Manufacturers and Central Kitchens
Food Manufacturers & Food Plants
Central & Commissary Kitchens
Ready Meal & Cook-Chill Producers
Catering & Contract Foodservice
Hospital, School & Airline Kitchens
Ghost Kitchens & Multi-Site Chains
Central & Commissary Kitchens
Ready Meal & Cook-Chill Producers
Catering & Contract Foodservice
Hospital, School & Airline Kitchens
Ghost Kitchens & Multi-Site Chains
Scaling from a busy kitchen to a true production facility requires more than extra ranges and ovens. Industrial food processing machinery helps you cook, mix, cool and pack consistent batches at higher throughput while keeping workflows organised and repeatable.
This guide explains how to choose industrial food processing machinery for food manufacturers and central kitchens – including industrial cooking kettles, batch mixers, continuous cookers, conveyors and basic packaging lines – so you can align your equipment with your products, volumes and layout.
What types of industrial food processing machinery do manufacturers and central kitchens use?
Industrial food processing machinery covers everything from large kettles and mixers to conveyors and packing stations. You may not need every type of machine, but understanding the main categories helps you design a scalable production line.
| Industrial Machinery Type | Core Function in Production | Typical Use Cases & Products |
|---|---|---|
|
Industrial Cooking Kettle / Steam Kettle
industrial cooking kettle |
Large jacketed vessel used for cooking, simmering and holding soups, sauces, stocks, stews and liquid or semi-liquid foods in bulk. Often equipped with tilting or discharge valves for transferring product to containers or conveyors. | Ready meals, soups, sauces, gravies, curries, porridge and central kitchen bases for multi-site restaurant groups. |
|
Industrial Mixer / Blender
industrial food mixer |
Mixes ingredients in bulk, from dry powder blends to wet mixes and fillings. Helps ensure even distribution of solids and liquids and consistent product texture across large batches. | Spice blends, bakery mixes, fillings, salad mixes, protein blends and base mixes for further processing or portioning. |
|
Continuous Cooker / Blancher
continuous cooker |
Cooks or blanches products as they move through the system on belts, in baskets or in screw-type conveyors, providing controlled time and temperature for high-throughput operations. | Vegetables for freezing, pasta, rice, some proteins and components that require consistent cooking before chilling or further processing. |
|
Food Conveyor & Transfer System
food conveyor |
Moves ingredients, intermediate products and finished items between processing stages, helping reduce manual lifting and carrying while supporting a one-direction production flow through the plant or central kitchen. | Ready meal lines, vegetable processing, bakery lines, central kitchens linking cooking, chilling and packing areas for repeated daily cycles. |
|
Portioning, Forming & Depositing Equipment
portioning machine |
Dispenses consistent quantities of product into trays, pouches, jars or moulds. Helps control portion size and fill levels for liquid, semi-liquid or particulate foods before sealing and packing. | Sauces and soups into pouches or tubs, ready meals into trays, dessert fillings into containers, and dough portions into pans or trays. |
|
Packing & Sealing Machinery (Entry-Level)
tray sealer |
Seals filled trays, pouches or containers to protect products during storage and distribution. Entry-level semi-automatic units are often used in central kitchens moving towards higher-volume packaging. | Ready meals, sauces, pre-cooked components and central kitchen packs for satellite sites, catering events or retail partners. |
How can you match industrial food machinery to your products and production model?
Two facilities can use the same machines very differently. A ready meal producer, a soup and sauce plant, and a central kitchen for a restaurant group each have distinct product flows and scheduling patterns. Clarifying your production model helps you choose the right machinery mix.
| Production Model & Operation Type | Recommended Machinery Focus | Key Planning Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Cook-Serve Central Kitchen for Multi-Site Foodservice | Industrial kettles and batch mixers for soups, sauces and one-pot dishes, supported by conveyors or trolleys linking cooking to holding and dispatch. Semi-automatic packing for bulk containers, with focus on rapid turnover rather than long-term storage. | How quickly must cooked food move from kettles to service or dispatch? Which items are shipped in bulk containers versus smaller portioned packs? |
| Cook-Chill & Cook-Freeze Food Manufacturing Plant | Industrial kettles, continuous cookers, conveyors and portioning/depositing equipment feeding tray sealing or pouch sealing lines, supported by blast chillers or freezers and cold storage arrangements designed for extended shelf-life products. | What is your main product family (meals, soups, vegetables, sauces)? How do your daily production cycles align with blast chilling or freezing capacity and packing schedules? |
| Ready Meal & Tray Production Line | Kettles and cookers for main components, conveyorised tray lines for assembly, portioning machines for sauces and sides, and tray sealing equipment for completing packs ready for chilling, freezing or dispatch to retailers or catering clients. | How many different menu items share the same line? Are you producing for retail shelves, institutional clients, or your own outlets with specific tray and portion formats? |
| Vegetable & Ingredient Processing Facility | Continuous blanchers or cookers, conveyors, industrial mixers and cutting or dicing equipment, feeding packing lines for chilled or frozen ingredients used by other manufacturers or central kitchens. | Are you supplying ingredients for further processing, or ready-to-use components? How will you manage incoming raw materials and outgoing finished goods flows through the same building? |
| Central Kitchen for Restaurant or Café Chain | Medium to large kettles, mixers, batch coolers and conveyors focusing on components for multiple outlets, such as sauces, bases, prepared vegetables and partially cooked meals for final finishing in satellite kitchens. | Which items will be produced centrally and which will stay on-site at restaurants? What delivery frequency and route planning is realistic for your network of outlets? |
| Large Catering, Hospital & Institutional Kitchens | High-capacity kettles, large mixers and some conveyor elements to link cooking and plating areas, plus simple packing and holding systems for distribution to wards, schools or job sites within tightly controlled serving windows. | How many daily meal periods do you serve, and at what times? How much preparation can be done in earlier shifts to reduce pressure during final plating or dispatch? |
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How do kettles, mixers, continuous cookers and manual setups compare?
As you scale, you often face choices between continuing with manual or semi-manual methods and investing in industrial food processing machinery. Comparing options for key tasks helps you decide where automation delivers the most benefit first.
| Processing Task | Preferred Machinery Option | Why It Works Well | Alternative Approaches to Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking Sauces & Soups in Larger Batches | Industrial steam kettle with suitable capacity and optional agitation or scraping mechanisms to support even heating and reduce manual stirring needs. | Kettles distribute heat evenly across large volumes and can be integrated with tilting or valve discharge to move product into containers, chillers or conveyors with fewer manual lifting steps. | High-capacity ranges and stockpots can work in smaller central kitchens. Very large plants might integrate kettles into more automated cooking and cooling lines. |
| Mixing Dry and Wet Ingredients for Batch Recipes | Industrial food mixer or blender with appropriate mixing geometry for your product type (for example, ribbon or paddle style for certain dry and semi-wet mixtures). | Purpose-designed mixers help ensure ingredients are distributed evenly through the batch and can be sized so standard recipes fit efficiently into each mixing cycle. | Manual mixing in tubs can be used for smaller runs or in early growth stages. Some recipes can be mixed in kettles or large planetary mixers where volumes remain moderate. |
| Blanching or Cooking Vegetables Before Freezing or Packing | Continuous cooker or blancher that moves vegetables through water or steam in a controlled time and temperature profile appropriate for your products. | Continuous systems support consistent blanching conditions across many batches and can be integrated with conveyors leading to cooling, draining and packing operations. | For smaller volumes, basket blanching in kettles or large pots with manual handling may be sufficient, especially in central kitchens serving internal outlets rather than retail. |
| Portioning and Depositing Products into Trays or Containers | Semi-automatic depositor or portioning system calibrated to typical target weights or volumes, connected to tray lines or portable filling stations as needed. | Depositing systems improve portion consistency and speed while reducing repetitive manual ladling and scooping, which can be demanding for staff in long production runs. | Manual portioning using ladles, jugs or scoops remains common in smaller central kitchens and can be combined with weighing checks to support portion control. |
| Moving Product Between Preparation, Cooking, Cooling & Packing Zones | Food conveyors and transfer systems sized for trays, tubs or loose product, designed to follow a straightforward route from raw intake through to finished goods dispatch. | Conveyors reduce manual handling and help keep product moving steadily through the process, supporting one-way flow and making it easier to visualise and manage line capacity. | Trolleys and racks can be used where flexible movement is more important than fixed conveyor routes, particularly in multi-use production spaces with changing daily setups. |
Which features matter most when buying industrial food processing machinery?
Industrial food machinery is a long-term investment. Beyond capacity and headline specifications, details such as control systems, cleaning access, construction materials and ergonomics affect how well equipment fits into your day-to-day operation.
| Feature Category | Impact on Production & Operation | Questions to Ask Before Buying |
|---|---|---|
|
Capacity, Scalability & Batch Size Flexibility
Applies to: kettles, mixers, cookers, conveyors, depositors
|
Choosing capacity that suits your current production while allowing some growth helps avoid frequent changeovers or underloaded machinery. Equipment with a useful operating range supports both small trial runs and regular full-scale batches. | What are your current and projected batch sizes for each product? Are you more likely to increase variety (more SKUs) or volume (more of the same products) in the future? |
|
Controls, Automation & Integration Potential
Applies to: all major machinery types
|
Clear, repeatable controls and basic automation features help different shifts follow the same recipes and process steps. Equipment that can be integrated with existing timers, sensors or data collection systems supports consistent product quality and documentation of process conditions. | Do your operators need simple manual controls or more programmable options? How important is recording time and temperature information for your main product ranges? |
|
Construction, Surface Finish & Cleaning Access
Applies to: kettles, mixers, conveyors, cookers, packing lines
|
Smooth, accessible surfaces and joints that minimise product build-up support efficient cleaning between batches and at the end of each shift. Simple disassembly points make it easier for staff to reach key components during routine cleaning procedures. | How many product changeovers do you expect per shift? Can your cleaning team access all relevant surfaces and components using your existing cleaning tools and space? |
|
Safety, Guarding & Ergonomics
Applies to: all operator-facing machinery
|
Thoughtful guard design, emergency stop locations and ergonomic loading heights help staff work safely and comfortably when feeding or unloading machines, especially in long production shifts or multi-shift operations. | Where will operators stand relative to infeed and discharge points? Are controls and emergency stops easy to reach without stepping into traffic routes or near moving parts? |
|
Utilities, Space & Installation Requirements
Applies to: all large equipment
|
Industrial food processing machinery may require specific power supplies, steam, water and drainage provisions, as well as clearances for loading, maintenance and ventilation. Planning these early can save time and disruption during installation and future line changes. | Do you have suitable utilities and floor space available where you plan to install each machine? How will equipment be brought into the building and moved into its final position? |
How should you position industrial food machinery in your plant or central kitchen layout?
A clear, one-direction layout helps you move raw materials through preparation, processing, cooling, packing and dispatch with minimal backtracking. Good positioning of industrial food processing machinery also supports cleaning routines and staff movement.
| Production Zone | Role of Industrial Food Machinery | Layout & Workflow Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Raw Material Intake & Primary Preparation | Receives ingredients from suppliers, performs basic washing, trimming, cutting and weighing, and feeds raw materials to kettles, mixers, continuous cookers or preparation lines via conveyors or trolleys. | Design one-way paths from receiving and storage into processing areas. Separate raw material flows as far as practical from finished product and packing zones. |
| Cooking, Blending & Processing Block | Houses industrial kettles, mixers, continuous cookers and similar machinery where products are cooked or processed to target conditions before cooling, portioning or direct packing. | Group equipment with similar utility and ventilation needs. Ensure there is safe space for operators to move around machinery and clear routes for trays, tubs or conveyors leading to the next stages. |
| Cooling, Chilling & Intermediate Holding | Includes cooling equipment, blast chillers or freezers and any holding racks or tanks where products rest or cool before final portioning and packing, helping bridge time between cooking and packing shifts if needed. | Keep travel distances from cooking to cooling as short and direct as possible. Plan for clear identification of batches moving into and out of cooling zones. |
| Portioning, Packing & Dispatch Area | Hosts portioning and depositing equipment, tray or pouch sealing machinery, labelling stations and finished goods storage or marshalling areas where orders are assembled for delivery or internal distribution. | Arrange packing lines so product flows from cooling into packing and then into storage or dispatch with minimal crossing of paths. Provide space for pallets, trolleys or roll cages to move safely through the area. |
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Disclaimer: This guide is for general information only. Always follow local regulations, safety guidance and manufacturer instructions when selecting, installing and operating industrial food processing machinery in food manufacturing plants and central kitchens.
