Elmer Hensler, founder and president of the Cincinnati, OH-based Queen City Sausage, started the company on three principles. “Give our customers the highest quality of German sausages; give our customers the best service possible; and give our customers product at a fair price.” Those principles have worked well for the company, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It’s no surprise, then, that Queen City would demand similar quality from its equipment suppliers.

About two-and-a-half years ago, Queen City Sausage needed to replace its small, problematic injector, so the company turned to Townsend Engineering Co., Des Moines, IA, and its PI Injector.

“We had done a lot of business with Townsend in the past, and we’ve had a lot of good luck with their products,” says David Dramis, general manager.  Queen City also has a Townsend NL17 SMARTlinker, two Townsend Model 2600 skinless sausage peelers, and a Townsend Utility Pork Skinner.

Townsend injectors use a multi-stage filtering system that employs a rotating stainless-steel drum for the separation of contaminating solids. This effective filtering system maintains solutions in suspension through a built-in fluid driven agitator return.

The PI injector is equipped with 3mm or 4mm needles, although other types are available depending on the viscosity of the brine or marinating solution used. The needle movements, along with the injection pattern, are designed for optimum, uniform distribution of the injection fluid throughout the meat. The stainless-steel pump is designed with a special impeller, which provides constant pressures during injection. Needles are available with either a rounded or prismatic point, and air-loaded blocks allow individual needles to retract when they contact bone.

The machine is designed so that the operator spends less time setting up and adjusting, which results in higher productivity. The injector is also mechanically designed for low noise, has a clean, easy-to-maintain walking beam transport, and is gentle on the meat products.

Dramis says that Queen City’s injector has been very versatile, an important consideration for a company that produces anything from bratwurst and metts (smoked sausage) to hams and lunch meats. “It will inject any size of product, from a piece of jowl bacon to a large bone-in ham,” he explains. “This one is a lot faster than the one we had, and it’s done a good job of injecting the brine.” He adds that the machine can handle large quantities of products, resulting in a production increase.

Queen City Sausage has had good luck in getting its Townsend machinery serviced, Dramis reports, and Townsend’s service representatives have helped ensure that the injector can be easily cleaned. All components on the injector that need cleaning can be removed from the machine quickly for proper sanitation.

“The service people are very easy to get hold of,” he continues. “They and our service people have always had a pretty good relationship.”