Since 1983 NuTEC Manufacturing, with more than 50 years of food-forming experience behind it, has been manufacturing equipment that can form anything from hamburger patties to cheese sticks and most everything in between.

What began as simple patty forming with NuTEC’s 1-A machine has grown to a line-up that includes six different food formers with varying capacities, and C-Framer depositors for stuffed or filled products. Food-product applications include beef, chicken, pork, seafood or vegetable patties, skinless links, onion/veggie rings and sticks, nuggets and strips, meatballs, stuffed sandwiches, and layered products.

NuTEC’s president, Ken Sandberg, credits the company’s ability to adapt to change as the key to their success. “Our machines have proven over and over again that they can adapt to almost any applications,” says Sandberg.

A real hands-on leader, Ken claims that while working in the trenches with their customers, he and his employees have literally stumbled upon many of their new food-product applications.

“Part of our growth over the last eight to ten years has been due to the ingenuity of our customers,” explains Sandberg. “We get calls to form or fill products that are completely new to us. Yet time and time again, our machines meet the challenge and continually help NuTEC to diversity its product range”

All of NuTEC’s hydraulic food formers feature the same design principles in product feeding and forming. Completely hydraulic operation in five of the six models minimizes maintenance, reduces downtime, and lowers repair costs. Microprocessor controls are programmable to fit individual processor requirements. Product hoppers feature rotating spirals that gently move products to a rotary vane pump forming system. Bridging and overworking are eliminated because the product is neither rolled nor tumbled. Rotary vane pump forming systems feed directly to mold plate cavities through a selection of fill systems. The technology behind NuTEC equipment assures perfect shapes, home-made product quality, consistent weight control, and better equipment dependability.

From small, independent food processors to major players in the corporate food world, NuTEC Manufacturing meets all forming needs with six different machines. The only non-hydraulic model, the 710, can form up to 3,600 patties per hour with its 5 HP main drive and 250-pound hopper. The next step up is the completely hydraulic 720 former that was introduced in 2001. This machine is perfect for small to medium-sized processing plants or R&D labs. The 745 machine is a mid-range former that has a variable speed of 15 to 65 strokes-per-minute, and features a 400-pound hopper. The 750 is a slightly larger-capacity machine with variable speed of 15 to 75 strokes-per-minute and a 500-pound hoppers.

NuTEC’s 760 is chosen by the big processors for its 15- to 80-stroke variable speed and 600-pound hopper capacity. The 780 is the monster food former. Introduced in 2003, the 780 features double conveyor belts and a dual-sided mold plate that can double capacity. At 65 strokes-per-minute and two sides running at the same time, processors achieve 130 strokes-per-minute — an unprecedented rate in the industry!

The C-Frame Portioning Depositor, added to NuTEC’s product mix in 1990, continues to gain interest among food processors. This depositor accurately and consistently deposits fillings for stuffed sandwiches, egg rolls, meat pies, appetizers, calzones, jalapeno peppers, and a wide variety of other products. Like most NuTEC equipment, it is also hydraulic and provides excellent portion weight control and clean, accurate filling placement up and down the line. Forty-five thousand deposits per hour are attainable on certain models.

Speak to anyone in the NuTEC organization and there is an immediate sense of customer commitment. They truly put their customers first, whether they are “mom & pops” or “big suits.” Customer service is key, and final sales do not signal the end of the business relationship. NuTEC inventories parts and supply items and continues dealing with their customers long after the capital equipment purchase is finalized. NP