While water jet cutting use is growing, with ever- more industries utilising the technology, there have still been some challenges in recent years as the pandemic led to a downtrend in production.
For some, this meant that their water jet-cutting machines would be under-utilised at times. One company in the US had a major issue. Their water jets had been busy cutting parts for the motor industry, business was good – and then demand for new cars nosedived and so too did their own amount of work.
For some, this would be a fatal blow ti their business. Luckily, this company had resourceful owners.
Looking to their locality, Essex County (yes, on treading we did at first think this was a British story!), it was fairly obvious which industry dominated. Not the motor industry, but instead agriculture.
Theirs is a region that is full of farmland, where food production is a major employer.
It is also a region where things tend to be done using traditional methods, the pace of change can be slow.
Water jet cutting was a chance to force change for the benefit of all, and also help this local water jet company both survive and thrive.
Durobyte took the bold decision to switch from their traditional expertise in automotive services to become one focussed on the use of water jet cutting for the food sector.
Explaining the switch, vice president Curtis Laurie told the Windsor Star: “The growers are open to technology, but they’re very traditional in their ways.
“There’s automation in agriculture, but they have tended to look to the Netherlands for it because that’s what they’ve always done. Our challenge is to get them to look closer to home.”
In a short space of time, they have created an assembly line that can be used to cut and process fruit and vegetables.
They’ve taken water jet cutting technology employed in the automotive industry and created an assembly line process that can be used by fruit and vegetable growers.
As we have mentioned before in this blog, the benefits for the food industry are huge. Equal portion size fully automated, a cutting tech that does not touch the food with a blade, and so there is no contamination. There is also reduced cost – and wastage.
“We thought ‘we use water jets to cut steel, why not for produce?’” Laurie said.
“Using metal blades for cutting, the metal contacting the vegetable starts a reaction that reduces freshness. Also, with metal blade cutting, you have to change the blades regularly to maintain a crisp cut.”
At TMC, we are a water jet cutter who serve the whole of the UK and increasingly Europe too, with clients across the content trusting us to work on their projects.
Despite our success, we remain a company that focuses on every client and work on projects of all sizes. If you think water jet cutting might be of use for your project, please do get in touch for an obligation-free chat.
Call us on 01625 610 441 or use our Contact Form.