Engineering:Berkel meat slicer
Berkel meat slicer machines were produced since the end of the 19th century and were the world's first.[1][2]
Patent
In the 1890s, the butcher Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel invented a hand-held machine to cut ham, sausage and meat more precisely and faster than before. The Berkel patent was about a handwheel set in motion a movable table sled, which slid towards a sharp, convex, rotating blade.[3]
History
On October 12, 1898, Berkel founded the world's first factory for slicing machines in Rotterdam. In 1899 he sold and dispatched 84 slicers.
Berkel's cutting machine was quickly developed. Later models were equipped with grinding heads, so that the blades remained sharp.
In the years 1907 and 1908 van Berkel expanded abroad and was very successful. In 1908 he delivered 2734 slicers, about half of which went to England and to the British colonies. There were Berkel machines in Russia, India, China, Egypt and South America.
The demand for mechanically operated machines grew steadily, so that a worldwide expansion took place in the following decades. In addition to the headquarters and the main production facility in Rotterdam, subsidiaries were established in the metropolitan areas of the European countries. In North America was first manufactured in Chicago in cooperation with the American Slicing Company, then independently in Laporte Indiana (Illinois). In Canada, Toronto was headquartered and in South America Buenos Aires was the center of manufacturing. By applying appropriate plaques the production sites can be assigned to the individual machines.
In 1909 another factory was established in the United States at Chicago, which was soon enlarged and moved to La Porte, Indiana in 1915. From 1915 to 1928 the Berkel Model Indiana or Model B was built, which despite the compact dimensions of 47 × 45 × 68 cm (W × L × H), has a cutting width of 20 cm .
The Latin American market was supplied from the 1950s. In 2001, the production facility was relocated once again, this time to South Bend, Indiana.
References
- ↑ Erastus Long Austin, Odell Hauser: The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition. A record based on official data and departmental reports (America in two centuries. An inventory). Arno Press, New York 1976, ISBN:0-405-07670-3 (unveränderter Nachdruck d. Ausg. Current Publications, Philadelphia PA 1929).
- ↑ About Us auf berkelequipment.com
- ↑ US Patent 628,742
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