Case Study: DELUMPER® LP Crusher Improves Cocoa Butter Processing

Chef Rubber, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a manufacturer and distributor of specialty supplies for chefs and well-known confectioners. The products include silicones, molds, colorants and colored cocoa butter. These unique tools are widely used by artisan chefs to create edible works of art for special events, competitions and other artistic applications.

With the recent optimization of their web site, the company experienced worldwide demand for their products and a large increase in sales. It soon became clear that in order to keep up with the expanding business, they would have to upgrade some of their material handling and production practices.

“We needed to take a look at how we process cocoa butter, one of our most popular products,” explained Paul Edward, Director of Operation. “It is widely used by chocolatiers and pastry chefs to make their showpiece creations.” “We purchase a very specific type of cocoa butter from Venezuela that comes to us in fifty pound blocks,” he continued. “The first step in the process is to break the blocks down to smaller pieces. Until recently, this meant shaving each block by hand and that wasn’t going to work anymore.”

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After examining their options, the company turned to Franklin Miller for a solution. A DELUMPER®1075 LP Crusher was subsequently purchased after a test run with the cocoa butter passed with flying colors.

The DELUMPER LP lump breaker processes hard, soft, sticky, dry or wet substances at high volume. The unit features extended cutter teeth that rotate through a rugged bar grating. This powerful processor reduces oversized solids up to the unit’s full input opening size. With each rotation, the teeth clean the slot openings making the unit automatically self-clearing. The result is an efficient, exceptionally low friction cutting action that is excellent for large quantities of food, chemicals, fats, waxes, plastics, filter cake, and more.

The units are provided in various sizes with single, dual or triple shaft configurations for capacities up to 27,000 lbs./hr. An optional hardfacing of chrome boride fused coated to all cutting teeth is provided for superior life in abrasive service. Units are available in carbon steel, T304L or T316L stainless steel construction.

“The DELUMPER lump breaker has made a big difference,” said Edward. “It chops the blocks down in no time at all. In addition, the stainless steel interior makes it very easy to clean.”

“The unit is so big and powerful that I could do a semi truck load of cocoa butter in a day if it was needed,” he concluded.