FAM STUMABO offers top-quality, versatile solutions for cheese cutting applications

Photo courtesy of FAM STUMABO

CONSISTENT CUT — Hymaks, pictured above, is FAM STUMABO’s highest-capacity large drum dicer. It features a unique and uncompromising sanitary design that is USDA Dairy Division accepted, and provides highly uniform dice and shreds with minimal waste.

Photo courtesy of FAM STUMABO

THE PERFECT BITE — FAM STUMABO’s equipment and cutting assemblies are designed to provide the specific cheese cut sizes offered to end customers in retail and foodservice.

By Alyssa Mitchell

MEQUON, Wis. — When it comes to meeting growing consumer demand for high-protein snacks, it’s important for cheese manufacturers not only to offer versatile, on-the-go packaging options, but also to have the right tools at hand to slice, dice, shred and cut cheese precisely to fit these packaging formats.

With a presence in the United States for more than 40 years, FAM STUMABO has been a trusted supplier to the cheese industry, providing innovative solutions that also are simple to use. By understanding how factors such as moisture, fat content, age and temperature influence cutting behavior, the company’s machines are configured to deliver clean, uniform cuts with fewer fines and less waste, directly improving yield and product consistency.

With global headquarters in Belgium, U.S. headquarters in Mequon, Wisconsin, and key locations throughout Europe, FAM STUMABO is well positioned to offer innovative cutting solutions for a range of cheese types, including dairy alternatives. While the company does not package cheese products directly, it works upstream of packaging to support producers and processors with cutting, shredding and dicing solutions that prepare products precisely to specification before they enter the packaging stage.

“Cheese is generally categorized by moisture content, texture, ripening method and age, and comes in a wide variety, including hard, semi-hard, soft, semi-soft and processed,” notes Paul Krechel, executive vice president, North America, FAM STUMABO USA.

To provide the perfect cut for these varieties — from Mozzarella, Feta or Parmesan to Cheddar, Provolone
or Monterey Jack — knowledge of various parameters is required, Krechel adds.

“The uniform and controlled feeding, the size of the blocks fed to the drum, the condition of the product, temperature range, age, type of blades used — all of these aspects need to be considered to achieve the best possible cutting result,” he says. “Our unique advantage is the continuous adaptability of our equipment.”

Now, FAM STUMABO also is offering full-line solutions for shredding applications, from product handling to packaging equipment, in North America, Krechel adds.

“Being able to offer a full-line solution has allowed us to be the trusted partner prior to packaging,” he says.

• Innovative offerings

FAM STUMABO offers a selection of cheese-cutting machines for manufacturers that directly address their high-capacity dicing, shredding and crumbling needs.

Hymaks is the company’s highest-capacity large drum dicer with a unique and uncompromising sanitary design that is USDA Dairy Division accepted, Krechel says. It provides highly uniform dice and shreds with minimal waste.

FAM STUMABO’s equipment and cutting assemblies are designed to provide the specific cut sizes offered to end customers in retail and foodservice, he adds.

FAM STUMABO recently has identified a market need for “homestyle” and “farmer cuts,” Krechel notes. These profiles mimic an authentic hand crumble and shred. As the company has been working on these “homestyle” cut profiles, it has found that this exact specification requires extensive testing with new equipment and cutting assemblies.

“As the manufacturer of our cutting assemblies and knives, we have been able to provide the unique profiles according to the end consumer’s needs,” he says. “Our newest innovation has been focused on the hand-crumbled look, which is increasingly popular for Feta, Blue cheese and goat cheese.

“We offer a range of cubers to reduce the size of the large cheese blocks into smaller dice, which will be in turn fed into the shredders to achieve the proper length (of the shred) in order to fit the bag size,” he adds.

Krechel notes the company also is debuting its shredding equipment specifically for low- to medium-
capacity converters/producers, such as the Centris 400C shredder and the Flexifam dicer.

“These cutting tools are quick and easy to change, reducing downtime,” he says.

Krechel notes that all of the company’s blades are manufactured in-house and made from the highest-quality, food-grade stainless steel.

“Choosing the right blade will make cuts precise and clean, ultimately improving product uniformity and reducing waste,” he says, adding that using the right blade thickness, cutting-edge grind, edge profile and strength are critical to a smooth cutting process.

At the same time, high-capacity designs and innovations, such as the company’s patented Centris SureShred cutting head, reduce cutting time and maintain stable output even at higher volumes, lowering unit production costs.

For example, this cutting head is designed to meet the demands of today’s versatile, higher-volume cheese shredding applications. The 16-blade head will double the capacity and provide rapid cutting action, reducing the time the cheese spends in the cutting head, Krechel explains. The preset slice thickness provides uniform shreds, eliminating the need for slice thickness adjustments.

“USDA-accepted hygienic designs, integrated safety features and a strong focus on operator protection reduce risks during operation, cleaning and maintenance, helping processors meet safety requirements while avoiding incidents and unplanned downtime,” he adds. “The result is more efficient operations, safer working conditions and reliable equipment that supports both day-to-day performance and long-term profitability.”

• A range of solutions

In addition to conventional cheese solutions, the global market for plant-based dairy alternatives is expanding rapidly due to key growth drivers including rising lactose intolerance, increasing adoption of vegan/
flexitarian diets, ethical concerns about animal welfare and the environmental impacts of conventional dairy, Krechel notes.

To this end, FAM STUMABO has a dedicated food research and development (R&D) department focused on alternative cheese products.

“We try to understand our customers’ cheese well before applying our cutting knowledge,” Krechel says.

“When addressing the plant-based dairy alternatives segment, especially analog cheeses, the key is matching the cut requirement to the right machinery. For example, when you need shredding (e.g., for pizza toppings or salad bags), Centris 400 C (and its Hytec variant) is ideal. This machine is designed for medium-to-high volumes, offering precise, consistent shred dimensions and supporting vegan/analog cheese varieties.
“If instead your analog cheese is to be diced, then for moderate capacities, a drum dicer like the Flexifam 55 (or similar) fits well, and for higher capacities/high-throughput dicing, the Hymaks is the optimal choice with its large drum, heavy-duty design and accredited sanitary standard,” he adds. “Because analog cheeses often differ from dairy cheeses in texture, viscosity and melting behavior, the cutting machine and its tools must be chosen with those factors in mind. This is why we have a Food R&D department at FAM STUMABO to help our customers.”

• R&D, testing and collaboration

Krechel notes that FAM STUMABO’s history and success are based on testing.

“This happens both in our test facilities and on-site, where the equipment is tested in line. We have expertise in the cheese industry through collaborative testing with customers worldwide. This has allowed us to apply our findings to applications from one market to another,” he says.

The company recently debuted a new state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center in Mequon, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, in the heart of America’s Dairyland. The center offers FAM STUMABO’s partners and customers the opportunity to view all of its equipment offerings and allows testing of customer food products and live analysis of the results. The facility also provides hands-on and theoretical training for maintenance, operations and R&D personnel for new and existing customers.

“As we offer this service to companies throughout North America, companies also utilize our virtual options for testing and analysis,” Krechel says.

“For decades, we have been a known supplier to the cheese industry, providing innovative solutions that are also simple to use. We achieved this by working directly with end customers during the design of our new equipment,” he adds. “Every feature of the equipment was developed through collaboration with our customers.”

With many years of experience and in-depth expertise in cutting techniques, specialized knife technologies and knowledge of numerous food types, FAM STUMABO has the solutions needed to support its
customers’ success.

“We work closely with our customers to find the best possible way to create the quality products that set their businesses apart,” Krechel says.

CMN

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