In the fast-paced world of fresh-cut produce and commercial catering, few items pose a handling challenge quite like the humble tomato.

With its delicate skin and juicy interior, precision slicing requires a balance between speed, surgical accuracy, and gentle product handling. For Früchte Boquoi (Heinrich Boquoi & Sohn), a premier fruit and vegetable wholesaler based in Hagen, Germany, meeting the soaring regional demand for fresh-cut convenience foods meant finding a smarter way to slice tomatoes without compromising quality or losing precious juice.

Supplying regional commercial kitchens and hospitality sectors with near-24-hour delivery schedules demands high-speed production. However, traditional manual slicing or standard automated set-ups often create severe bottlenecks for delicate fruiting vegetables.

Improper cutting damages soft skins, leading to premature oxidation, loss of freshness, and inconsistent slice thickness. Furthermore, wet tomato slices exiting a standard flat conveyor belt tend to scatter randomly, forcing operators to manually sort and realign the slices before packaging. This extra handling consumes critical processing time, increases manual touchpoints, and causes further juice loss. To scale their fresh-cut convenience line, Früchte Boquoi needed a solution that eliminated manual sorting while delivering immaculate cuts.

Partnering with Dutch vegetable processing technology leader Sormac, Früchte Boquoi implemented the FS-3600 MultiSystem slice and wedge cutter. Equipped with quick-change blade cassettes and an electrically driven cutting unit, the semi-automatic machine easily processes thousands of pieces per hour with uniform precision.

The real breakthrough, however, lies in Sormac’s specialised cup conveyor belt system designed specifically for tomatoes. Rather than letting slices fall onto a flat belt, the FS-3600 captures the output of each individual tomato into dedicated compartments. This simple yet effective engineering feat keeps slices neatly together as they transition directly to packaging.

Hamza Kerenciler, owner of Früchte Boquoi, noted that while they primarily slice tomatoes, Sormac offered them a specially developed cup belt for this application. Because the slices drop directly into the cups, they are quick and easy to pack. Kerenciler called the cup belt a true game changer, stating that without it, the slices would scatter across a conveyor belt and become much more difficult to handle.

By pairing Sormac’s cutting-edge machinery with Früchte Boquoi’s high-volume demand, the collaboration yielded immediate operational benefits. Eliminating the need to re-align scattered slices saved significant preparation time and kitchen prep labour.

Clean cuts prevent skin damage and juice leakage, ensuring optimal shelf life, freshness, and visual appeal for commercial kitchen clients. Additionally, while the continuous FS-3600 excels at precision tomato slicing, its quick-tool system also allows for versatility across other produce such as peppers, zucchini, lemons, and onions. Through intelligent automation and targeted design, Sormac and Früchte Boquoi have set a new benchmark for precision and efficiency in fresh-cut vegetable processing.