Italian fruit processing company VOG Products is attaining even higher quality standards in the 2021 season thanks to its investment in new technologies – namely a new NFC juice line and an expansion to its sterile tank storage system.

 

“At VOG Products, we have always relied on the highest quality standards. On our company premises in Laives, we use plants with cutting-edge technology to process selected raw goods into safe, high-quality products that meet individual customer requirements and the market’s ever more stringent demands,” explained Christoph Tappeiner, CEO of VOG Products.

 

The fruit processing company that belongs to four producers’ organisations from South Tyrol and Trentino and 18 co-operatives from South Tyrol continuously invests in new technologies. The most recent examples are the NFC juice line commissioned this year and a new sterile tank storage system that is close to completion.

 

Each of the six new tanks is six metres in diameter and 25 metres high, and can contain up to 625,000 litres of apple juice.

New NFC juice line

 

The raw goods supplied by the members this season are already moving through the new production line for premium juices. The new line features particularly careful dry transport and uses a cutting-edge belt press. “Thanks to even more careful processing, the quality of the juices we are extracting is even higher,” summarised Mr Tappeiner.

 

The new intake line at VOG Products can receive up to 150 tonnes of fruit per hour. It transports the fruit dry and not in water. Sails are used to enable the apples to roll along for processing, which results in fewer bruises and damaged spots. Dry transport has one additional advantage: the system consumes much less water. “We constantly think through our processes critically in order to conserve resources and work sustainably,” added Mr Tappeiner.

Premium juice from the belt press

 

The main element for juice extraction is the new belt press, which VOG Products uses to produce high-quality premium juice that features a long shelf life and more appealing colouration.

 

VOG Products ensures that the juice’s quality and turbidity are consistently in line with consumer wishes. In the separator (centrifuge), solid material and starches are removed from the juice with high efficiency and 100-per-cent automation – exactly to the extent that meets the specified quality standards or the customer’s requirements.

 

The optimisation of the entire workflow is one of the modern fruit processing company’s top priorities. The well-planned arrangement of the various machines – from the mill and belt press to the separator and pasteuriser – ensures fast throughput cycles, which are a key prerequisite for producing a high-quality naturally turbid direct juice with an intensive aroma.

Specialising in the processing of apples and other fruit, VOG Products is owned by 18 co-operatives in South Tyrol and Trentino and four producers’ organisations comprising over 13,000 family-run enterprises. Every year, VOG Products processes more than 300,000 tonnes of raw goods to create healthy fruit products for the international market.