Meat+Poultry - July 2018 - ground beef - 10

G R I N DING TE CHNOLOGY

Back to the grind
Grinding, mixing and blending technology
eases the load for ground beef processors
By Bernard Shire
m e a t p o ul t r y@ so sl a n d .c o m

F
10

2018 GROUND BEEF TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY MEAT+ POULTRY

Grinding equipment has
become much bigger
over the years, "as the
processors have become
much larger operations," says Kate Rome,
president of Rome
Grinding Solutions.

MAINTAINING PRODUCT QUALITY
Dave Schumacher, global sales support manager
for Provisur Technology's Weiler Food Processing
Systems, the company's grinder and mixer brand
in Whitewater, Wisconsin, points to two major
innovations in grinding and mixing: minimizing
of mechanical energy that goes into the meat
when grinding meat and poultry; and pump-grinding. Schumacher says the major areas the grinders
are used include ground beef, poultry, seafood, pet
food and rendering.
"If you don't minimize this mechanical energy
you put into the meat, when the beef comes

Rome Grinding Solutions; FPEC Inc.

or the past 40 years, Rome Grinding
Solutions, based in Sheldon, Iowa, has
concentrated on doing one thing - making
grinders for ground beef and other foods.
"The original idea was to provide
grinding services to the oil milling industry and rendering," says Kate Rome, the
company's president. It was started by her grandfather, Daniel Boster, in 1977 in Ankeny, Iowa. "I
would describe him as an uneducated engineer,
and he began this small business in his garage,"
she says.
Rome Ltd., as it became known, transitioned
into the food processing industry, "because
there was more opportunity for us there," Rome
says. That was her father, Michael Weaver's idea.
Rome Grinding Solutions competes successfully

with the industry big boys. "That's because we've
stuck to doing one thing - making grinders," she
says. The company boasts machining technology,
in-house engineering - and excellent customer
service and technical support.
"One of the big innovations in this business
has been the transition to companies selling
whole rooms of grinding, mixing and forming
equipment - whole systems - especially for the
large ground meat manufacturers," Rome says.
"And since we only make grinders, we partner
with other manufacturers to sell these systems,"
she points out. And while ground beef grinding is a big part of their business, their grinders
have also joined mixers in lines at big poultry
processors, as consumers look to make dishes
both with ground beef, ground chicken and
ground turkey. Rome grinders also are used by
sausage manufacturers, but the company stays
in the processing world - "we don't get down to
grocery stores and retailers," she says.
Rome has been in the grinding equipment
business for 22 years and has seen great innovations in the technology. "The equipment has
become much bigger, as the processors have
become much larger operations," she says. And
then there are new steps on food safety in the
grinding industry.
Of course, food safety concerns have always
been there. But companies now concentrate on
how the grinding equipment is constructed. "The
equipment we make now must be easily sanitized," she notes. "You have to be able to break
down grinders very easily. And it must be very
safe for the employees to take the equipment
apart - you don't want three guys getting hurt
while they're doing it," she says. Other changes
in Rome's grinding business include maximizing
the output of meat and poultry products, with as
little waste as possible.

Meat+Poultry - July 2018

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