Buying a meat shredder, or any equipment really, for your meat shop or food processing facility can be costly. Getting the features you want in the time frame you want it and making it integrate easily with your current processes adds up &#; and sometimes you don&#;t know the full cost until you&#;ve paid it.

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Saving money when buying a meat shredder starts with knowing the full cost of the machine. Until you know the associated costs of the meat shredder you want to buy, you won&#;t have a clear idea of how well it fits within your budget.

The Real Cost of Buying a Meat Shredder

Consider these associated costs when buying a meat shredder:

• Delivery / Shipping
• Set-Up Fees and Training
• Supporting Equipment for Integration &#; think tables, loading and unloading conveyors, dumpers, and more.
• Modifications to the Machine to Fit Your Operation &#; does the shredder itself require any modifications to fit your current process?
• Ongoing Maintenance Costs &#; how much time and money will go into regular upkeep and maintenance on your shredder?
• Ongoing Cleaning Costs &#; how much time and money will go into cleaning your shredder?
• Upgrading the Machine for More Output Later &#; will you need to upgrade to a larger model down the line to accommodate an increase in product output goals?

Money Saving Tips for Buying a Meat Shredder

Knowing the associated costs of buying a meat shredder will give you a better idea of the full investment you are making in the machine. When you know those costs, it&#;s easier to find ways to save money. These tips will help!

Think Integration

Before you launch into buying a meat shredder, consider how you want to integrate it into your current operation. Ask yourself these questions:

• Will you manually load and unload the machine?
• Do you want to feed product into and out of the machine automatically?
• Do you want mechanical assistance in loading product into the machine, via a dumper or lifter?
• Do you need any supporting equipment for using the shredder, such as tables, trays, or carts to help load and unload the machine?

Answering these questions will give you a starting point in your search for buying a meat shredder &#; and help you determine what other equipment you will need to purchase with the shredder.

Once you know how you want to integrate the shredder, start looking for meat shredders that offer easy integration, and for companies who not only sell meat shredders, but also the supporting equipment to go with it. You can often get a deal on bundling a meat shredder with the equipment needed to integrate when you purchase it all from the same company.

Think Safety

Employee safety is a big concern in the meat processing industry. According to the California Department of Labor Statistics and Research, workers in food-processing plants have a higher likelihood of being hurt on the job than workers in many other industries.1 One injury while using a meat shredder could end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially when you think about the damage that a meat shredder could do to the human body.

When looking at buying a meat shredder, it&#;s important to think about employee safety. Ask yourself these questions:

• What safety features are required on the meat shredder to comply with your company&#;s safety policies?
• What safety features come standard on the meat shredder, and what features are optional?
• Will you need to purchase other safety equipment, such as ergonomic stands, dumpers / vacuum lifts, and guarding?

Shelling out the money for additional safety options is always a good idea, as it saves you from the high cost of employee injuries. Or, better yet, find a meat shredder that comes standard with all the safety features to keep employee hands out of the machine.

Think Cleaning

Regular cleaning of your meat shredder comes with its own costs &#; and usually those costs are associated with the time needed to clean the machine. A meat shredder that requires a lot of dismantling and special tools to access the shredding blades will cost you a lot in down time and employee pay.

Look for these easy-cleaning features when buying a meat shredder to save you cleaning costs:

• Tool-less removal of guarding
• Easy open for cleaning
• Wash-down motor
• Stainless steel construction

Buying a meat shredder that is easy to clean will save you BIG.

Think Maintenance

Similar to cleaning, regular maintenance of your meat shredder will cost you in down time and employee pay. A meat shredder that requires a lot of regular maintenance will require a lot of down time &#; costing you in loss of product and greater payroll expenses.

When buying a meat shredder, look for one that does not require a lot of maintenance. Tool-less removal of guarding, stainless steel construction, minimal parts all will save you in down time.

Also, look for a meat shredder supplier who offers replacement parts and purchase one of each upfront. This will save you delivery time of replacement parts should your machine break down at any point.

Think Long Term

When buying a meat shredder, think long term. While right now you might not need a meat shredder capable of handling more than 200 pounds of meat per hour, if your business grows (who doesn&#;t want that?!) you might need a bigger meat shredder in the future.

Thinking through your long-term goals before buying a meat shredder will end up saving you money in the long run. Buying a meat shredder for your current needs is great, but if you outgrow your machine in a year, you&#;ll be right back at square one of needing to buy a new meat shredder.

Ask yourself these questions to help think long term:

• Do you plan on increasing the amount of shredded meat product in the future?
• Do you want to grow your business bigger than it is now?
• Do you foresee your shredded meat products being a big hit with customers?
• Will you be heavily marketing your shredded meat products?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it might be worth investing in the next meat shredder model up from what you currently need. Doing so will give you the room to grow your business without the need to invest in another meat shredder soon.

Invest in the Best

When you&#;re in the process of buying a meat shredder, start by checking out our Cove Meat Shredders. These shredders are designed for easy integration, come standard with a number of safety features, are easy to clean and maintain, and come in three different models allowing you to upgrade for future growth. They come equipped with the 5 most important options you should look for in a meat shredder. As a custom design and manufacturing company, we are also able to provide you with any of the integration equipment you need, and can even layout an integration line for you.

Start your search for a meat shredder by downloading the Fusion Cut catalog. Simply click the button below to get your copy today.

1. Department of Industrial Relations Cal/OSHA Consultation Service Research and Education Unit. Ergonomics in Action: A Guide to Best Practices for the Food-Processing Industry. California: California Department of Industrial Relations, . Print.

How to Choose the Right Office Shredder Machine

Choosing a paper shredder machine or other office appliance shouldn't be a life-and-death decision. Most new buyers, however, tend not to have much experience with it, and this can lead to complications.

It seems simple enough: find a machine to match your budget, make the purchase, and get ready to shred. But it's not as straightforward as all that. There are factors to consider and certain machines that will work better for your office, depending on your unique needs.

You need to know what your options are. Which features are appropriate for what you'll be shredding, and how to know what will work best for you, ahead of time?

For more information, please visit industrial shredding machine.

Here are eight great tips for finding the perfect paper shredder for use in your office:

1) Paper Size

The shredder machine decision process starts with paper size.

You'll need an idea of what sized paper you'll be shredding most often. Most offices use a shredder that takes letter-sized sheets, to dispose of private information.

Sometimes, however, you'll need more. Certain tax documents and pay slips come printed out on extra wide square sheets. Folding one or two of these in half before you shred them might not be a problem. But, when the piles of these get to be in the twenties, the awkward size will be an issue.

Do an assessment of the paper sizes you'll be shredding. You may be able to save money on a smaller shredder, but the extra work of processing overly large paper may not be worth it.

2) Load Size

Going hand in hand with the question of paper size is the issue of load size.

If you're shredding small reams of paper, a simple, narrow shredder input will do just fine. You don't need much if you're destroying letter twenty sheets in a month.

But it's important, to be honest about how much you'll be shredding. Anything more than just a few sheets of paper and you'll want a shredder machine that can handle a mid-sized load. Make sure to do your research well in advance, and get a shredder that's up to the task.

A good rule of thumb goes:

• Personal shredders for single users
• Small shredders for up to five users
• General office shredders, next up, work for up to ten people
• For more than ten users, consider a commercial shredder

3) Cut Type

When it comes to choosing between paper shredders, one of the distinguishing factors to consider is cut type.

If you thought these machines simply sliced your documents into straight vertical lines, you'd be very wrong. Strip-cut machines create long, straight cuts. Cross-cuts add confidentiality to your shredding by chopping strips into smaller chunks.

Micro cuts take the cross-cut concept and improve on it, cutting paper into much smaller pieces. Pushing the envelope of this idea to the limit, we find high-security shredding, which reduces the paper to particles instead of chunks.

4) Shredder Speed

Paper shredders are convenience items. They're meant to save you time and effort, at home or in the office. And a large part of that convenience boils down to speed.

Most modern shredders feature a specific runtime, meaning they can operate constantly for up to a preordained time. After this, they need to cool down in order for the machinery to maintain its operational condition.

These cycles range from two minutes to more than an hour, depending on the make and size of the shredder machine. Make sure to research yours beforehand, so you aren't unpleasantly surprised.

5) Noise Levels

Paper shredders are inherently noisy. There's no getting around it - these are boxes full of moving parts whose only job is to slice and tear apart small bundles of paper. Whatever brand you get is going to make a certain amount of noise.

If you're willing to invest some more money, you stand a good chance of finding a noise-controlled unit. There are some high-end shredders that boast silent work, and you might get earnestly close to just that.

For something more low-end, there are YouTube videos for many shredders, showing off how loud they are. Use these to make your decision before buying, and you'll be able to find the best noise for your money. Alternatively, you could simply go into a store and try out a few models in person.

6) Security Levels

Safety features can be an important factor in choosing a paper shredder. If you have young children who might be at risk around an unattended shredder, a little security can make all the difference.

Safety guards are standard in shredders of most types and help to keep fingers out of any danger zones. More expensive shredders may use laser sensors to detect fingers, stopping the blades before they can do any damage.

7) Advanced Features

Of course, just because you're buying a paper shredder doesn't mean you have to buy only a paper shredder. Many of these units feature a variety of advanced features to add to and improve your shredding experience. Some of these include:

• credit card shredding, for plastics, paper clips, and heavy card
• anti-jam technology to keep the feed tray clear
• pull-out bins, which are actually fairly common

8) Power Saving

Office appliances take a lot of energy to run, especially in large numbers. For many people, deciding to buy a paper shredder comes down to how much power they're likely to use.

80% of the energy from using a paper shredder comes while it is in use. For better energy consumption, look into a shredder that prioritizes energy savings while it is in use and while it is out.

Choosing A Shredder Machine: Now You're Ready

Paper shredders aren't the kind of machine most people buy more than once or twice in a lifetime. With this in mind, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, or like you're not putting enough thought into your purchase.

Hopefully, this handy list of eight tips for choosing the right paper shredder for your office will give you all the insights you need.

Interested in printers, shredders, and other high-end office products?  Get in touch with us, or check out some of our fantastic product lines, today, and get ready to transform your office.

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