A vacuum cooling to ensure maximum quality to 800,000 lettuces a day

Moelco, specialist in vacuum precooling equipment, installed the largest facility of its kind in Europe, for the Group Urcisol, Murcia, Spain. With a capacity of 60 pallets per hour, it allows the company to ensure a maximum quality level to each piece of the 800,000 lettuce marketed daily. Urcisol explains that "With this investment we avoid the rot (it stops bacterial cycle) and slow the maturation of the products, greatly reducing the losses in stock and on arrival (as it extends the life of the product) and consequently, the customer claims, due the higher quality product. This occurs because with the new vacuum we are able to pre-cool all the lettuce we market (800,000 daily), within the hour and a half after the cut, lowering its temperature rapidly from 25-30 degrees at 3°C”. To the Urcisol Group, one of the leaders in the produce industry in the Region of Murcia, is belong 7 agricultural enterprises with more than 4,500 hectares of vineyards, of which 2,800 are operated continuously throughout the year, for which use more than 40 reservoirs with a total capacity of 3,000,000 m3. It counts on 28,000 m2 warehouses, and 30,000 m3 cold rooms, generating 2,000 jobs annually. Since the creation of Sol de Aguils S.A. in 1978, the growth and implementation of new acreage has been his biggest goal. Technical data of the vacuum cooler Size (inside), 2900x3180x16000 mm Capacity, 148.48 m3 Traction system, with motor by section, 24kw motor Process, load and power: Standard palet, 1000x1200, 30 units Europalet, 800x1200, 38 units Special field pallet, 1200x1200, 26 units Total Installed Power, 756.50 kW