What a tomato processing plant for ketchup includes
A Wahal tomato ketchup processing plant takes fresh tomatoes through four sections, and Wahal designs it to your capacity.
- Reception: in-feed conveyor, washing, grading and sorting
- Processing: boiling, pulping, de-seeding, and mixing and cooking under vacuum
- Packing: glass bottle, can and sachet lines
- Utility: steam, cooling, compressed air and effluent treatment
Looking only for the pulp or juice extraction end of the line? See our tomato processing line.
Reception section
- Fresh tomatoes are fed to the in-feed conveyor, which carries them to the reception section.
- A washing station removes outer dirt and foreign matter from the skin, and a grading section sorts the fruit.
- On the inspection cum sorting table, unwanted and damaged tomatoes are separated out by hand.
Processing section
- The washed, graded tomatoes are first boiled to the point where they can be made into pulp.
- The boiled tomatoes go to a pulper. Its rotor and stator have inner and outer serration, and they form a thick puree, or pulp.
- The pulp is de-seeded and the waste is filtered out, so the pulp can be processed further into a fine paste.
- The de-seeded pulp is fed into the processing and mixing vessel.
- The vessel carries a homogenizer and a vacuum pump, so it works under vacuum. A feeding system delivers the ingredients directly into the cooking kettle.
- The finished ketchup is pumped into a buffer storage vessel, then moved to the packing station.
Machines that can be used here: tomato paste processing machinery, a shear pump, a multiprocessor and inline high shear mixers.
Packing section
| Pack type | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Glass bottle (puree or ketchup) | Rotary bottle washing machine, semi-automatic inspection conveyor, twin or four head liquid filling machine, automatic bottle crowning and sealing machine, automatic labeling machine |
| Can (paste or concentrate) | Hot filling screw pump, can body reformer, can flanger, can bottom seamer, semi-automatic filling machine, stationary can top seamer, lid embossing machine, vacuum tester, canning retorts, steam lines, can conveyor, sticker labeling machine, labeling table |
| Sachet | FFS (form fill and seal) machine, which packs the ketchup into sachets of the volume you need |
Utility section
The utility section covers the steam boiler with water softener, cooling tower, pump piping, air compressor, effluent treatment plant, boiler chimney and all service pipelines.
Tomato ketchup plant machinery from Wahal
The processing section uses Wahal's own high shear, disintegrating and vacuum machines. Each one has its own page.
| Stage | Machine | What our machine pages say |
|---|---|---|
| Pulp and paste | Multiprocessor | Rotor-stator machine for very fine cutting of food products; paste making and pureeing are listed applications; no heat is generated during grinding; hygienic design |
| Pumping and shearing | Shear pump | Pumps and shears in one inline unit, and handles high-viscosity lines |
| Homogenizing the ketchup | Inline homogenizer | One, two or four rotor-stator stages, self-pumping; the four-stage design is patented and often reaches the target particle size in one pass. On the ketchup line it homogenizes the added ingredients into the paste |
| Breaking down paste and concentrate | Duplex disintegrator dissolver and bottom mounted homogenizers | Two rotor-stator stages in sequence, used for tomato sauces and ketchups and for ginger-garlic paste; the bottom-mounted homogenizer breaks down hard solids and agglomerates |
| Vacuum mixing and cooking | Vacuum emulsification unit and vacuum cooking machines | Vacuum homogenization in a sealed vessel with direct steam injection, a contra-rotary agitator, automatic dosing and PLC control. Vacuum removes air bubbles, which improves texture. Ketchup is a listed application |
For the full range, see our high shear homogenizers and mixers.
The same vacuum and high shear line can be adapted to other sauces, including mayonnaise and salad dressings. See vacuum sauce production and our mayonnaise processing plant.
Fresh tomatoes or tomato concentrate
The plant described above starts from fresh tomatoes. Commercial ketchup can also start from concentrated tomato paste, which often arrives as a dense block or a very viscous concentrate that must be broken down before sugar, salt and other ingredients are added. That route, and how a bottom-mounted homogenizer and an inline homogenizer are used on it, is covered on our page on the tomato ketchup manufacturing process.
Frequently asked questions
What does a tomato processing plant for ketchup include?
It has four sections. Reception has the in-feed conveyor, washing station and inspection cum sorting table. Processing has boiling, pulping, de-seeding, and a vacuum mixing vessel with a homogenizer and a cooking kettle. Packing has glass bottle, can and sachet lines. Utility has the steam boiler, cooling tower, air compressor and effluent treatment plant.
How is tomato ketchup made in a plant?
On this production line, fresh tomatoes are washed, sorted, boiled and pulped. The pulp is de-seeded, then mixed with the other ingredients and cooked in a vessel that works under vacuum. Ingredients such as spices, sugar, common salt, vinegar and a thickening agent such as pectin or corn starch are added. The ketchup is then pumped to buffer storage and filled. The steps are listed above. If your plant starts from tomato concentrate, see our tomato ketchup manufacturing process page.
What machines are used in a tomato ketchup plant?
Wahal's tomato ketchup plant machinery includes a pulper, a multiprocessor, a shear pump, an inline homogenizer, and a vacuum mixing vessel with a homogenizer and vacuum pump. Packing lines add bottle, can or sachet machines.
How is a tomato processing plant laid out?
The plant follows the product. Tomatoes enter at the reception section, move through processing to the packing section, and the utility section supplies steam, cooling, compressed air and effluent treatment alongside.
Can the same plant make tomato sauce or other sauces?
Wahal's tomato processing line lists tomato-chili and tomato and tamarind sauces among the products made from tomato pulp. Vacuum and high shear mixers in a sauce line can be adapted to ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressings and other sauces.
Do you supply tomato paste processing machinery?
Yes. Tomato paste processing machinery is part of what Wahal supplies. In the plant, the pulp is de-seeded and filtered so that it can be processed further into a fine paste. For paste and concentrate, the packing section has a can line with a hot filling screw pump, can body reformer, seamers and canning retorts.
Who makes tomato processing plants in India?
Wahal Engineers is an industrial mixing and homogenizing equipment manufacturer in Delhi, India. It specializes in turnkey food processing projects, including tomato ketchup processing machinery, tomato paste processing machinery and tomato processing plants.
What does a tomato ketchup plant cost?
Each plant is designed to your capacity, so the price depends on your daily output, your recipe and the sections you need. Send us your product, recipe and daily output and we will size a plant around them.
Can I test my product before buying?
Yes. You can run a trial on your own product in our fully equipped trial lab, or rent a machine pre-configured to your process.
Wahal Engineers specializes in turnkey food processing projects, including tomato ketchup processing machinery, tomato paste processing machinery and tomato processing plants. Tell us your product, recipe and daily output, or run a trial on a Wahal machine before you decide.
