22 / Butchery & meat processing
Cutting, mincing and cold chain sized to what you actually put through
Mincers, bowl cutters, fillers, saws, packers and refrigeration sourced direct. Two things decide whether a butchery fit-out works — whether you can get blades and plates for it in six months, and whether the refrigeration clears customs. We check both before we quote.
Machines we are currently placing
Every price below is landed, cleared and delivered. Ask about anything not listed — most of this class is available to order.
Cold rooms & blast freezers (5 – 40 m³)
Meat mincers (#12 – #42)
Block mincers & grinders (Frozen & fresh)
Bowl cutters (5 – 40 L)
Meat mixers (30 – 150 L)
Sausage fillers (5 – 25 L)
Linkers & clippers (Manual & powered)
Bandsaws & bone saws (1600 – 2600 mm blade)
Meat slicers (250 – 350 mm)
Patty machines (Manual & automatic)
Brine injectors & tenderisers (20 – 80 needle)
Biltong dryers & cabinets (20 – 200 kg batch)
Display counters & prep (1.2 – 3.6 m)
What we source in this line
Capacities below are the common bands. Tell us your throughput and what you make — mince, wors, biltong, portioned retail — and we'll size the line to it.
| Equipment | Typical range | Worth specifying |
|---|---|---|
| Meat mincers | #12 – #42 | Spare plates and knives, body material, throughput |
| Block mincers & grinders | Frozen & fresh | Motor rating, feed screw, hopper capacity |
| Bowl cutters | 5 – 40 L | Knife speed, blade count, tilt discharge |
| Meat mixers | 30 – 150 L | Paddle type, tilting or fixed bowl |
| Sausage fillers | 5 – 25 L | Hydraulic vs crank, nozzle set, stainless grade |
| Linkers & clippers | Manual & powered | Casing type, portion length |
| Bandsaws & bone saws | 1600 – 2600 mm blade | Blade length availability locally, guarding |
| Meat slicers | 250 – 350 mm | Gravity or vertical feed, built-in sharpener |
| Patty machines | Manual & automatic | Output per hour, patty size range, interleaver |
| Brine injectors & tenderisers | 20 – 80 needle | Needle count, pump pressure, needle spares |
| Vacuum packers | Single & double chamber | Pump m³/h, seal bar length, gas flush |
| Biltong dryers & cabinets | 20 – 200 kg batch | Element and fan rating, humidity control, timer |
| Cold rooms & blast freezers | 5 – 40 m³ | Panel thickness, refrigerant, condensing unit |
| Display counters & prep | 1.2 – 3.6 m | Glass type, night blind, 304 stainless, rails and hooks |
Not on the list? Send a photo or a model number — most butchery kit in this class is available.
What actually decides whether the fit-out works
Price is the easy part. These are the points that determine whether the machine is still earning in three years or standing against a wall waiting for a part.
Plates, knives and blades decide the whole thing
A mincer is only as useful as the plates you can get for it, and a bandsaw needs a blade length someone in South Africa stocks. Ask before you buy, not after. We order a spares kit with the machine and we tell you which sizes are standard here — a non-standard blade length is a reason to choose a different machine, not a detail.
The gas inside it decides whether it clears
Refrigerant rules change, and some units need approvals before they are allowed in. This is the one thing on this page that can leave stock sitting at the port. We confirm what applies to the specific unit before we quote it rather than after it lands.
Ask for 304, because 430 is what you'll be quoted
Both are called stainless. 430 is cheaper, magnetic, and rusts in a wet room being hosed down twice a day. For anything meat touches we specify 304 and confirm the gauge, because thin steel on a prep bench flexes and the joints open up.
Check your phase and your capacity first
South Africa runs 230 V single phase and 400 V three phase at 50 Hz, and so does most equipment built for 50 Hz markets — the frequency matches. What catches people is capacity. A cold room condensing unit and a bowl cutter on the same board is a different conversation from a mincer on its own. Confirm the amps before you order.
Size on month-end and December, not on a Tuesday
Butcheries fail on capacity at the end of the month and over the festive season. Work out the worst week you have to get through and size the mincer and the cold room for that. Cold storage is the one people under-size, and it is the hardest to add later.
You're trading the dealer network for the price
That's the honest trade. There is no branded technician on standby. Budget for a relationship with a good local refrigeration man, and buy with that in mind — which is an argument for straightforward mechanical controls over proprietary electronics.
Butchers ask these
Will it run on South African power?
Yes, if it is specified correctly — we specify 50 Hz equipment for a 50 Hz country, so motors run at the right speed. We confirm voltage and phase against your actual supply before ordering, and we will tell you when a machine needs a three-phase connection you do not yet have.
Can I get plates, knives and saw blades for it here?
That depends on the machine, which is why we check it before quoting rather than after. Most mincer plate sizes are standard and widely stocked; some bandsaw blade lengths are not. Where a machine takes an odd size we say so, and we include a spares kit with the original order so a cheap consumable does not stop your shop.
Is the stainless food-grade for a health inspection?
We specify 304 food-contact stainless for anything meat touches, confirm the gauge, and supply the documentation that comes with the machine. The premises inspection itself covers your whole operation, not just the equipment, so it sits with you and your local authority.
Can you bring in cold rooms and display fridges?
Usually, but refrigeration is the category where we are most careful. The refrigerant gas determines what may be imported and what extra approval is needed, and the rules move. We confirm the position for the specific unit with our clearing agent before we give you a price, so you are not the one holding a container that cannot clear.
Tell us the throughput, not the model number
Kilos a week, what you make, the space and the power you have — that's enough for us to come back with options, a landed price in Rand and a realistic delivery date.
- No obligation and no cost to quote
- Options at more than one build quality
- Landed price — duty, VAT and delivery included
- We reply within one working day