Belt press increases production for apple cider company

An apple cider production company in upstate New York tripled its production and cut its manpower in half in less than two years by installing an efficient and easy-to-operate belt press.

Minard Farms Beverage Company Inc. is a fifth generation, family-owned and operated, 320-acre cider mill located in the heart of apple country in the Hudson Valley in Clintondale, New York. Minard Farms presses its cider from a blend of tree-ripened, hand-picked apples and never uses fruit that has fallen on the ground. Each pressing happens on-site at the orchard and is made from a carefully selected blend of apples that ensures a consistently high-quality flavor, sweetness and color. Minard Farms flash-pasteurizes or UV-treats its cider, depending on customer needs.

Minard Farms cider contains less than 1/20th of 1% of potassium sorbate as preservative and has an eight-week code. It is Kosher-certified (Vaad Hakashrus of Crown Heights) and licensed in New York and Connecticut. In addition, it is HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)-certified and has had an HACCP plan in place 1 year prior to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirement to ensure safety.