Fruit preparations line: a complete automated plant

A fruit preparations line is an industrial plant designed to manage the mixing, sterilization and aseptic filling stages of products with different viscosity levels. This is the context for the project developed for Manufri, a Spanish company that is a leader in fruit processing and a benchmark in the B2B market for semi-finished products. With an expansion plan focused on advanced automation, integration and co-design, Manufri renewed its trust in CFT for the evolution of its production plant.

Manufri: production needs and development of the fruit preparations line

In the heart of Catalonia, in Mollerussa, Manufri operates as a European benchmark in fruit processing, specializing in the creation of fruit compounds for the B2B beverage and juice market.

The partnership between our company and Manufri is a long-standing one that goes back years. It grew out of close cooperation developed over time with several companies in the NUFRI group, and it has been consolidated by the reliability of the CFT machines supplied previously and by the trust built with the client.

When the Spanish company identified the need to increase the production capacity of its mixing room — the core of the fruit preparations line — turning to us again was the natural choice.

The challenge was nonetheless ambitious: the client needed more than new machines. It needed a solution able to integrate seamlessly with the technologies already running in the plant. The goal was to turn a previous setup split into manual stages into a continuous, automated production process.

Complete fruit preparations line: process stages and technologies

To handle growing volumes of viscous products while guaranteeing maximum quality, we designed a complete fruit preparations line that covers every stage of the process, from mixing to aseptic filling.

Here are the technologies installed, and how they answered Manufri’s specific needs:

1. Mixing room

In the mixing room, our intervention focused on handling recipe complexity. The new configuration guarantees full operational flexibility, allowing different stages — such as ingredient loading and product delivery — to run at the same time without any risk of cross-contamination.

2. Sterilization

The thermal heart of the line is the OLIMPIC TC sterilizer, designed specifically to treat high-viscosity products thanks to its high operational flexibility.

The exchanger uses a patented geometry with an “ogival flange”, which ensures high heat exchange coefficients and even heating, preserving the fruit’s organoleptic integrity and color — key factors for premium semi-finished products.

Its geometry also meets the highest hygiene standards, enabling shorter, more effective CIP cycles.

3. Sanitation through a centralized CIP system

This system guarantees repeatable, safe hygiene standards, letting the client manage precise washing recipes and automatically control flows and temperatures, while reducing the amount of chemicals used in washing — with both economic and environmental benefits.

4. Aseptic filling

At the end of the process, the MACROPAK AF/2 aseptic filler represents the state of the art in reliability for packaging fruit preparations.

CFT and Manufri: integration, automation and synergy

A demanding client like Manufri renewing its trust in our fruit-processing technologies is no coincidence. It rests on tangible competitive advantages that emerged during the project:

• Integration between past and present: The main advantage lay in our ability to work on a fruit preparations line that was already operating, ensuring effective integration between existing systems and new solutions. This approach minimized compatibility risks and optimized the plant’s overall performance.
• Full automation and quality control: We moved from a “stage-by-stage” approach to a continuous, automated process, while also increasing the size of each production batch. This delivered a significant reduction in end-of-production waste and greater quality consistency, thanks to constant monitoring of critical parameters.
• Customization and synergy: The project was defined by full synergy: we developed the solutions together with the client’s technicians to fit their specific operational needs. This approach significantly reduced installation and factory start-up times, letting Manufri enter production faster than planned.

The fruit preparations market: innovation and flexibility

Manufri’s investment fits perfectly into a global context that is evolving fast. The fruit preparations market is in fact expected to grow from $3.81 billion in 2026 to $5.65 billion in 2035. The expected CAGR is 4.4% between 2026 and 2035. On top of that, as demand grows for “Clean Label”, preservative-free products, technology becomes the strategic asset for standing out in the market.

Manufri’s choice to invest in a complete aseptic line, from sterilization to filling, answers exactly this need: guaranteeing maximum product naturalness without chemical agents, while delivering premium-quality semi-finished products.

Likewise, the new mixing room’s ability to handle complex recipes and multi-ingredient blends puts the Spanish company at the forefront of the most current B2B trend: demand for customized bases and new, natural flavors.

In this scenario, the collaboration with Manufri shows that innovation is not just a matter of machinery, but of a shared vision for tackling the market’s challenges.

Source:

Fruit Preparations Market Size, Share, Trends — Business Research Insights