Professional kitchens - Import export

The meaning of the word “Santoku” – “three virtues”, clearly explains what it is best used for: chopping, dicing and mincing. It handles all of these jobs in exemplary fashion. For this reason, it is one of the most commonly-used knives in both professional and home kitchens. The blade that is thinner than in Chef’s knife allows for wafer-thin slices – as found in many Japanese dishes. Presentation blade size: 16 cm Unlike other kitchen tasks, cutting, chopping, slicing and dicing are still mostly done by hand. While many of us have modernised our kitchens with high-tech toasters, smoothie machines and slow cookers, possibly the most ancient device of all, the knife, remains. Felix has been making knives in Solingen, the "City of Blades", since 1790 and still today stays true to its centuries-old tradition. It takes more than 45 steps to make a perfectly forged Zepter knife out of a high-quality, single piece of steel.

For our German client Vorwerk Elektrowerke, manufacturer of premium home appliances, we make, among other parts, parts for their smart Thermomix food processor. These are intended for both professional kitchens and the consumer market. One of the parts Enbi Plastics makes, is the position switch that ensures the food processor’s motor can only be turned on if a bowl is placed on it. This small but complex part is composed of different materials: plastic, metal and silicone. Because it needs to provide a seal as well as be dimensionally stable, we opted for silicone. Whereas the wall thickness is usually uniform, that was not the case here. A high-tech LIM mould was needed to achieve the right shape. That made the development of this product a turnkey project for Enbi Plastics together with the machine supplier and mould manufacturer. Enbi Plastics made different versions of the test mould and conducted feasibility studies in order to perfect the design.