Things You Need to Know When Setting Up a Tomato Paste Production Line

The investment in a tomato paste production line, when planned correctly, is a high value-added facility suitable for export. If planned incorrectly, it means idle capacity and loss of efficiency. This guide summarizes the topics you need to clarify before making a decision.

1. Calculate capacity backwards from raw materials

Capacity in the paste line is defined as "the amount of fresh tomatoes processed per day" (e.g., 6–50 tons/day). The daily amount of tomatoes that you can reliably procure in your region during the season is the true limit of the line. Approximately 1 kg of 28–30 brix paste is obtained from 6 kg of tomatoes; reverse this ratio to target the finished product quantity.

2. Brix target determines the equipment

• 28–30 brix: standard double concentrate; a single/double effect evaporator may be sufficient.
• 36–38 brix: triple concentrate; requires larger evaporation capacity and an energy plan.

The brix value desired by your target market directly affects the evaporator selection and steam requirements.

3. Hot break or cold break?

Hot break (85–95 °C) provides higher viscosity and red color; preferred for sales to ketchup and sauce industries. Cold break (60–65 °C) provides higher yields. If your target customer is an industry, this decision affects your sales price.

4. Main equipment items

• Washing and sorting belts
• Crusher (hot/cold break) and pulper/finisher
• Vacuum evaporator (the heart of the line)
• Pasteurizer and aseptic/canning filling
• CIP cleaning system and automation panel

5. Clarify facility needs early

Closed area, steam boiler capacity, process water, electrical power, and wastewater plan should be roughly known BEFORE the bidding phase. Any price given without this information is an estimate.

Sample capacity calculation: 25 tons/day of tomatoes

Thinking in numbers clarifies decisions. Let's consider a line processing 25 tons of fresh tomatoes per day:

• Finished product: 25,000 kg ÷ 6 ≈ 4,100–4,200 kg of 28–30 brix paste per day
• Seasonal production: approximately 250–310 tons of paste in a 60–75 day campaign
• Hourly processing: during a 20-hour campaign shift ≈ 1,250 kg/hour of tomatoes
• Evaporation load: water to be evaporated ≈ 20,800 kg/day → approximately a 1,000–1,050 kg/hour evaporator class
• Steam requirement: in a double effect evaporator approximately 0.55–0.60 kg of steam per kg of water → a boiler that will produce approximately 600 kg of steam per hour

These five lines define the evaporator class, boiler capacity, and electrical load simultaneously. Don't compare equipment lists without performing the same calculations with your tomato quantity.

Technical checklist before the proposal

• Daily reliable tomato supply (ton/day) and season length
• Target brix (28–30 or 36–38) and target market (retail or industry)
• Hot break / cold break decision
• Packaging: can, glass jar, aseptic bag, or combination
• Existing/planned closed area (m²) and ceiling height
• Status of the steam boiler, process water, and electrical power
• Wastewater (tomato washing water) discharge plan
• Off-season operating strategy (is there aseptic intermediate storage?)

The 5 most common mistakes we see in the field

• Choosing capacity without looking at the tomato supply: a plant that installs a 50 ton/day line and can find only 20 tons of tomatoes in the season leaves half of its investment idle. Secure the agricultural side first with contracted production.
• Choosing a small evaporator to extend the campaign: evaporation bottlenecks lead to fresh tomatoes waiting and quality loss. The evaporator is not a place to save by downsizing the line.
• Leaving the wastewater permit until the end: tomato washing water is voluminous; the discharge permit and pretreatment plan are part of the licensing process and can take months.
• Deciding on the packaging after the line: can, glass, and aseptic filling are entirely different equipment; the "we'll decide later" approach means double investment.
• Independently selecting the boiler from the line: if the steam boiler is not sized according to the evaporation load, the line will be marketed with a capacity it cannot ever achieve.

The four major items of operating costs

Investment cost is one-time; operating cost repeats every season. The usual ranking in a paste plant is: purchase price of tomatoes (by far the largest item), energy (steam + electricity), packaging (can/barrel), and labor. This ranking highlights two engineering decisions: a heat recovery (high efficiency) evaporator directly reduces the energy line; a good sorting-washing section that reduces waste ratio preserves the raw material line. When comparing offers, look not only at machine prices but also at the steam consumption statement per ton.

Investment schedule: meet the season

The harshest reality of tomato paste investment is the schedule: the tomato campaign is between late July and October depending on the region, and if the line is not ready by then, it will wait until the next season. Plan backwards:

• 2–3 weeks before the campaign: test production and operator training should be completed
• 2–3 months before the campaign: installation and piping must be ongoing on-site
• 6–9 months before the campaign: equipment orders should have been placed (evaporator production takes time)
• Today: capacity decision, feasibility, and bidding process

Practically, this means an investor making a decision in the fall/winter comfortably meets the next season; one deciding in spring risks the season with a tight project. Contracted tomato production negotiations also take place in winter — the agricultural side and equipment side's timelines must be coordinated together.

Sales channel decision: retail or industry?

The same line can serve two different business models. The retail (branded can/glass) model offers higher unit margins; in return, it requires brand investment, shelf competition, and wide distribution. The industrial model (aseptic barrel 36–38 brix concentrate) is B2B sales to ketchup-sauce manufacturers and for export; the margin is thinner but the volume is large, and collection is corporate. The decision also changes the equipment: in the retail model, can seaming and labeling line take precedence; in the industrial model, aseptic filling and high brix evaporation do. Many facilities combine the two gradually: barrels in the initial years for the industry, retail packaging once the brand is established. This roadmap should be discussed before the proposal so that the line is designed ready for the second phase.

Relevant solutions

You can explore the equipment mentioned in this article on the site:

• Tomato Paste & Processing Line — the complete line, with capacity options and production flow
• Vacuum Evaporator — the heart of the line; sized according to the brix target
• Canning Machine — preferred for can packaging
• Pasteurizer — for thermal processing safety

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the line do off-season?

Plants producing intermediate stock in aseptic bags can process and package paste during the off-season to operate year-round.

What is included in the turnkey scope?

Process design, equipment supply, installation, commissioning, and operator training are consolidated under a single responsibility.

How is the brix value controlled during production?

Modern evaporators have line brix measurement and automatic control options; once the target value is reached, the product is automatically taken. Manual refractometer control may be sufficient for small scales.

Which is more accurate, can or aseptic bag?

If targeting retail sales, go for can/glass; if targeting sales to the industry (ketchup, sauce manufacturers), 200+ kg aseptic barrel is standard. Two filling methods can be combined on one line.

Share your capacity target; ProcessTürk engineers will prepare a free preliminary assessment that includes fields, equipment, and an approximate investment range. You can start in a minute with "Get a Quick Quote" on the page.