Commercial-grade patty machines can take your supermarket, butcher shop or restaurant into delicious overdrive. More importantly, patty makers save time for food prep workers, not to mention costs for upper management.

However, investing in patty equipment without thinking about your own operations could throw kinks into everything and rob a business of its cost efficacy. What financial considerations should cross the minds of commercial foodservice investors before they commit to a patty machine?

1. Volume
Even the most conservative patty production equipment can really turn out patties at a quick clip. For instance, the Hollymatic Super Patty Machine, one of the most popular patty makers on the market today, can deliver patties at a rate of 2,100 per hour, as well as other patty machines.

While commercial businesses certainly don’t need to operate at this level of production all the time, it’s worth questioning whether dropping capital on patty equipment will offer substantial value over a manual patty-making process. If investors are on the fence, they should investigate the possibility of new revenue streams, like wholesale raw patty sales in store. New opportunities might be worth the extra costs.

Overall, the price point of ground beef patties compared to ground beef alone makes the investment in patty production worthwhile. Patties are value added product which command a higher price per pound and a faster R.O.I. on equipment.

2. Portion control
When it comes to resources, patty makers provide excellent opportunities for cost savings, so long as the equipment in question adheres to strict portion control settings. While the difference between a 3oz patty and a 3.2oz patty is slight, that variation can really add up over the course of a production cycle. Expending more meat to form fewer patties isn’t an admirable business strategy, especially if there’s no demand for bigger burgers.

3. Automated add-ons
Integrating a patty machine into legacy operations shouldn’t take a bite out of productivity or efficiency. As such, foodservice providers should make a concerted effort to invest in patty equipment that best aligns with their business model.

A supermarket hoping to capitalize on more raw ground beef patties for its self-service cases, let’s say, ought to avoid equipment that produces a single patty at a time. These devices can be programmed to automatically interleave paper between patties and stack them for faster packaging. Remember: You can’t buy success outright – unless, of course, you select the product right for you and your goals.

4. Versatility
“Patty maker” is a bit of a misnomer for this line of equipment, since most patty makers these days utilize different molds for different purposes. Apart from beef patties, some models shape other meats like poultry, fish, pork and lamb into a variety of different designs. The question is, does your business need all the little odds and ends included in the price of a multipurpose patty machines? Will it someday in the future?

Once again, we suggest taking stock of what your company demands from a new commercial patty maker today as well as tomorrow to avoid overspending on attractive, but ultimately non-value-added, frills. Overzealous investors need to stay realistic.

5. Cleaning
As with all commercial assets, particularly in the foodservice sphere, cleanliness isn’t up for debate. Nobody wants to disappoint the health inspector, and patty machines should be designed with quick, effective cleaning in mind.

Beyond health and safety regulations, however, there’s yet another cost benefit when you consider changeovers. For those supermarkets onboarding commercial patty machines to create a number of different meat and poultry items, a speedy cleaning minimizes downtime between production cycles and maximizes output. When businesses invest in patty maker models built for simple disassembly, they not only impress regulators with their attention to sanitation, but boost performance behind the counter.