Commercial Preparation Equipment

About Commercial Preparation Equipment

Preparation equipment does the repetitive work that eats labor hours: planetary and spiral mixers, food processors, meat and produce slicers, vegetable prep machines, vacuum sealers, and stainless work tables. A 20- to 60-quart planetary mixer anchors most bakeries and pizzerias, while delis live and die by their slicer.

This category rewards buying used more than almost any other. Commercial mixers and slicers are massively overbuilt — a 30-year-old Hobart mixer with a sound gearbox is still a better machine than many new imports — and depreciation on the big names is slow, so used units hold resale value if your needs change.

What to Look for When Buying Used Prep Equipment

On mixers, run every speed under load if possible: gear whine, grinding on speed changes, or oil around the planetary shaft signal transmission work ahead. Confirm attachments (bowl, hook, whip, paddle) are included and the correct size, and check the #12 attachment hub if you plan to grind or shred. On slicers, inspect the blade diameter against original spec (repeated sharpening shrinks it), carriage slide smoothness, and the sharpener assembly. Hobart, Robot Coupe, Globe, and Berkel dominate the category for good reason — parts, blades, and service are easy to source.