Fully Automatic Cashew Processing Plant
From raw nut to sealed kernel — one automated line
A complete, PLC-automated cashew processing plant designed, built, installed and commissioned by TTQ — every stage from raw-nut intake to nitrogen-flush packing on one integrated line.
A fully automatic cashew processing plant integrates every stage — grading, steaming, shelling, drying, peeling, kernel grading, colour sorting and vacuum packing — into one PLC-controlled line with automated material handling between machines. TTQ designs the layout to your target capacity (commonly 2–10 tonnes of raw nuts per 8-hour shift), supplies and installs the machinery, commissions it on your floor, trains your operators and backs it with spare parts and support. A modern automatic line reaches high whole-kernel yield with far less labour than manual processing.
What's included
Plant layout & engineering
A floor layout and process design matched to your capacity, building and grade targets.
All processing machinery
Every machine from grading to packing, supplied as one integrated, PLC-controlled line.
Installation & commissioning
On-site installation, wiring, calibration and commissioning until the line runs to spec.
Training & support
Operator training, spare parts and ongoing technical support after handover.
| Configuration | Capacity | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 T / shift | 2 tonnes RCN per 8-hour shift | Entry scale. Standalone machines or a compact line; the front end is handled stage by stage. |
| 5 T / shift | 5 tonnes RCN per 8-hour shift | Where the integrated PLC front end starts — cleaning, grading, steaming, cooling and feeding in one automated block. |
| 10–30 T / shift | 10 to 30 tonnes RCN per 8-hour shift | The common export scale. Shelling and peeling lines paired and multiplied behind one front end. |
| 50–100 T / shift | 50 to 100 tonnes RCN per 8-hour shift | Largest projects, built in phases as multi-line plants rather than commissioned at once. |
How it comes together
Calibration & cleaning
Raw nuts sized and cleaned for even shelling.
Steaming
3–4 bar for 20–25 min softens shells and protects kernels.
Shelling & cutting
Automatic cutters split shells with minimal breakage.
Borma drying
Kernels dried 13–14 h to 3–4%, which makes the testa brittle.
Humidification
Surface moisture back to 5–6% so the testa releases cleanly.
Peeling
Dry peeling removes the skin at high whole-kernel yield.
Grading & colour sorting
Sized into W-grades, then optical defect removal.
Packing & metal detection
Vacuum packed and checked before dispatch.
One manufacturer, end to end
High whole-kernel yield
Grading, steaming and gentle cutting are tuned together to protect W-grade wholes.
Shell-fired energy
The shell burner powers steaming and drying — turning waste into near-free heat.
Low labour per tonne
Automated handling between stages cuts headcount versus manual lines.
One supplier, end to end
Design, machines, install and support from TTQ — one point of accountability.
The standards your buyers will ask about
Export buyers do not audit your machines; they audit your food-safety system. But the plant either makes that system achievable or it does not, and the decisions that matter are made when the line is specified rather than when the auditor arrives. Below are the standards a cashew plant is typically built to satisfy, and what each one actually demands of the equipment.
| Standard | Who asks for it | What it demands of the plant |
|---|---|---|
| HACCP | Effectively everyone. The baseline for food export. | Identified critical control points with monitoring and records. On a cashew line those are steaming, drying moisture, metal detection and packing moisture — all of which need instruments that log, not just gauges that indicate. |
| ISO 9001 | Industrial buyers and larger importers | A documented quality management system. Machinery matters less here than repeatability: a line whose settings drift cannot evidence consistency. |
| FSSC 22000 | Large manufacturers and multinational brands | ISO 22000 plus sector prerequisites. Expects hygienic design in food-contact surfaces, cleanable construction and controlled separation of raw and finished product areas. |
| BRCGS | UK and European retail chains especially | Site standards covering fabric of the building, contamination control and traceability by batch. Physically separating pre-shelling and post-peeling zones is the plant-design consequence. |
| GMP | Underlies most of the above | Good manufacturing practice — layout, flow, hygiene, personnel. Largely a building and process question rather than a machine question. |
| HALAL | Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, and a growing share of general retail | Certification of ingredients and process. Straightforward for plain cashew; the questions arise with roasting oils and coatings. |
| Fair Trade / Rainforest Alliance | Ethical retail brands | Grower-level certification and chain of custody. This is a sourcing programme, not a plant specification, but it needs traceability the plant can support. |
Certification is held by the operating plant, not by the machinery supplier. What TTQ can do is build a line that does not stand in the way of it — hygienic materials on food-contact surfaces, instrumented critical points, and a layout that separates raw from finished.
Design decisions that matter later
stainless on every food-contact surface after shelling, cleanable construction with no hollow sections that trap CNSL residue, and physical separation between the shelling and packing halves of the plant. Retrofitting any of these is far more expensive than specifying them.
Instruments, not indications
critical control points have to be recorded. Moisture at intake, after drying and at packing; steam pressure and time; metal detection on every pack. A gauge someone glances at is not a record.
Traceability by batch
raw-nut lot through to sealed carton. Most claims arrive months after shipment, and a plant that cannot identify which batch a container came from has to treat every claim as if it applies to everything.
Which ones you actually need
depends entirely on who you sell to. A plant supplying regional snack brands and a plant supplying European retail are different specifications. Decide the market first.
This page describes what a plant is built to satisfy, not certifications held by TTQ. If you need documentation of our own quality or compliance status for your procurement process, ask us directly and we will send what applies to your market — we would rather answer that specifically than list logos.
The process, drawn
The eight core stages
Raw cashew nut in at one end, packed export kernel out at the other. Moisture is the thread: every stage either takes it out or puts a controlled amount back.
Capacities and cycles are Size A basis, per 8-hour shift. Stages 04 and 05 are separate machines in separate rooms — the borma oven dries, the humidifier puts moisture back.
Plant scale and what actually separates the tiers
Capacity alone does not explain the jump between plant sizes. The additions do.
Equipment is only 55–65% of a project. Installation, electrical work, buildings, utilities and raw-material inventory typically add 40–60% on top of the equipment package.
The shell energy loop
The cleanest economics on the site: the waste stream from stage 03 comes back as the heat for stages 02 and 04.
The same TTQ boiler range fires cashew shell, wood chips or pellets. Note the dryer is heated by electrical coils or by boiler steam through heat-transfer coils — the shell burner fires the boiler and the roasting machine, not the dryer directly.
Watch a TTQ line run
Fully Automatic Cashew Processing Plant — FAQ
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Related solutions & machines
Cashew Nut Shelling Machine
Crack the shell, keep the kernel
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Cashew Peeling Machine
High whole-kernel yield, dry-peeled
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Cashew Nut Processing Project Report (PDF)
A bankable report to finance your plant
Open →
Cashew Processing Plant for Sale
Buy a complete cashew plant, built and installed
Open →Ready to price your turnkey plant?
Tell us your target capacity and grades — we’ll return a machine list, floor layout and a costed proposal.