The true story
of the slicer
The story about the invention of the flywheel slicer has had controversial versions and numerous properties improperly acquired by many. Some described a Dutch carpenter as the inventor of the flywheel slicer, others a butcher up to a blacksmith.
Henricus Burgers born at Gennuary 1 – 1843
Henricus Burgers
Henricus Burgers was a Dutchman who had great success and creativity in mechanics and, as soon as he had the chance, he realized his desire to open the first Dutch bicycle factory in Deventer and in 1868 he built his first bicycle. Immediately the ideas on the construction of innovative mechanical equipment became more and more active and in a short time he began the construction of his own line of sewing machines and, after a few attempts, he created his first manual machine dedicated to cutting meat.
The rotary movement
A machine was created which, built with various mechanical parts used in other projects, allowed the rotating movement of a flat blade and at the same time the semi-circular movement of the trolley that transported the meat to be cut. The movement of the machine is activated by a large wheel called a flywheel, operated manually, the completely visible chain that connects the bevel gear to the movement of the blade is that coming from the production of bicycles. This first flywheel slicer despite its weight and size, unlike the previous spiral slicers, is very handy, but above all also very precise and with a fascinating design
Henricus Burgers
Several years after Henricus Burgers built his first flywheel slicer, another Dutchman who had known these cutting tools during his business as a butcher Willhelm Adrianus Van Berkel, with a passion for mechanics, but above all with knowledge of people high-ranking with great financial possibilities who believed in the ideas of the same, he began his own production of flywheel slicers by patenting the first Berkel brand slicers in Germany in 1898. In 1903 Henricus Burgers died, and the company branch for the construction of slicers was sold to the Belgian company Van Drogenbroeck Usines Fréres, a foundry with an attached mechanical workshop in Brussels where the Van Drogenbroeck brothers continued the construction of these slicers until the next passage of production at National. Logically all this work on flywheel slicers by Henricus Burgers could only have been done by him, before others. Patenting your own intellectual ideas immediately definitely gives a turning point to the story of your life because often those who are more aware can take advantage of it.