Pinhalense
Sources: Pinhalense (website)
Pinhalense is a Brazilian manufacturer of agricultural processing machinery headquartered in Espírito Santo do Pinhal, São Paulo state. Founded in the early 1950s by six entrepreneurs, the company began with wooden coffee hullers and grew into a global reference for coffee and pepper processing equipment over 75+ years.
Company Overview
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Country | Brazil (São Paulo state) |
| Founded | 1950s |
| Associates | 800+ |
| Countries served | 100+ |
| Crops covered | 10+ (coffee primary, pepper secondary) |
| International Market Director | João Alberto Brando |
Founders (1950s): Dimas Cipolli, Guerino Del Guerra, Lourenço Del Guerra, Mauro Del Guerra, Ovídio Piagentini, and Waldomiro Casemiro Teixeira — began with wooden coffee hullers; expanded rapidly to destoners, size graders, and coffee sorters.
Mission: “Transform challenges into solutions with technology, proximity and commitment to the success of the agricultural sector.”
Vision: “Lead the development of a more promising, technological and sustainable future in the agricultural universe.”
Purpose: “Beyond the machinery — influential partner in the daily life of the agricultural sector.”
Key Innovation Claim
Pinhalense claims to be the pioneer of pulped natural coffee processing — the method also known as honey process, in which the skin is removed but mucilage is retained during drying. This was developed in Brazil in the 1990s (source: El Arte del Café places the development in Brazil in that decade). The claim establishes Pinhalense’s core identity around coffee quality and processing innovation, though it is a marketing statement rather than an independently verified historical fact.
Product Lines for Coffee
Wet Milling
See Wet Milling Equipment for full detail.
- EcoPulp — zero-water pulper/sorter; routes clean parchment directly to fermentation or honey drying; capacity 650 kg/h cherry (1,000 L/h); 1 HP; 130 kg
- EcoSuper — top-selling low-water pulper; separates unripe cherries before pulping; capacity 4,200 kg/h (7,000 L/h); 7.5 HP green separator + 3 HP pulper
- EcoSuper 3 — combined pulper + mucilage remover
- Mucilage Remover (DMPE) — can replace or supplement fermentation tanks; capacity 1,270–1,690 kg/h (1,500–2,000 L/h); 3 HP; models DMPE-0, DMPE-3, DMPE-5
- Coffee Washer and Separator — pre-pulping density sort by ripeness; exclusive turbine system (no pumps); capacities 4.5/6.0/12.0/18.0 t/h; models Compact, 10, 20, 30
- Winowers (ABC, AB) — aspiration removal of leaves and light debris before washing; ABC installs directly on the washer’s pre-cleaning chute
- Pre-Cleaner PL — vibrating deck for large-volume pre-cleaning; 12,000 kg/h parchment / 20,000 kg/h clean coffee; 5 HP; models PL-20, PL-40
Drying
See Mechanical Drying for full detail.
- Rotary Dryer — indirect heat transfer, 6 sizes (2.5–24 m³), husk/firewood/gas fuel
- Divided Drum Coffee Dryer — 3-in-1: full, half, or two simultaneous independent batches
- Heat Exchanger (FTD) — smokeless heat transfer from husk, firewood, or gas
- Husk Feeder — automates fuel feeding into the heat exchanger
- Automatic Temperature Control (CSP) — 3-probe drying controller (mass temp + air temp + heat source temp); customisable drying curves
Dry Milling
See Dry Milling Equipment for full detail.
- Combined Coffee Huller (CON/Compacta) — 5 processes in one; cold huller technology; Flutu-Ar destoning; processes naturals, washed, and honeys
- Parchment Coffee Huller — attaches to CON model; lightweight and easy to transport
- Mini Coffee Huller — small-scale hulling
- DEPOS Polisher — hulls and removes silver skin in one operation; produces export-quality beans
- Gravity Separator (MVF series) — Flutu-Ar vibration + air flotation; density sort; MVF-0: 900–1,200 kg/h (20–26 qq/h); models MVF-0 through MVF-3S; optional aspiration system with dust hood
- Upward Flow Size Grader (PFA series) — up to 9 screens; upward air flow; low power; base model PFA 1-2: 300 kg/h, 0.5 HP
- Coffee Destoner (CPFBNR) — Flutu-Ar; works with green, parchment, and dry cherry; CPFBNR 1: 2,800–4,500 kg/h; models CPFBNR 1–5
- Size Grader Porto — alternative size grader model (discovered in 2026 re-crawl)
- Coffee Destoner (CPFBNR) — Flutu-Ar; works with green, parchment, and dry cherry
- Pre-Cleaner PRELI — compact pre-cleaner; simpler than PL model; for smaller operations (discovered in 2026 re-crawl)
- Pre-Cleaner PL — larger-volume pre-cleaner (20,000 kg/h clean coffee)
- Coffee Sample Screens — hand sieves for quality labs
- Smartbag / Smartsac — electronic weighing and bagging scales (discovered in 2026 re-crawl)
Farm Machinery
- Flail Mowers (Heavy Duty, Light Duty, Versatile) — PTO-driven; branch shredding; relevant for shade-grown coffee row management and regenerative agriculture biomass cycling
Proprietary Technologies
Flutu-Ar System — Pinhalense’s proprietary air-flotation + vibration technology. Used in destoners, gravity separators, and the Combined Coffee Huller (CON). Enables highly precise separation of stones, heavy impurities, and light/defective beans from sound coffee.
Automatic Temperature Control (CSP) — Three-probe drying system monitoring coffee mass temperature, fan air temperature, and heat source temperature simultaneously. The only controller on the market with all three probing points according to Pinhalense. Enables reproducible, documented drying curves and simulates sun-drying conditions in a controlled environment.
Spare Parts
Pinhalense supplies an OEM spare parts catalog covering: bearings (destoners), eccentrics (gravity separators), pulping cylinders with jackets, stone collectors (washer/separators), fibreglass cords, and canvases (combined hullers). Availability of spare parts through the ES distributor (Emilio López Díaz) should be confirmed during procurement.
El Salvador Distributor
Emilio López Díaz (CEO of Odyssey Coffees / Topeca Coffee Roasters) distributes Pinhalense equipment in El Salvador. He chose Pinhalense in 2000 specifically because they offered the smallest-scale equipment capable of processing micro-volume harvests. As the in-country Pinhalense distributor, he is the direct point of contact for Pinhalense equipment in El Salvador. (source: BeanScene Magazine interview by Ethan Miller (September 9, 2019))
Relevance to Kaiserblick
Pinhalense is a primary equipment supplier candidate for Kaiserblick’s processing infrastructure:
- EcoSuper (+ EcoSuper 3): Pre-pulping green separation directly addresses mixed-ripeness harvests typical of shade-grown, high-altitude farms; modular design scales from small farm to full wet mill
- Divided Drum Dryer: Allows multiple micro-lot varieties (Sudan Rume, Bourbon Elite, Pacamara, etc.) to dry simultaneously on independent profiles — critical for traceability and flavour differentiation
- CSP Temperature Control: Reproducible drying records support the traceability narrative that European direct-trade buyers expect
- Husk Loop (Heat Exchanger + Husk Feeder): Converts processing by-product into dryer fuel — supports the sustainability story and reduces operating costs
- Gravity Separator: Standard export-quality dry milling step for density defect removal before green coffee leaves the country