Few pieces of commercial food equipment have become as instantly recognisable as the classic red Berkel slicer. What began as one butcher's attempt to achieve a more precise, consistent cut evolved into a machine that completely changed butchery. The Berkel brand has remained active more than 125 years later.
Berkel's story began in 1898, when Wilhelmus Van Berkel set out to mechanically reproduce the slicing action of a skilled butcher. The result was, what Berkel describes as, the world's first meat slicer.
From those early hand-operated machines to today's flywheel, gravity, and vertical slicers, Berkel has continued to develop alongside the changing needs of the food industry.
The Beginning of Berkel
Wilhelmus Van Berkel was not an industrial engineer, but a butcher experiencing the physical strain of working by hand. At the time, producing thin and uniform slices of meat or charcuterie by hand required considerable skill, time, and repetition. Van Berkel wanted to find a mechanical recreation of a butcher’s movement when cutting.
His solution used a rotating blade and a moving plate that carried the product towards it. Turning the mechanism rotated the blade while controlling the movement of the product, allowing one slice to be produced after another with greater consistency.
In 1898, Van Berkel established his first manufacturing workshop in Rotterdam. By the following year, Van Berkel's Patent Company had manufactured and delivered 84 slicers. His slicers were immediately in demand among fellow trade butchers, drastically increasing portion yield and speed while reducing waste.
Van Berkel’s invention spread rapidly across the meat trade. As the machine drastically increased portion yield and speed while reducing waste, the demand quickly became too much for the workshop's capacity.
Berkel also expanded its product range to commercial weighing scales, meat mincers, coffee grinders, and bread cutters. Yet, the slicer remained Van Berkel’s greatest invention, solving a universal problem shared by butchers.
The Iconic Flywheel Slicer
Early Berkel slicers were defined by their large hand-operated cast-iron flywheel. The heavy flywheel provided smooth momentum, turning the blade at an even speed without damaging delicate cured meats. Over time, these machines became instantly recognisable by their distinctive deep red enamel finish, a colour that eventually became synonymous with the brand.
Credit: The World's Best Slicers
Berkel's red finish, curved metalwork and exposed mechanical components eventually gave the slicers an appearance that was very different from ordinary commercial kitchen machinery. Today, they remain a fixture in high-end delicatessens, charcuterie bars, and open-kitchen restaurants where slicing charcuterie in front of customers adds to the dining experience.
How Berkel Slicers Have Changed
The biggest change has been the shift from manual operation to electric. Berkel still produces traditional hand-operated flywheel machines. However, its range has grown to include electric gravity and vertical slicers.
Modern machines have also advanced considerably in cleaning, adjustability, and operator protection. Depending on the model, Berkel slicers now include removable food-contact components, built-in sharpeners, adjustable slice-thickness controls, and guarded blades. This simplifies washdown to meet strict food safety standards easily.
Contemporary flywheel models have evolved too. Machines such as the P15 retain traditional cast-iron construction and manual operation while incorporating modern materials, adjustment systems, and safety features.
Berkel Slicers Today
Despite more than a century of development, Berkel's design remains focused on quick and precise cutting. They have also never abandoned the flywheel design. Manual flywheel slicers remain part of the current range, sitting alongside modern electric machines rather than having been replaced by them.
That continuing production gives today's Berkel range a fairly unusual connection to its origins. The technology has developed, but customers can still buy a machine based on the manual mechanism that first established the brand.
Today, Wilhelmus Van Berkel’s original concept has evolved into tailored equipment for commercial food businesses. At SMS Food, we are the primary supplier of Berkel products in the UK.
Gravity slicers use an angled product carriage so gravity helps feed the food towards the blade. They are commonly used for general deli and food-preparation work.
Vertical slicers position the product differently, giving the operator more direct control over how it is held and presented to the blade. The current Berkel range is intended for applications such as cured meats and fresh meat.
Flywheel slicers are fully hand-operated. These machines excel in front-of-house areas where delicate cured meats require ultra-thin slicing without heat transfer.
If you are unsure of which design would work best for you, check out our guide.
More Than 125 Years of Berkel
What began in Rotterdam in 1898 as a butcher's practical solution has developed into one of the most recognisable names in catering equipment.
Today's Berkel range has developed past the original machine, with electric operation, modern materials, and improved safety features. The principle behind them, however, remains the same: achieving a clean, controlled and repeatable slice.
Explore our Berkel collection to see the current range of gravity, vertical, and flywheel machines.