Unigrader
When your business model is based on maximizing returns for some of B.C.’s best fruit growers, you set the bar high. This is the goal Janice Niedzielski, production manager for Consolidated Fruit Packers, had in mind when she first consulted with Fruittek Canada to develop a grading line strategy for their new planned investment.
“We had the opportunity to visit several of Fruittek Canada’s installations in operation before deciding that their gentle and precise approach to fruit grading would be the best fit for our grower base,” Niedzielski said.
The Van Wamel Perfect Unigrader is known worldwide for its gentle transitions and robust vision sorting technology, which in combination have helped growers and packers around the world deliver uncompromised final pack quality that looks as fresh in the box as it did in the orchard.
Van Wamel’s Unigrader is the culmination of several small improvements from its predecessor the Unicup grader. One of the most notable improvements is the isolated weight sorting module mounted on an independent frame to ensure extremely precise weight measurements. Other improvements include larger, more forgiving cups, even gentler transitions, as well as enhancements to the singulator rollers to ensure full rotation of the fruit under the cameras to visually scan 100 per cent of the fruit surfaces, regardless of fruit shape or variety.
Ellips User Interface
All these improvements are augmented by one of the fruit industry’s most adept and user friendly optical sorting systems by Ellips. High resolution frame captures, and a visual 3D model of the fruit, allow for precise external defect detection, sizing and color sorting, resulting in very consistent and visually appealing final packs.
With the 2020 peach and apple season fast approaching, CFP is excited to start realizing the benefits their new sorting technology will bring to their expanding grower base and markets, said Niedzielski.