Helping Your Bottom Line

For businesses “considering implementation of sorting technology for the first time, whether a producer or a packer,” he continues, “they will instantly be able to reduce labor costs, increase production, and achieve more accuracy and grading for their customers at every point in the supply chain.”

Given the major shift these systems represent from traditional methods of inspecting produce, careful research should be done, with an eye towards making sure to choose the right system for specific comodities, whether it’s leafy greens, mushrooms, apples, or any other product that can take advantage of these innovations.

Marco Azzaretti, advanced inspection systems product manager for Walla Walla, WA’s Key Technology, advises first-time adopters to give their specific needs close consideration. “Each packer has a unique process and unique requirements, and we listen attentively to those requirements to configure and deliver a sorting solution optimized for them,” he notes.

New adopters will need to assess what value the equipment can add to their operations, both in terms of increased product yield and higher batch quality. But once they have a good handle on the requirements and expectations, Azzaretti says decision makers should be excited about bringing the technology, not fearful of a discouraging learning curve. “Sorting technology is evolving towards systems that are not only incredibly capable and accurate, but also easy to use. Even an inexperienced operator with minimal skills can become proficient in using a modern digital sorter within a very short time.”

Italy-based Unitec, another sorting solutions provider, has designed technology that can pack and sort over 35 kinds of fruit and vegetables with a high degree of quality and efficiency.

Project sales manager Orinda Gjergji emphasizes that benefits extend from grower-packers to buyers, distributors, retailers, and consumers. “The benefits for packers are multiple; Unitec technologies allow them to reach levels of efficiency and productivity that are extremely high thanks to significant labor cost reductions. The selection of quality produce represents a strategic asset that allows packing houses to plan their own international strategies, establishing different export plans on the basis of the fruit’s grade.”

But that’s not all, Gjergji says: “From the point of view of distributors, you will have the certainty of reliable supply from packing houses and be able to guarantee consistent quality fruits and vegetables to the final consumer.” This increases credibility in terms of guaranteed supply.

“For retailers, it’s strategic to guarantee the quality of the product consistently over time, to have customer loyalty, increased consumption, and lower product management costs,” Gjergji continues. “And for the consumer, since the technology divides the quality of product through standardized parameters, you avoid the risk of offering unsuitable, overripe, or defective fruit to the market, which has an obvious end-user benefit.”

To achieve these benefits, Unitec offers tailored solutions, separately structured and programmed for different types of fruit including cherries, apples, apricots, peaches, and blueberries, that measure everything from sizing, color, ripeness, external and internal defects, and even, thanks to the ability to measure the brix or sugar content, sweetness.

“We advise our clients and continue the dialogue after they purchase our technologies, allowing them to follow up on their investment, bringing modifications and updates each time they need it—for example, by extending or improving the process for new products, or giving the ability to work with more delicacy,” explains Gjergji. “The technology is not a point of arrival, but a beginning.”