After commercial trials in both California and Spain, Compac Sorting Equipment is poised to unveil its new stonefruit sorting system.
An upgrade of the company’s earlier InVision 9000 defect sorting solution, the new system uses improved LED lighting and hi-definition camera technology to detect soft spots, bruising and general surface damage. Compac director of sales David Buys said the system would spare post-harvest operators significant amounts of sorting labor.
“Defects such as soft spot and split pip are very time consuming and labor intensive to sort manually,” Buys said.
“Soft spots are invisible to the human eye, meaning every fruit has to be handled, which is not only inefficient but can cause further damage due to excessive handling.
“The new system’s advanced cameras and LED lighting means even the smallest differences in defects such as split pip can be detected in and around the stem, a major saving for our customers.”
Following the successful completion of the commercial trials, Compac has won a contract for a 6 lane installation with an unnamed Australian stonefruit grower.
“There is a lot of interest in this new technology,” Buys said.
“The industry has been looking for a long time for a solution to their labor intensive sorting. As we’ve done with other segments we’re proud to be introducing a product which is a technology leader.”
