Six member companies of the Les Paysans de Rougeline fresh produce co-operative in France have installed Marco’s YCM yield control packhouse technology.
The French tomato growers in the south-west of the countryhave around 300 hectares of greenhouses in three regions, and the brand is available all year round.
The way their fruits and vegetables are packed is significant, with 50 million punnets packed per year. More than 20 varieties of tomatoes make up the total annual production of almost 60 million kilograms - a figure which does not include the volume of strawberries, cucumbers and salads also packed.
The YCM installations feature British firm Marco’s ‘one light–one fruit’ operator display, designed to significantly increase line speeds and reduce overpack and giveaway in manual packing environments. This technology is suited to packing products such as tomatoes, where the fruits of individual varieties are of similar shape and size. Each light segment on the visual light display represents a single fruit.
Thomas Leichle, the co-operative's group supply chain director, said: “Controlling our busy packhouses presents a number of challenges, especially given the increased consumer demand for grape tomatoes. The manual packing requires a blend of speed and accuracy. We can be penalised for underweight packs and have to minimise unwanted giveaway which directly affects our profitability.
'We also have to ensure the punnets we sell as of the highest quality in terms of pack presentation. Marco’s understanding of the fresh produce sector is a bonus, and their technology addresses the key challenges that affect the manual packing environment. We will now have better control across the packhouse and be able to measure the performance of individual operators.”
Rougeline is one of France’s leading brands, with more than 20 years’ experience in the production and marketing of fruit and vegetables. The co-operative comprises 159 producers, and almost 2,000 employees. Their main commercial markets are in France, Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong, and annually, the group produces 70,000 tonnes of product with a turnover of €100 million.
