MEDWAY Ports Fresh Produce Division, the UK's largest port for break-bulk fresh produce has become the first UK user of Crown's newly launched WP 2300 series of powered pallet trucks.
Fresh produce supervisor Pete Smedley said: "The 12-strong fleet of Crown WP machines are the best machines of their type that we've ever used."
“Compared with the competitive trucks they replaced, the WPs are easy to operate and manoeuvre in confined spaces. They also have a tighter turning circle that helps make for safer operation and prevents damage when used in the back of lorries.
"Another benefit is that because the depth of forks is narrower than competitive trucks, we can handle and transport a whole variety of loads on different sizes of pallets without any major problems ñ something that was not possible using our previous handling equipment."
The new control handle also has programmable travel performance selectors to match operator experience and/or the operating environment and specially designed keys to allow the raise and lower functions to be operated while the handle is in a vertical position.
Safety is another key aspect of the WP 2300, which has a ramp- hold feature to prevent the truck from unintentionally reversing on ramps or inclines. It also provides for a consistent speed on ramps, with or without a load.
"Despite their busy workload, we've had no problems with the Crown machines since the first day they arrived on site," said Smedley. "Our operators also like using them because of ease of operation." l
A NEW transportable pre-cooler unit has been launched by Pirie Systems of Dundonald, Ayrshire. Rapid removal of the field heat allows crops to be maintained in "point of harvest" condition so that optimum crop quality is maintained.
The new Rapicool system uses positive air pressure to cool crops rapidly and safely to below 5°C so achieving best quality and extended shelf life. It can be used for a range of soft fruit and vegetables, offering a cheaper alternative to vacuum coolers.
"Growers often use a combination of hydro-cooler and cold store to reduce core temperatures,” said Frank Pirie. 'But this may take several hours reach core temperatures of below 5°C.”
The Rapicool system, originally designed for operation in Egypt and the Middle East, uses a unique system to draw cold air through the pallets of produce, reducing core temperatures rapidly without any deterioration in produce quality.
"On one farm, the core temperature of more than two tonnes of strawberries was safely reduced from 22°C to 3°C in 57 minutes,” said Pirie, “and we would expect similar results for raspberries, spinach and broccoli since they have similar heat-production characteristics.”
The Rapicool system reduces wastage and has the benefit of not requiring a supply of refrigerated, clean water to operate. This saves on water costs and reduces potential dirty-water disposal problems. "The reduction in wastage we've identified would give a short payback period on the system purchase, he explained.
“One of our customers is a lettuce grower in Lincolnshire and he was impressed with the system. He found that for full loads of eight pallets, in boxes; core temperatures were regularly reduced from over 17°C to less than 5°C in just under two hours. But he did find that very dense heads took slightly longer. We would anticipate that leaf temperatures dropped to below 5°C in a much shorter time, so stopping any detrimental action from leaf surface microbes."
"He was initially worried that the cold air would cause wilting to the crop but the closed system meant that actual airspeeds over the leaves caused no problems at all. In fact our customer felt that the comparatively gradual temperature reduction with Rapicool gave a better looking crop than the rapid temperature reduction found with something like a vacuum cooler,” Pirie added.
The three metre wide fully transportable unit has been designed so that it can be operated anywhere, providing there is an electricity supply via mains, or generator, and hard standing to support the unit. So the system is ideal for growers who wish to pay only once to have a pre-cooling facility on one farm in the summer and on another during the winter.
"We believe there is great potential for the Rapicool system in the UK and elsewhere,” said Pirie, “and we are already getting enquires from as far away as New Guinea and the US."
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