Six-figure polisher spend for Huntapac

Huntapac has upgraded its packhouse with a major new root veg polishing installation.

As part of a six-figure investment in its Lancashire factory, Huntapac is now operating four of Haith’s 18-roller RootVeg polishers for its carrot and parsnip lines, which will treble the company’s washing throughput.

“The four new Haith RootVeg polishers are definitely our biggest single investment on our site,” said operations director Will Hunter. “We outgrew our previous polishers and needed higher capacity. We also wanted to be able to shut down one line for maintenance and still be able to feed the line fully.

“Compared to our previous belt-drive polishers, which were around 20 years old and showing their age, the Haith polishers are light years ahead. They offer us increased capacity, a better-quality product for the customer and less maintenance thanks to the direct drive motor-driven brushes.”

RootVeg polishers feature a high-efficiency drive mounted to each brush roller. The patented design eliminates roller slippage under load and a cartridge system means the brush rollers can be removed for maintenance in less than ten minutes.

A heavy-duty split top shaft reduces barrel and belt fatigue and Haith has also incorporated full-length raising inspection doors, giving Huntapac complete access to all moving parts for easy servicing.

“We have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Huntapac since the 1990s when we designed and installed a trimming and packing line,” said Haith’s sales manager Rob Highfield. “Huntapac has grown considerably since then, and this latest investment will allow them to take on additional capacity easily.

“As well as being one of our largest-ever polisher installations, this project was one of our most challenging due to the factory’s layout not giving us much space to work in, and we only had a two-week window in which to undertake the installation. Thankfully, by working in partnership with Huntapac, we hit the deadline.”