Newsroom
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Key Technology Introduces Optical Sorters for Processed Protein Products
January 24, 2024 Key Technology (“Key”), a member of Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, introduces optical sorters for processed protein products, such as frozen chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, fish sticks, plant-based meat alternatives and more. Automatically removing product defects and foreign material (FM), Key’s optical sorters including COMPASS® and VERYX® help optimize product quality while improving yield and reducing labor. “Processors of protein products worldwide have relied on Key’s vibratory conveyors for more than 25 years. However, when it comes to sorting, historically they’ve been satisfied... → -
Key Technology Introduces RemoteMD® 2.0 for Optical Sorters
December 14, 2023 Key Technology (“Key”), a member of Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, introduces RemoteMD® 2.0 remote support service for their optical sorting systems. RemoteMD enables Key service technicians to securely connect to a customer’s sorter for real-time remote monitoring as well as technical support. Now with 24/7 call center support and delivery of quarterly status reports, RemoteMD 2.0 helps optimize equipment performance to protect food safety and ensure product quality while increasing machine uptime and reducing service costs. “The worldwide labor shortage has made... → -
Key Technology Promotes Harry van de Wiel to Vice President and General Manager – NL for EMEA and Asia
November 21, 2023 Key Technology (“Key”), a member of Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, announces the promotion of Harry van de Wiel to Vice President and General Manager – NL. Based in the Netherlands (NL), van de Wiel is responsible for developing and leading strategies that bring Key’s high-performance optical sorting, conveying and other process automation systems, as well as world-class service, to food processors throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in addition to China, India and Southeast Asia. “Food processors and packers across... → -
Key Technology Introduces New Enhancements for Rotary Sizing and Grading Systems
November 14, 2023 Key Technology (“Key”), a member of Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, introduces new features for their Rotary Sizing and Grading Systems. This versatile family, which includes the Precision Size Grader (PSG), Rotary Size Grader (RSG) and Sliver Sizer Remover (SSR), enables vegetable, potato and fruit processors and packers to mechanically size and grade product while removing small pieces, debris and other targeted material. Available with newly optimized rollers, Lubed for Life bearings and drive covers, Key’s Rotary Sizing and Grading Systems improve product... → -
Key Technology Introduces New Conveying Systems for Robotic Pick-and-Place Packaging
October 12, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, introduces their new vibratory conveying systems designed to feed pick-and-place robots on packaging lines. Each series of integrated conveyors meters, separates, singulates and/or aligns product, depending on the application, to provide the optimal product separation, speed and orientation for ideal presentation to the robotic system for pick-up. By minimizing hand packing, these new systems help increase production efficiency, reduce labor and improve sanitation. “As a food processor grows, they come to a point when... → -
Duravant Appoints Jack Lee as Group President – Food Sorting and Handling Solutions
August 31, 2023 Duravant announces the appointment of Jack Lee as Group President, Food Sorting and Handling Solutions. Lee is responsible for leading strategies that bring sorting, conveying and other process automation systems from four Duravant operating companies – Key Technology, Multiscan, PPM Technologies and WECO – to food processors globally. Having most recently served as President of Key Technology Americas and WECO, Lee joined Duravant in 2022 where he had overall responsibility for the operating companies’ growth strategies. In his expanded global role, Lee will oversee strategic... → -
Duravant Presents World-Class Food Sorting and Handling Equipment at Pack Expo Las Vegas
August 29, 2023 Duravant’s newly-formed Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, which includes operating companies Key Technology, Multiscan Technologies, PPM Technologies and WECO, will exhibit for the first time together at Pack Expo Las Vegas, September 11 – 13th, in booth C-4230. With world-class optical sorters, specialized conveyors and advanced turnkey processing line solutions, Duravant will display their expanded portfolio of automation technologies and newest innovations that optimize yield, ensure product quality, reduce labor and improve operating efficiencies for food growers and processors. “As processors and packers are... → -
Key Technology Introduces All-New Compass Optical Sorters
August 22, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, introduces the all-new COMPASS® family of food optical sorters. Powered by next-generation inspection technology as well as a new sort engine and ergonomic user interface, COMPASS is the easiest to use optical sorter on the market, achieving consistently accurate foreign material (FM) and product defect removal and simplifying system operation, sanitation and maintenance. COMPASS helps processors automate and improve quality management of their food products, while maximizing yield and increasing profitability. “Optical sorting technology... → -
Key Technology Introduces Integrated Hyperspectral Sorting System for Bacon Bits
May 10, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, introduces their new integrated hyperspectral sorting system for chilled bacon bits. As the world’s only sorter that can combine near infrared (NIR) hyperspectral detection with color cameras, Key’s VERYX® BioPrint® analyzes a richer set of data about the materials it is sorting to remove the smallest bone fragments and other difficult-to-detect foreign material (FM) and product defects. When integrated with Key’s vibratory conveyors, this new bacon bit sorting line improves food safety and product... → -
Key Technology Presents World-Class Food Processing and Packaging Systems at Interpack
April 12, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, is exhibiting their VERYX® optical sorter and Zephyr™ horizontal-motion conveyor, as well as showcasing their other world-class equipment, in Hall 6 / B73 at Interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany, May 4-10, 2023. “Food processors worldwide are facing enormous market challenges – fluctuations in crop quality due to extreme weather, increasing defects resulting from stricter legislation on the use of pesticides, widespread labor shortages, consumer demands for higher product quality and more. We’re addressing these issues... → -
Key Technology Promotes Rudy Sanchez to Food Handling Systems Product Manager – Americas
March 14, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, announces the promotion of Rudy Sanchez to Food Handling Systems Product Manager – Americas. Sanchez is responsible for managing activities throughout North America and Latin America that support the development, marketing and sales of Key’s high-performance food handling equipment, including vibratory conveyors, rotary sizing and grading systems and more. “Innovation at Key is driven by the continual state of evolution in the food processing industry and its impact on our customer needs. Rudy’s role... → -
Cockerill Relies on Key Technology’s Herbert Oculus Optical Sorters for Whole Potatoes
February 1, 2023 From humble beginnings growing vegetables for hungry neighbors during the Great Depression, R S Cockerill has grown to become one of the largest independent potato packers in the United Kingdom today. They credit much of this success to their top-quality potatoes and budget-friendly prices. These often-conflicting goals are both addressed with the help of Key Technology’s Herbert OCULUS optical sorters for whole potatoes, which automate defect removal to improve production efficiencies while ensuring final product quality. “Before Herbert OCULUS, we were sorting by hand, but... → -
Key Technology Introduces Enhanced Herbert Oculus Optical Sorter for Whole Potatoes
January 25, 2023 Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, introduces their enhanced Herbert OCULUS optical sorter for whole potatoes at Fruit Logistica hall 6.1 stand A-60. Ideal for fresh market potatoes or whole potatoes prior to processing, this enhanced system improves performance to better find and remove potatoes with defects. Its superior sorting capabilities help ensure product quality while reducing labor requirements and achieving consistent line capacity despite fluctuations in incoming raw product quality. “The value of Herbert OCULUS for the potato industry... → -
Mariani Selects State-of-the-art Optical Sorter from Key Technology
January 5, 2023 Mariani has led the dried fruit industry for 115 years by focusing on product quality along with production efficiency. Last year, they decided to integrate grading and sorting on one prune processing line at their Marysville, California facility and began searching for the ideal sorter for this application. Mariani selected a state-of-the-art VERYX® optical sorter from Key Technology to find and remove all kinds of foreign material (FM) and the right amount of product defects to make grade while maximizing yield. “We needed a new... →