{"id":2900,"date":"2022-08-24T19:27:33","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T19:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/key-technology.lndo.site\/en\/?post_type=news&p=2900"},"modified":"2023-02-03T01:23:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T01:23:11","slug":"jones-potato-farm-automates-bulk-product-inspection","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.key.net\/en\/news\/jones-potato-farm-automates-bulk-product-inspection\/","title":{"rendered":"Jones Potato Farm Automates Bulk Product Inspection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jones Potato Farm is a large-scale, family-owned producer of potatoes, green beans, citrus and cattle. Gripped by a tight labor market, they\u2019ve searched for new automated technologies to maintain their high product quality and production capacities. In 2020, they installed Key Technology\u2019s advanced VERYX\u00ae<\/sup> B175 digital sorter to find and remove foreign material (FM) and product defects on their fresh pack green bean line. Processing more than 250,000 bushels of green beans every year, VERYX helps Jones reduce manual labor while protecting product quality and maximizing yield.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe labor shortage is a major concern for all agricultural operations. It\u2019s become very difficult and expensive to recruit and retain 20 reliable workers to manually inspect our green beans, especially during our peak season when we often operate seven days a week,\u201d said Alan Jones, President and CEO of Jones Potato Farm. \u201cWhile we\u2019ll always have a place for good employees here in our facility, it\u2019s nice to be able to take some pressure off our people. VERYX is a highly effective sorter that improves our operating efficiencies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBefore we selected VERYX, we did a fair amount of research. We looked at Key because we\u2019ve had such great experiences working with them in the past. They have a reputation for both world-class equipment and service, and we value their expertise in green bean processing,\u201d explained Jones. \u201cWe visited a Key customer to see VERYX sorting green beans in person. As soon as saw what it was achieving, we knew it was the right solution for us. A sorter is a big investment, so equipment dependability and longevity are super important. We appreciate that VERYX has a proven track record with long-term success at so many facilities around the world.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

VERYX is Key\u2019s most advanced optical sorter and the B175 is the highest capacity model in the VERYX family, capable of processing up to 6.8 metric tons of green beans per hour on its 1750-mm wide inspection zone. As the world\u2019s only belt-fed sorter that can inspect product entirely in-air with top and bottom sensors, VERYX achieves all-sided surface inspection of each green bean with no blind spots. The VERYX B175 at Jones is fully loaded with top- and bottom-mounted off-axis cameras, top-mounted laser sensors and Key\u2019s Pixel Fusion\u2122 detection module to find and remove the most FM and the right amount of defects to make grade and maximize yield.<\/p>\r\n

Equipped with cameras and laser sensors, this VERYX recognizes the color, size, shape and structural properties of every object. Pixel Fusion combines pixel-level input from cameras and laser sensors to produce higher contrasts between objects for better detection accuracy without false rejects. VERYX identifies and ejects all types of FM including insects, animal parts, paperboard, wood, rocks, plastics and glass as well as extraneous vegetative matter (EVM) such as weeds and other plant material from the product stream.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGreen beans can present a wide variety of different defects, depending on the growing environment. Here in Florida, we grow green beans in light sand, so wind damage and tip rot are common issues. We like that our VERYX can be programmed to focus on the specific defects found in our region,\u201d said Ishmael Hernandez, Production and Farm Manager at Jones Potato Farm. \u201cAnd it\u2019s easy to fine-tune the settings so we remove exactly what we want and nothing more. It\u2019s totally customizable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Jones Potato Farm selected a three-way VERYX that separates product into three streams to maximize efficiency and yield. The \u2018reject\u2019 stream is programmed to collect FM and certain defects, which go to waste. The \u2018accept\u2019 stream sends good green beans with no clusters or stems on to packaging. The third sort stream gets everything else, including clusters and green beans with attached stems \u2013 these green beans are sent to a separate two-way sorter from Key that separates rework, which is circulated back to the beginning of the line. \u201cSeparating rework helps us recover an additional one percent of product, which adds up,\u201d noted Hernandez.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOur VERYX is great at handling high defect loads without sacrificing good product to the reject stream. This means we\u2019re able to consistently achieve our final product specifications, regardless of incoming product quality, while we maximize yield,\u201d said Hernandez.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis sorter is very reliable, which is important, because we won\u2019t run our line without it,\u201d said Hernandez. \u201cIf we ever need support, VERYX makes it easy. With its remote monitoring capability, a Key service technician can securely access and adjust its settings remotely. Sometimes our shifts run until 4am, and it\u2019s good to know that Key\u2019s remote service is always available, even in the middle of the night, to help our sorter operate at peak performance.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

About Key Technology<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Key Technology is a global leader in the design and manufacture of automation systems including digital sorters, conveyors and other processing equipment. Applying processing knowledge and application expertise, Key helps customers in the food processing and other industries improve quality, increase yield and reduce cost. Key manufactures its products in Walla Walla, Washington, USA; Redmond, Oregon, USA; and in Beusichem, the Netherlands.\u00a0 Key offers customer demonstration and testing services at five locations including Walla Walla and Beusichem as well as Hasselt, Belgium; Sacramento, California, USA; and Melbourne, Australia; and maintains a sales and service office in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico. Key is a Duravant Company. For more information, visit www.key.net<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

About Duravant<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, Duravant is a global engineered equipment company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Through their portfolio of operating companies, Duravant delivers trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. With worldwide sales distribution and service networks, they provide immediate and lifetime aftermarket support to all the markets they serve in the food processing, packaging and material handling sectors. Duravant\u2019s market-leading brands are synonymous with innovation, durability and reliability. For more information, visit www.duravant.com.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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Reader Inquiries<\/u>:<\/strong>
\r\nBuffy Hagerman
\r\nKey Technology
\r\n150 Avery Street
\r\nWalla\u00a0Walla,\u00a0WA\u00a099362\u00a0USA
\r\nTel: +1\u00a0509 540 7415
\r\nbhagerman@key.net <\/a>
\r\nwww.key.net<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Lene Boes
\r\nKey Technology
\r\nBedrijfsstraat 6b
\r\nB-3500 Hasselt, Belgium
\r\nTel: +32 (0) 11 24 91 91
\r\nlboes@key.net<\/a>
\r\nwww.key.net<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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