World's largest stone fruit packer chooses NZ tech

MEDIA INFORMATION

29 August 2002

World's largest stone fruit packer chooses NZ technology

Clever technology from a New Zealand company has won it a contract with the world's largest stone fruit packer, based in the USA.

Compac Sorting Equipment Ltd (CSE) is installing two five-lane weight sizers and colour sorters at Gerawan Farming in California. These machines also include new-generation electronics and software that automatically distribute the fruit to the 50 destinations on the sorter.

The order builds on CSE's reputation in the Californian citrus industry, where its InVision 9000 external blemish grading systems are highly regarded following early successes in sorting for frost-damaged oranges and removing them from the good packable fruit.

The company has also recently installed several smaller machines for tomato re-packers in more than 10 packhouses across the US and Canada, automating their previously labour-intensive systems with its InVision 5000 colour sorting units for faster and more cost-effective operations.

CSE has also just secured orders from three apple packers in Washington State. The installations will be the company's first apple sizer and colour sorting installations in the state, despite previously gaining a very strong presence with its electronic refits to existing machines.

According to CSE's executive director, David Buys, the orders were based on the successful performance of the company's software and electronics as well as the excellent service reputation of its distributor in the Washington market.

"Now, more than 25% of Washington State's apple crop (equalling New Zealand's total apple crop) is sorted by the electronics and software that Compac has developed," he says.

Compac Sorting Equipment was established 18 years ago, to supply fruit grading equipment to the domestic kiwifruit industry. Since then, it has grown to become a supplier of leading edge technology to the fresh produce industry around the world, exporting over 80% of its products as specialist technology throughout Europe, USA, Australia, South America, South Korea and Africa.

-ends-

More information :

David Buys, 09 634 0088 or 021 433 125

visit www.compacsort.com

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