FoodTrust - Connections

Last time I showed you the new cleaning and sorting machine at G.W. Visser and Sons. This time I’ll show you the box filler.

While I was at Visser’s videotaping their Grimme setup, William told me about the difference between what this machine does and what typically happens with potatoes on a farm.

Typically potatoes are stored in warehouse filled with potatoes wall to wall, floor to ceiling with ventilation ducts to keep the potatoes from rotting. A bucket loader is used to remove potatoes from the warehouse. This results in some damage to the potatoes as the bucket is pushed into the pile.

This method also makes it difficult to identify the origins of the potatoes since several fields of potatoes can be stored in one warehouse. It is also terribly inefficient if a certain size range is required. The packing line must sort through a wide range of sizes to get the required size.

Storing in boxes is a relatively new idea in this area. Large wooden boxes filled with potatoes can be stacked easily. Air space can be left between boxes to allow adequate air flow. When the time comes to pack the potatoes they can be moved easily with a forklift with almost no damage to the potatoes. The boxes can also be labeled to identify the origin of the contents.

Filling large boxes can be tricky because potatoes should not be dropped 4′ from a conveyor belt into the box. The Grimme Box Filler is is a very neat machine that reduces the impact to potatoes being stored in boxes.

The video shows much better than I can explain it. A conveyor on one end is lowered into the box which allows the potatoes to fall gently into it. The conveyor automatically raises as the box fills up. When the box is full the conveyor slides over and lowers into the empty box to begin filling it. A forklift moves in to remove the full box and replace it with an empty one.

Each box is labeled to identify the variety, size, and origin. The boxes are stored in the warehouse grouped by these attributes. It is very easy to remove a certain size range of potatoes for packing. If a problem is found in a certain field it is easy to locate the harvest from that field and take the required actions.

This equipment will allow Visser’s to maintain a higher quality product in storage which will result in better quality in our retail display units. This is one example of high quality products from farmers that care.

Scott