Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 19 PREVIEW: BP2019 GIC will mark its 20th appearance at British Potato by showcasing the 300th fresh produce machine to roll o its production line. e GIC8000 vertical form ll and sealing machine taking pride of place on the compa- ny’s stand will be installed at Branston Ltd’s Scotland site after the show. “We handle 380,000 tonnes of potatoes each year, with a signi cant amount being packed by GIC machines before they leave us for su- permarkets across the country,” said Ian Wait, Operations Director at Branston Ltd. “We rely on GIC’s machines at all three of our sites in Lincolnshire, Somerset and Scotland. In total, we have bought more than 20 GIC machines. ey’re fast and reliable as well as being gentle on the produce.” When GIC rst exhibited at British Potato in 2001, the company employed just 12 people and manufactured a range of six machines, the fastest of which could produce 100 packs per minute. Today, GIC employs 21 people and manufactures a range of nine machine variant, the fastest of which can reach 140 packs per minute. 300th machine to take centre stage 2020 washer and destoner to be unveiled British Potato 19 sponsor Haith Group has chosen to unveil its 2020 Washer & De-stoner at the event. Visitors to Haith’s stand will be the rst to see the new design, which includes a range of innovative features that make it the com- pany’s most e cient and hygienic washer and de-stoner. With its new washer, Haith aims to bring all of the features of its top of the range Supa-wash to the broader market. Haith’s original Supa-wash was designed to handle 25 to 50 tonnes per hour. Haith’s 2020 Washer and De-stoner is designed to appeal to people processing 10 to 25 tonnes per hour. As well as launching the new washer and de-stoner, Haith’s team will be on hand to talk people through its full range of washers, polishers, graders, box tippers and packhouse equipment. Established in 1964, Haith has exhibited at every British Potato show. “We’re very much looking forward to British Potato 2019,” said. “It is always a great event, and it will be fantastic to meet up with customers and other industry professionals. As well as having our smallest vegetable washer on display alongside our 2020 Washer & De- stoner, we will, of course, be treating visitors to our stand to some delicious refreshments, in what has become a bit of a Haith and British Potato tradition!” New sensor-based sorting machine available to view A new sensor-based sorting machine, introduced at Potato Europe in September, will be exhibited at BP2019. TOMRA Food has introduced the TOMRA 3A sensor-based sorting machine for freshly harvested root crops, which would be typically used by potato growers at the entrance to a potato storage shed. It replaces the FPS (Field Potato Sorter) machine with which TOMRA first entered the specialised sector seven years ago and has been developed in light of customer feedback and experience accumulated during this time. Jim Frost, Product Manager at TOMRA Food, said: “The TOMRA 3A improves upon its predecessor in every way. In developing this machine, we have learned from our experience working with farmers in this sector and have adopted market- leading technologies already proven in some of our other sorting applications.” Controller gets smarter e new SmartStor® will be demonstrated live on Crop Systems Limited’s stand at BP2019. Crop Systems Limited is adding new features and improved functionality to its SmartStor® controller, which will help users reduce storage costs, while improving their ability to monitor and manage stores remotely via mobile devices. New features include a heating/drying system, a ‘kill feature’ to avoid running the store at peak energy prices and an ethylene control feed system that reduces loss of this sprouting suppressant during store purging. e new system also features a selection and graphing element that enables store operators to select which parameters they need to monitor to manage their stores remotely. Ray Andrews, Managing Director of Crop Systems Limited, said all the features are being introduced in response to user feedback.