Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW MAY/JUNE 2022 59 MACHINERY Second Queen’s Award For Haith Group UK designer and manufacturer of vegetable handling equipment, Haith, has been awarded its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. Haith has been recognised for developing its Rota-Tip box tipping system. First manufactured in 2011, the Rota-Tip Up-Eject transfers potatoes and other vegetables onto washing, sizing and packing lines. It is the second Haith machine to receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation. The company’s Root Veg Polisher was recognised in 2010. Managing Director Duane Hill said: “Today’s recognition is excellent news for our team, a reward for their hard work, and a testimony to our customers who involve us in their businesses and trust us to develop solutions to enhance their business. Everyone at Haith is very proud to be recognised by the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for a second time.” Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject was designed at the request of food packers and processors who experienced oil leaks, high energy use and instability when using traditional hydraulic box tipplers. Haith innovated the design by replacing the hydraulic motors with all-electric drives, which use less power and prevent oil leaks. Haith also developed a new, safer, and more effective rotating system that can handle larger box volumes than older designs. Since introducing the Up-Eject system, Haith has sold more than 180 machines to most of the UK’s leading food suppliers and exported them to Europe, Japan, Israel, Canada and the United States. In the UK, Duane estimates that 95% of the UK’s supermarket potato suppliers use the Haith Rota-tip. Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the Queen’s Awards Emblem for the next five years. L-R Nigel Haith_chairman_Duane Hill_md_David Haith_Engineering Director Turnkey solution for packers and processors unveiled in Berlin HAITH, UK designer and manufacturer of vegetable handling machines, is launching a new solution for packers and processors looking for a complete turnkey solution. The Pro-Line is a flexible wash line platform designed to deliver maximum operating efficiencies while giving gentle handling and labour reduction. Developed over the past two years, it features box tippler, soil separator, destoner, washer, polisher, optical graders, box fillers and packing machines in a customisable package, which provides customers with the most efficient and cost-effective way of streamlining their handling and packing processes. Haith’s Managing Director, Duane Hill, said: “In the last couple of years, we have undertaken some of our largest ever turnkey projects. We’ve worked with a broad range of customers, from some of the biggest food producers and packers in the UK and overseas to lots of smaller businesses. By working on these complete solution projects, we have refined how our machines work together.” Haith’s Pro-Line features all-electric drive Rota Tip Up-Eject. Produce then moves through to a soil remover, which can be customised to suit the crop and the volume of soil surrounding it. The pre-sizing units with a patented swing fill box filler can be positioned in front of the Supa Wash with integral destoner and floating debris removal. Once washed and clear of debris, the crop enters Haith’s root veg polisher with an optional sliding bypass system. The latest polisher features optional Cleaning InPlace (CIP), which allows the operator to set the timewhen the polisher is cleaned by the detergent dosage system, preventing the build-up of bacteria. CIP is complemented by a zero-slip barrel drive system, an air-operateddischarge doorwithfinger- tip control and taper locks on all drive components – all backedupwith a two-yearwarranty. The cleaned and polished crop is then moved via Haith’s patented Pro-Flow conveyor and chute transport system to an automatic optical sizer and quality grader. The Pro-Flow Transfer Chute replaces traditional methods of transferring crops between conveyors. The chute creates a trampoline effect by tensioning a loop of PVC material between two stainless steel tie rods. This creates an air pocket that cushions the crop as it is transferred, eliminating the bruising that can occur with gravity transfer. The line’s penultimate stage sees the graded crop pass through Haith’s Pro Fillers with Evenflow feeder and weigh cells to ensure accurate and gently box filling. The Pro-Line is intelligently controlled by a programmed Omron NS10 HMI screen using the latest sysmac automation platform. Haith’s software engineers have incorporated the company’s Control+ system, which provides the operator with real-time plant statistics and maintenance overviews Tony Edwards, ManagingDirector at Braegate, is one of the latest customers to take advantage of the Pro-Line solution. He said: “The new line is so muchmore efficient than our previous ones, which featured ageingmachines fromseveral different manufacturers andwas something that had evolved over the years. Our new line is designed around our precise needs andwill future proof our business.”