Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 57 MACHINERY Reversible conveyor unveiled KEY Technology, a global designer and manufacturer of automation systems including digital sorters, conveyors and other processing equipment, has unveiled its new reversible Zephyr™ conveyor. e manufacturer says it achieves higher capacities than other horizontal-motion conveyors, and gently moves product with minimal bounce to protect quality and reduce noise. Equipped to ow in either direction, it maximises production line versatility while improving sanitation and minimising maintenance. Process Systems Product Development Manager, Rudy Sanchez, said: “We’ve made design changes to our eld-proven Zephyr to expand its capabilities and meet the needs of even more food processors.” e reversible Zephyr can be used for frozen bulk foods including potato products, fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, as well as dry products like potato chips/crisps, nuts and cereals. Zephyr’s motion pro le gently slides and conveys product with no segregation or strati cation. It reduces product damage and the loss of coatings such as seasoning, batter and certain types of oil. When integrated with pneumatic controls on the production oor, the reversible Zephyr allows processors to change direction of product owwith either the push of a button or automatically if fully integrated with the line. Reversible Zephyr can be con gured to separate a single product stream to two side- by-side machines or even divert a single stream to two di erent downstream production lines to produce di erent products. e bed width and length can be tailored for individual customer applications, with options including slide gates for scale feed distribution, a discharge to enhance multi- head weighing or a bias to spread product when feeding downstream systems. It can also be con gured with a stop-start mode for scale feeding or product distribution. Over the water again ... VEGETABLE handling machinery manufacturer, Haith Group, demonstrated at its rst overseas exhibition since winning its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in April 2022. e UK manufacturer presented its latest grading and sorting machines to European farmers at Potato Europe 2022 on September 7th and 8th at Rittergut Bockerode near Hanover in Germany. As well as promoting its new ProSort mobile optical grader, Haith discussed the latest developments in modular washing lines, the ProLine, and the RotaTip box tippler. Developed by Haith Group and GRIMME UK, the ProSort automates the removal of stone, clod and foreign debris from potatoes, helping growers cope with labour shortages. Featuring a TOMRA 3A optical sorter, the ProSort can handle up to 100 tonnes per hour and the manufacturer states it has high levels of accuracy. e TOMRA 3A employs Near Infra- Red multi-spectral sensors for an unobstructed assessment of every object ‘in ight’, seamlessly identifying between potatoes and foreign material. As well as debris, the 3A’s colour sensors can also detect green potatoes, which like the debris, are removed at the end of the conveyor belt by intelligent nger ejectors. As the ProSort is a modular unit, it can be used in the eld or on a farm and easily integrated into a new or existing grading line. Haith’s ProLine is a exible wash line platform for potato packers and processors. It features its RotaTip box tippler, waste separation, SupaFlume de-stoner, barrel washer, polisher, dryer, optical sorter, box llers and packaging machines in a modular solution. Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject was recognised in the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. First manufactured in 2011, it transfers produce onto washing, sizing and packing lines, and 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. Since introducing the Up-Eject system, Haith has sold more than 180 machines to UK food suppliers and exported them to Europe, Japan, Israel, Canada and the United States. e Rota-Tip Up-Eject is the second Haith machine to receive a Queen’s Award for Innovation. e company’s RootVeg Polisher was recognised in 2010. ➜ Queens Award winners L-R Nigel Haith, Duane Hill and David Haith.