TURNKEY CHERRY SOLUTION: PRIMA FRUTTA, CALIFORNIA USA
Client: Prima Frutta Location: Linden, California Commodity: Cherries Project Type: Turnkey cherry line with Compac providing the sorter and Van Doren Sales providing peripheral equipment Capacity: 20 metric ton/hour Technology: Compac InVision 9000 defect sorting to accurately sort cherries by size, shape, color, softness and surface defects
The Sambado family have been growing cherries in California’s San Joaquin Valley since 1947. After establishing a reputation for growing and selling top quality produce A. Sambado & Son expanded into packing their own fruit for market. In 1992 Prima Frutta and Van Doren Sales teamed up to develop their first cherry sorting line with three more lines following. Due to the adoption of cutting edge technology Prima Frutta is regarded as an industry leader in the packing and marketing of apples and cherries. In 2010 Compac was engaged to retrofit an existing cherry sorter installed at Prima Frutta with a new Compac InVision system. This system significantly improved Prima Frutta’s ability to grade their cherries for color, size and shape, whilst increasing the throughput of their facility. In 2011 Compac was also commissioned to design and install two 5-lane MLS sorters with InVision 9000 for defect sorting to upgrade and expand Prima Frutta’s apple facility. Based on the strong relationship between the companies Prima Frutta again engaged Compac and Van Doren Sales to undertake an ambitious project, a complete line which would grade 50,000 cherries every minute by size, shape, color, softness and surface defects. Working with partners Van Doren Sales and Fruit Handling Systems with A&B Packing providing final packing equipment. While the line is designed for high speed bin dumping of firmer varieties such as Bing, Stella and Lambert; the line also boasts the capability to safely run delicate varieties such as Rainier and Royal Anne. With the most advanced blemish sorting technology available to the industry underpinned by high quality and durable construction this installation gives Prima Frutta a significant increase in throughput and the levels of accuracy and consistency of their graded product.
Prima Frutta Turnkey Cherry Solution
COMPAC 36 LANE SORTER: Sorting all cherries via size, shape, color and external defects. Every cherry is then sent to its correct outlet for distribution to the final packing areas.
SMART WATER MONITORING: Monitoring and maintaining water levels with real-time display. Dual cooling systems allow the two 50’ Hydrocoolers to operate at a constant temperature efficiently while electronic controls allow dwell times to be manipulated as required.
Prima Frutta Turnkey Cherry Solution
COMPAC INVISION 9000 SORTING SYSTEM: Digital cameras take images of each individual cherry as they pass under the InVision inspection cabinets. Each cherry is rotated and analyzed by size, shape, color, softness and surface defects before being deposited to its assigned outlet.
SINGULATION BELT FLUMES: Submerged belts help singulate and carry cherries onto the carriers of the sorter. Singulating every cherry into an individual pocket allowing for accurate inspection from the InVision 9000 defect sorting system and for correct allocation.
VAN DOREN BIN TIPPING:
FLEXIBLE PACKING:
Featuring automatic weighing and the ability to “dial in” the desired level of throughput the bin tipping units communicate with sorter to maintain a constant flow of cherries. Incoming bins are scanned and logged in a database.
Retractable belts allow for a quick and easy transition from clamming units supplied by A&B Packing to Van Doren high speed box & bag filling systems. Filling is tracked electronically for accurate accounting of final packed product.