YOUR INDUSTRY
1
2
1 Project management team thrilled with their new set-up: Overall project manager Craig Petersen (left), former general manager Gary Wake, and Tomra project manager James George 2 Packing underway on opening day. Stonefruit are an important part of the packing operation
Mt Erin cuts ribbon on new packing facility An initiative started by a group of like-minded growers to pack and export their own fruit reached a new level with the launch of a new state-of-the-art packhouse in December. By Rose Mannering The venture began in 2012, when a group of Hawke’s Bay growers banded together with other industry investors to purchase Mt Erin Fruit Services in 2012, looking for control of their apple crop beyond the farm gate. Fast forward to 2020, eight families of Hawke’s Bay’s wellestablished growing community were thrilled to present their new facility to the fruitgrowing industry at the opening on December 11. Sally Gardiner joined the group in late 2019, a professional chair with interests in kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty, and now also apples. The newly fitted out packhouse has a capacity of 30,000 plus bins. An old two-lane grader has been replaced with a Compac/Tomra four-lane grader. Fully automated defect sorting reduces the need for people on the sorting tables.
32
The ORCHARDIST : FEBRUARY 2021
A Spectrim colour defect sorter with infra-red allows for a highquality output from the new set up. UltraView, using the latest technology, can check the calyx and stem-end of the apple for any unwanted travellers or defects. The whole packing set-up is run from the control room stationed above the packing lines. The UltraView inspection module significantly improves detection of difficult defects located in the stem bowl such as stem splits in the fruit. UltraView integrates with Spectrim to increase line efficiency and eliminate slowdowns that can occur when packing lots with a high incidence of defects. UltraView continues to reduce the need for manual grading on the line and supports the adoption of pack automation solutions.
