New sorting process and box automation

A shed full of bunkers, supply and discharge lines, plenty of forklift trucks driving around and eight people who sort seed potatoes six days a week for five months a year. Due to the growing labor shortage and the need for flexibility and quality, Berend Mencke, owner of Mencke Landbouw, decided to do things differently. He sat down with Flikweert Vision, VHM Machinery and Jongejans Luchttechniek.

Berend's arable farm is located in Barger-Compascuum in Drenthe and grows seed potatoes and starting material for the starch market. More than a year ago, the entrepreneur decided to say goodbye to his traditional way of sorting and reading seed potatoes. He chose QualityGraders from Flikweert Vision with box automation from VHM Machinery.

Berend: "We opted for this far-reaching automation step in order to be able to do more work with our team of eight people. With the QualityGraders we can rely on accurate and consistent quality control with advanced cameras. We can check for wireworms, scab, damage, among other things. , shape errors, growth cracks and green. The razor-sharp images are analyzed, assessed and ultimately compared with the tolerance we set."

Faster and more efficient
The QualityGraders are able to continuously assess the seed potatoes, so that Mencke has more certainty about the quality of the end product. Berend: "This machine works much faster and more efficiently than humans, so that means a significant saving on labor. An important advantage, because it is really a challenge nowadays to find sufficient workers. Due to the higher speed, we also had to do something with the - and disposal, of course. I didn't think any more forklift movements were desirable, so we opted to automate the box logistics together with VHM Machinery. This means I now really have a complete system."

Full boxes in, full boxes out
We worked intensively with the people of VHM to automate the box logistics. There was no standard brochure on the table, but everything was developed based on Mencke's wishes. The solution consists of a destacker, box leveler with EvenFlow for even and metered output into the sorting line, a buffer/removal station, a bunker filler and a stacker.

Berend: "Beautiful to see: full crates in, full crates out. What VHM does is really unique. Because they see the crate as a bunker, you eliminate a number of intermediate bunkers and minimize the falling movement. We now also have much fewer forklift movements and therefore more peace than ever. I think that's important! In principle, we can now keep the line running with one person and sometimes someone steps in. We work in two shifts and this way we get the maximum capacity out of the line fewer people than before. We have exchanged the VHM TwinFilr that we already had in the shed, because we can also use the destacker, bunker filler and stacker of the sorting line as separate modules during storage."

Fewer breakdowns, better working conditions
To ensure a clean working environment in the reading room, Mencke has been using the extraction systems from Jongejans Luchttechniek for years. These have now been moved and expanded, so that they are a seamless part of the new total system. They extract the particulate matter that is released when sorting and processing the seed potatoes. This air is filtered and returned to the room completely clean, so that the heat is retained. By combining the machines with the right extraction system, they are less susceptible to interference and working conditions improve. By also encapsulating the bunkers, sorting and packaging machines, dust sources are further shielded and nuisance is prevented. By creating overpressure in the reading room, the dust disappears from the environment without swirling: the dust is pressed down like a blanket by the heated outside air.

Well worth it
The new line has now been running to Berend's satisfaction for more than a year. "We are very happy with what we have achieved together here. It has given us so much flexibility and we are now much less dependent on the availability of workers. It has been well worth the investment!"