Rivermaid to install 42 lanes of electronic cherry grading in 2014
The turn-key 42 lane cherry line will be installed at Rivermaid’s Lodi plant. Rivermaid’s CEO, Patrick Archibeque and his team travelled extensively through Chile last year to evaluate all the cherry grading machines on the market and found the GP Graders AirJet™ Defect Grader to be the most impressive.
Mr Archibeque and his team were most impressed by the smooth operating environments in the facilities where the GP Graders’ defect grader was being operated which was a stark contrast to the highly stressed, frantic environments of other facilities they visited. “The GP machines we saw were quiet, easy to use and needed very little support leading to a very low tension packing shed,” said Mr Archibeque.
“Our team evaluated the packout intensively by size and defect, analysing how the grader detected splits, cracks and softness. We were very impressed by what we saw and felt GP was the most advanced out there,” he added.
GP Graders AirJet™ Defect Grader has changed the way cherries are graded with up to 80% of defects detected and 98% sizing accuracy. This significantly reduces labour costs and increases productivity.
The 2014 installation will comprise of a twin feed submersible dumper, three new style cluster cutters, three hydrocooling shower conveyors, 40 lane size, colour, shape and defect grader, with a 2 lane sample sizer, and 32 exits and will fit within a 150 x 150 square foot shed.
Rivermaid is one of California’s largest cherry packers and plans to process 26 ton per hour on the new line.
GP Graders are an international leader in cherry grading and packing technology with more than 25 years experience. The company has installed more than 300 machines worldwide. A remarkable achievement reflective of the company’s experience and professionalism.
GP Graders will have five new installations operating in the Pacific Northwest for the upcoming 2013 cherry season.
For more information contact Patrick Archibeque on +1 (209) 369 3586 or see GP Graders at www.gpgraders.com
