Internal quality increasingly importantAs we have read in recent editions of PRIMEUR, optical sorting machines are still viewed with some scepticism within the fruit and vegetable sector, particularly regarding their use with onions. Not everyone, it seems, is completely convinced of the benefit, and in particular, the reliability of this technology. The discussions sometimes even lead to squabbles. Nevertheless, Erwin Bakker of software supplier Ellips in Eindhoven, believes that, in time, the technology will be inescapable in the sector. “An employee at a packing centre cannot look inside a product. That will require a certain form of software.”
At Ellips, there is clearly a passion for the optic technology. The company, of which Erwin Bakker is owner and managing director, was not created out of economic considerations in the fruit and vegetables sector, but surprisingly from the academic world. The entire idea was developed on a university campus, and the student-like curiosity is still tangible at the heart of the company. Ellips strives to develop a new generation of software and hardware for sorting and processing machines that is faster, more user-friendly, and more accurate than ever before.
Student project
The Eindhoven region of the Netherlands has a history in the area of optical sorting. Many local companies were involved in the optical sorting of rice, potatoes, and so on. However, surprisingly enough, Ellips was not born out of this development.
“We have an interesting history,” Erwin explains. “We come from the academic world. For some time, we were based on the campus of the University of Technology in Eindhoven, until we outgrew our home.”
As a student in 1989, Erwin became interested in the development of optical software. In those days, pears for example were sorted by hand, something that Erwin knows about from experience, because he himself had spent time working alongside the conveyor belt. The father of a college friend was a fruit grower. That led to the development of image processing software that was able to determine the diameter of a pear.
Erwin can still clearly recall making the rounds with the software to the big players: “We showed it to Aweta and to Greefa,” he says. “Aweta wasn’t interested. Greefa was, but they then announced that they would be developing the technology themselves, instead of buying it from us. Luckily, we soon found another party that wanted to do business with us. In 1990, six machines running our software were sold, twelve were sold in 1991, and fourteen were sold in 1992 – all to former customers of Greefa. So, they had let a good opportunity pass them by. Now, approximately 150 systems equipped with our hardware and software are sold worldwide each year. That includes both new and existing machines.” Erwin is not concerned that these customers themselves will start to develop the software and hardware themselves. “To do that, they would first have to develop a great deal of knowledge and expertise,” he believes. “That takes years, and moreover, they must first come up with start-up capital of at least five million euros.”
Elisam
Erwin Bakker can understand that the name Ellips is still relatively unknown in the fruit and vegetable sector. “We primarily supply the fruit and vegetable sector,” he says. “We actually only develop software and a small bit of electronics for that sector. Not that we don’t deliver complete systems, because we certainly do as well.” In 2010 one of Ellips’ best customers went bankrupt. That was an Italian machine builder. Ellips then set up a new Italian company, Elisam, together with a number of good technicians, and the company developed a new line of sorting and processing machines. Since then, the company is able to produce the entire product line under one branch. The Italian adventure did, however, lead to the requisite dismissals. “Things can get a little dictatorial in the business structure,” he says. “During the restart, I immediately threw out that structure.” He laughs: “You could say that I implemented a polder model. I myself am 85% owner, and I also made fifteen people each 1% owner. And, I must say, that works very well. There are very beautiful machines made at the company now by enthusiastic people. We have been able to make lots of improvements and innovations in the past years. For example, the machines now have special rollers so that the onions are visible from all sides. They are also three meters shorter and they are two-thirds as wide as the standard machines. As a result they are 30% cheaper. And on and on.”
The onion is a challenge
What started with pears grew into highly diverse market coverage. According to Erwin, the apple industry is a market that continues to run well, but cherries are also doing extremely well at the moment. “Cherries are booming,” he says. Does the technology also have its limitations? In general, cherries are doing well, but potatoes contain a large amount of dry material. How deep does the software look? “With the current technology, at least with our internal unit, we can (in theory) look straight through a potato,” Erwin claims. “But it largely depends on the machinery that is used. Previously you could only look three millimeters deep into a potato, but now you can look straight through it. In the U.S. they are working with x-ray equipment again, but whether that will ever be permitted here is another matter entirely.” He continues: “As far as that goes, the onion also has its challenges,” the developer adds, “due to the thick peel and the fact that it contains less dry material. With an onion, the position is crucial. This is because the onion provides a less-uniform image than, for example, an apple or a potato. The root plate and the tail in particular present variations.”
Future perspectives
Ellips is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. What the future of processing will look like, Erwin finds difficult to predict. “I can’t say whether there will be no ocular quality control within a few years, or that there will no longer be any potato packaging stations. Along with the technology, it is also a question of pushing the limits. An employee at a packaging station cannot look inside a product; a certain type of software will be needed to do that. And if the consumer specifies increasingly higher quality requirements, technology will have to keep up with that.
We have installed a machine for an onion grower in the US. He had a rejection rate of 10-15% with his red onions. We reduced this to 1%. As long as growers wish to continue to reduce those margins, the developers of optic sorting machines will continue to be relevant.”
The same is also true for the retail sector, Erwin adds. “Ultimately, the supermarkets demand it. In the not-to-distant future, they will no longer accept absolutely any internal rot. I certainly foresee a time that the internal quality in the fruit and vegetable sector as a whole will play a crucial role. In America, internal quality inspection is really taking off. As far as that is concerned, we in Europe are still a bit conservative.”
For more information:
Erwin bakker
Ellips B.V.
Esp 300
5633 AE Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 40 - 245 6540
Fax: +31 40 - 246 7183
www.ellips.com