“With the proper lighting, we can get the best image so we can grade down to the pixel,” said Mike Riley of Compac. “It's fantastic because not only is this great for grading, but customers will be able to do many things with the vast amounts of data that come with this.” The need for technology this robust has been coming from large growers. As growers consolidate, they want bigger volumes without compromising on quality or food safety.
“This is not for smaller operations,” said Mike. “We have other products for that, but at the top end of the market it's about delivering quality to scale, and that requires investment.” At both the top end and mid-range, he stressed that what differentiates Compac from other companies is quality of service and technology. Along with the Spectrum platform comes the Smart Care service package that includes pre-season maintenance and in-season support for the machine and the software it runs.
“We continually try to make software that's more accurate and granular, but that comes with increased complexity,” explained Mike. “So we try to simplify the software and use machine learning so that the operator doesn't have to continually learn what to do.” The goal is to have a fully-automated system that runs smoothly. There's an ongoing live trial, and there are several customers who are eagerly waiting to implement the system early next year.
“We've been in test mode for quite a while, and people are queuing up for this now that it's moved from the lab to the field,” said Mike. “This can make a difference for the core commodities in the developed markets we focus on.”
For more information:Nathan Soich
Compac
Tel: +64 99292511
Email: nathan.soich@compacsort.com
www.compacsort.com