In a world where labor for the fruit and vegetable industry is becoming increasingly more difficult to find, machinery company Hughes is offering companies the possibility to switch over from manual labor.
Russ Schlager- VP Sales for Hughes Equipment.
The company provides machinery for a variety of produce, the machines on show at this year's Fruit Logisitica were a husking machine for the fresh market, in addition to a cutter that removes corn kernels from the cob.
According to Russ Schlager, VP of Worldwide sales, "Today, by and large, corn is primarily being processed manually. Imagine large rooms of people and conveyors with people taking the corn, cutting it, ripping the husks off by hand."
This type of processing is labor intensive and the company has created equipment to mechanise this process to accommodate the smallest producers right up to the largest.
"Corn spoils within 7 to 10 days of harvesting so it needs to be handled quickly. If you can't get it out fast enough, you can't reach the market, so it has to be handled quickly. It isn't a question of trying to get rid of people to do this work, producers can't find people to do the work. It is backbreaking and as the labour rates are increasing in the US, companies are having real issues finding people to do the job," continues Schlager.
The most popular item which Hughes offers for the sweet corn fresh market cuts the tip and tail off of the corn. The company provides a complete system with conveyors and everything that is needed to load fresh corn from the field, a tip and tail machine, and a de-husker, so it is ready to be packed fresh (with cellophane) or frozen.
"The fresh pack with cellophane seems to really be taking off across the US and in Europe, where people want to buy fresh corn year round." said Schlager.
Hughes is currently working on a new machine which is in the beta stage to fulfil a new trend in US supermarkets where the stores only want to present the corn with just a strip of the husk pulled off so the customer can view the kernels on a one or two inch strip. This is something which is currently done by hand, so the company is working on a solution to that demand as well.
European vs. US market
"I found out at Fruit Logistica this year that the Fresh market in Europe is ahead of the US. There is more demand for automation, and because the labor rates are (and have been) so much higher in Europe, they've been investing for a while in processed, frozen and canned produce. Now that the fresh market is booming, they are well positioned and don't have an issue investing in automating their lines."
The corn regions in Europe are France, Hungary, and Turkey (which is big and continues to get bigger), along with some being grown in the UK. Poland is big in root crops, we do some things for them as well. Further afield, the Ukraine, Russia, South America and Australia are all showing large signs of growth in corn production.
"We have had to do a lot of things in the US with small producers to keep the costs down because they don't want to spend much. They almost fall off their chair when they see the price tag for the line, even though they face high labor, even though it is not a problem. In Europe they don't even blink and the machines that Hughes brought to FL were so in demand they were sold right off the floor." concludes Schlager.
For more info
rmation:
Russ Schlager
Hughes Equipment
Tel: +1 (920 623 2000
Fax: +1 (920) 623 4098
Email: russschlager@hughesequipment.com
hughesequipment.com
rmation: Russ Schlager
Hughes Equipment
Tel: +1 (920 623 2000
Fax: +1 (920) 623 4098
Email: russschlager@hughesequipment.com
hughesequipment.com