Difficulties with saturated fields, and challenging harvesting conditions, along with inflation-related increased costs in production: For potato and carrot producers in many growing regions of Europe, 2023 was an extremely challenging year. "Last year, the market was cautious. Uncertainty due to the international situation and inflation apparently slowed investment decisions. We did well, but the results were below our expectations," says Daniel Pitton, Managing Director of Swiss machinery company Visar Sorting.
The company specializes in the development and distribution of high-quality sorting systems for field crops, especially potatoes and carrots. The systems from the established Sortop product line are now used on numerous farms in almost all important growing countries of the world. Despite the enthusiasm for innovation in the industry, the sector has been increasingly under pressure in recent years. Pitton: "Since the Covid crisis, our customers, predominantly carrot and potato producers and packers, have significant personnel problems, which is why it is increasingly difficult to secure production accordingly. In addition, wages and production costs are rising. Accordingly, the automation of packaging centers is becoming increasingly important, which is reflected in a high demand for optical sorting machines."
Representatives of Visar Sorting during Potato Europe 2023: from left to right: Olivier Kleynen, Co-Founder and Software Manager, Guillaume Pahud, Project Manager, and Daniel Pitton, Co-Founder and Sales Manager.
Significant reduction in sorting errors
In addition to the classic potato fairs, the Swiss company also presents itself at Fruit Logistica in Berlin. This year, they want to highlight the high quality and sorting performance of the two sorting lines Visar Sortop Carrots and Potatoes Sorter, Pitton continues. "The latest developments of our software based on artificial intelligence and the optimized optical system enable a sorting process that is demonstrably better and more accurate compared to manual sorting. Our customers, for example, have found that wastage was reduced by 30 percent. This was already possible in carrot sorting and similar results have now also been confirmed in potato sorting. Furthermore, the new rotating potato aligner has been further developed to achieve high throughput rates that we previously considered impossible."
High Potential in Potato Sorting
The sorting lines from Visar are now also gaining importance outside of Europe, the industry supplier continues. "We have adapted our machines, for example, to the specific requirements of the American market, so that they are also suitable for sorting Russets potatoes. In addition, we have also adapted our sorting machines for unwashed potatoes. Especially in the sorting of seed material, we see a high need for appropriate sorting technology."
Despite the ongoing challenging market and framework conditions, Pitton looks positively towards the coming year. "We clearly benefit from the very good reputation of our Visar Sortop Carrots sorting machines. This is still our main product. We have now set ourselves the task of further promoting the Visar Sortop Potatoes Sorter. The market potential for sorting potatoes is promising and we want to use the opportunity at Fruit Logistica to expand our presence in this market segment."
Visit the company at Fruit Logistica: 4.1 / D-43
For more information:
Daniel Pitton
Visar Sorting Sàrl
La Tuilière 8
CH-1047 Oppens
T: +41 21 887 03 01
info@visar-sorting.com
www.visar-sorting.com