The blueberry market has experienced exponential growth in recent years, and forecasts from the world's largest producers are already predicting that volumes will continue to grow for another year. There is no doubt about the fruit's popularity, although according to Pedro Azcárate, of the Sevillian company Azcaval, specialized in weighing and packaging machinery, consumers also have more knowledge about blueberries and are paying more and more attention to the characteristics of the fruit itself; therefore, a correct sorting and packaging are essential to ensure the product reaches supermarkets and the end customer in optimal conditions.
"The fruit is becoming a commodity, so it is important to achieve differentiation in the market, and only those betting on quality will succeed at that," says Pedro, recalling the importance of post-harvest processing. "That is why, for blueberries, Azcaval has opted for a linear multi-header system, which guarantees the most careful handling and packaging."
"In fact, our blueberry packing machine is the one where the fruits are subject to the shortest fall of those currently available on the market; only 40 mm between the weigher and the package, which helps to extend the product's shelf life. When this factor is not taken into account and other types of packaging are used, blueberries suffer bruises that may be invisible in the warehouse, but which will start showing after a few days, when the fruit arrives at the supermarkets."
"Another of the main features of our blueberry lines is their versatility and adaptability to the different packaging formats available on the market." Packaging, from plastic to cardboard, is constantly evolving, and in addition to rectangular-shaped tubs, other formats such as cups or buckets are becoming more and more common in large supermarkets. "That's where the third major feature of our machines comes into play: their automation."
"In order to adapt to all these designs, our machines have an automatic destacker that adjusts to the width and height of the container through software that stores the parameters. This way, no operator intervention is needed when switching from one packaging format to another."
"With the automatic destacker we also reduce costs, because it does the job of up to 3 workers, and it also helps to increase production speed. Furthermore, with a single Azcaval line we can weigh and pack around 1,200 kilos of blueberries per hour. In 125 g tubs, this is the equivalent of 3 pallets per hour."
"We export 80% of our production"
In September, the company led by Enrique Azcárate will have already been involved for seven years in the development of technology for weighing and packaging; and not only for fresh blueberries, as Azcaval designs lines specifically for dried and frozen fruits. "In fact, we also work with frozen blueberries using a vertical filling system suitable for bags or boxes, and through our R&D department, we are currently involved in the development of new weighing and packaging machines for stone fruit," said Pedro Azcárate.
"We have our headquarters in Seville, where less than a year ago we moved to our new facilities in the municipality of Alcalá de Guadaira, which have more than 3,000 m². This was a necessary move, as with the growth we have had in recent years, the previous facilities had become too small. It is important to note that Azcaval doesn't have any outsourced processes: from software development to chassis manufacturing, we control all the manufacturing processes of our machines, which are delivered to blueberry warehouses around the world."
"In fact, 80% of Azcaval's production is exported. Some of our main destinations are the United States, Latin America and northern Europe. In the Netherlands we even have our own technical service. Also, we have recently been opening new, very important markets for the blueberry industry, such as Poland, Serbia, Georgia and South Africa."
For more information:
Pedro Azcárate
Sales manager Azcaval
comercial2@azcaval.com
PI. La Red, C/ La Red Seis, 10
41500, Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville, Spain
Tel.: +34 954 911 475
https://azcaval.com