Netherlands: Automation sector visits Greefa

Perfectly sorted apples and complicated high quality internet routers, what do these two things have in common? At first glance, you'd say not much, but apparently, these two are irrevocably intertwined. That's why last Tuesday all the trade press from the world of automation and control technology travelled to Tricht in the Netherlands. At the main location of Greefa, a new type of router was being presented by Raster, the distributor of communication and visualisation equipment, who has made it possible to make machines 'practically talk'. This occasion was also used to give the automation sector a look into the world of the innovative progressive sorting techniques, which are constantly in development at Greefa.

Dick Verkade explains the first sorting machine from Greefa an historic technique which has received a place in the reception of the company building.

The router, which is presented by Raster, the eWon Cosy, is a handy device which is an essential part in, amongst others, many Greefa Machines. It makes the machine connect directly to the internet. This way the machine builder can check, register, signal problems, take preventive measures, fix interferences, and optimise the production process from anywhere in the world. The technique isn't new, but the new 'plug & play' eWonCosy router is so easy to use, you only have to plug it in. Raster also presented a number of models, which are mainly suitable for machines that have to be moved, for instance driving installations of machines that are rented out.

Dick Verkade of Greefa welcomed all trade press from the automation branch to the company, but also admitted that he really has no idea what a router exactly is, and that he doesn't even really know where it is in the machine. "But I do know that we can be in contact with our machines anywhere in world with this technique. That's not just important for us, but also for the customer", says Verkade. "Just like in many other sectors, continuity is also important in the fruit and vegetable branch. So it's not desirable that a machine is down for a long period of time due to an interference. Thanks to the routers we can quickly and effectively connect to the machine, these monitors, signal the problem, and solve it. This means the down time of a machine can be reduced by almost half."

Dick Verkade

The automation trade press enjoyed an extensive tour through Greefa's production process. The R&D department with 40 employees, the department of production and the testing and developing centre were all visited. Dick Verkade: "Innovation is one of our main points. It's an absolute must to keep our position in the sector. The last few years many engineers have worked hard on the measuring systems of the various sorting machines. Our customers can see the value of this. It's bearing more and more fruits."

Verkade gave an extensive illustration of the market approach of Greefa and explained the core business of the company by using some completed projects in the north of Italy. In the presentation texts and explanation was given on the various sorting techniques used by Greefa, such as external quality control with camera technique (IQS) and internal quality assessment (iFA) using light measurements. During this presentation Verkade emphasised the importance of the eWon Router again; "Optimal monitoring of this technique is a must. With the router we're able to analyse the problem simply, easily, and at a distance. Of course, it would be ridiculous if an engineer had to get on a plane to fix a photo cell in North Italy."

IQS: The external quality of the fruit can be judged by the use of colour as well as black and white cameras. Around 60 recordings are made of each individual fruit. Using this the measuring system measures the fruit for external quality.

For more information:
Greefa
Langstraat 12
Tricht
Tel: +31 345 57 81 00
[email protected]
www.greefa.nl

Raster Products
Vincent Wagenaar
Tel: +31 487 57 27 19
[email protected]
www.raster-products.com