Deprez Construct develops and produces internal transport and storage machines. The company is increasingly asked to lead complete projects to improve the flow of goods within a company. This is now done under the name Deprez Handling Solutions. The company was founded in 1984, and traditionally focused a lot on ‘potato-friendly’ machines. “To this day, that’s still a main focus within our business,” says Mattias Mergaert. “The machines we make are really all solutions which didn’t have an alternative yet. We specialize in automated internal transport and storage of potatoes, onions and carrots.” Within this fresh produce group, Deprez Construct focuses on the large growers, warehouses and the processing sector.
Storage of heavy crates
One of the novelties is the automatic crate washer. By offering a mobile option as well, companies are able to rent this machine during busy periods. “We’re seeing potatoes are stored more and more in crates. With the Maestro, a non-stop crate filler, customers can get ahead in terms of capacity and automation, with protection of the product being paramount,” Mattias says. “Our fast crate tipper, the Orbiter, can be used in washing, sorting and packing. The good thing about the Orbiter is that the crates are rotated around their centre of gravity, and the falling height of the product is minimized with a moving transport base. One ‘mobile’ Orbiter can easily supply three to five production lines.”
Complete solutions
Mattias notes that machines and solutions are increasingly adapted to the client’s need. He foresees that client-specific solutions will become even bigger in the development and production of machines in the future. This trend is also in line with the increasing demand for complete solutions. Deprez Construct has coordinated multiple projects in recent years to improve the flow of goods within a company, from arrival to expedition. This complete projects are now carried out under the name Deprez Handling Solutions.
Client’s wishes central
The concept of the production line is realized completely in conjunction with the client. “Of course there wishes are central here,” Mattias says. “Our ultimate goal is to optimize processes and treat the products better. This results in a clean and quiet working environment.” Automating the flow of goods not only yields an efficient way of working. The entire production process is also transparent at any moment. Mattias says traceability is very important in that. “A label can be linked to every crate, so the producer is able to know for instance what grower the products originate from, what the quality is and where they are stored.” Above all, these projects make for safety and energy savings. He does say priorities can vary per client. As an example he mentions lowering wage costs, which is an issue in the United Kingdom and France. At Parmentine, a large potato packager in France, product protection was high on the list. “So here we did our best to limit the falling height and the number of fall moments.”
OTA
Deprez Handling Solutions has joined forces with ERC-Machinery, Qreenno, Longobardi, and Modesta in the Onion Tech Alliance (OTA). Together, the five suppliers want to tackle the complex issues in the onion industry. “Every participant has their own specialism. By combining this knowledge and experience, we as OTA expect to be able to offer an outstanding complete solution. We are convinced that with this partnership we can offer the client something unique: an efficient and fast path from concept to realization.”
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Deprez
Mattias Mergaert