Dutch onion packer, Jonika, has been orientating itself around optical reading and grading possibilities for years. "We wanted a system we could integrate within our existing line. We didn't want to change the set-up and routing," begins Jaap Nieuwenhuijse.
Another Dutch company Flikweert Vision's Quality Grader provided the solution. In March this year, Jonika began using an optical Quality Grader in its sorting line. In the coming months, they will optimize the entire sorting process with five Quality Graders and a new shuck grader from Petech Machinery.
"We visited a potato processor that uses the Quality Grader and were immediately excited. We opted not to install a test line but put the machine right to work in the grading process. Its operation amazed us from day one. We started during the old harvest, and the machine almost immediately discarded all the bad onions. Plus, the machine keeps learning thanks to the artificial intelligence that evaluates the onions."
"We're also delighted that we could place the machine within the existing line. With alternatives, you quickly have to rebuild your entire plant. This is a very compact grader, requiring relatively little maintenance. That's why we've fully invested in it with five machines. We look forward to the expansion with great confidence. These five machines give us sufficient capacity and possibilities to process onions as desired," says Jaap.
The Quality Grader has made inroads in primarily the (seed) onion sector recently, all while the developers have been gaining the needed onion grading know-how. "We welcome the chance Jonika gave us to test the machine directly in the process. That's essential for good quality assessment. Their feedback has helped us enormously," says Martijn Flikweert.
"It's the machine's practical use in the existing line that makes this investment particularly attractive to Jonika. A traditional grading line often has a pre-reading section and a post-check. Our Quality Grader replaces that pre-reading section, so we often don't need much extra space and can still replace the labor needed."
"The nice thing is that, by now, at Jonika, the line has sorted red and yellow storage onions, imported onions, and onion sets. The machine's grading model must learn quickly and the expertise we've acquired in the potato sector accelerates this process. Within a short time, the machine proved to be able to select yellow and red onions' quality," Martijn explains.
According to Martijn, the Dutch onion sector has plenty of potential. "A huge amount of onions are processed in the Netherlands, and labor isn't only costly, it's also tough to find good people. This machine never has a bad day. The onions rotate under the camera, and the machine's never distracted, so our cameras see much more on the belt than people."
"We very deliberately focus on creating extremely accurate quality grading that seamlessly meets our customers' needs. Here, ease of use is paramount. The challenge for us is to be able to grade each onion batch to our client's quality requirements, with minimal operator input from them. The entire team is working very hard on this challenge," Martijn concludes.
For more information:
Jaap Nieuwenhuijse
Jonika
26 2de Vlietweg
4415 AG, Oostdijk, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 113 502 120
Email: jaap@jonika.nl
Website: www.jonika.nl
Flikweert Vision Technologies
7 Oude Nieuwlandseweg
4305 NE, Ouwerkerk, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 615 694 517
Email: martijn@flikweertvision.nl
Website: www.flikweertvision.nl