Latest developments by TOMRA to be presented at Fruit Attraction

TOMRA Fresh Food will present its new Cascade Singulator for cherry singulation at Fruit Attraction which will take place on October 5-7 in Madrid, Spain. The company will also spotlight 3 optical sorting machines - the TOMRA 5A, TOMRA 5S Advanced, Nimbus BSI; and the TOMRA Insight data platform. Meet the TOMRA team at stand 10E11 at IFEMA Madrid conference hall. 

The traditional cluster-cutting of stems from grouped cherries includes use of blades, blade guards, and tines, which can result in loss of a significant part of the fruit. This is especially problematic with lighter-skinned cherries, such as Rainiers. As a result, this may decrease the value grade of the crop, thereby making it unable to meet certain market requirements due to the shortened shelf-life. 

Until now, this loss of potential product revenue was considered unavoidable. But TOMRA Fresh Food's Cascade Singulator is expected to solve this age-old issue. Their New Zealand-based team has developed a new machine for singulation from cherry clusters with a delicate carrying method and superior cluster separation. 

According to Benedetta Ricci Iamino, Global Category Director Cherries at TOMRA Fresh Food, the development of the Cascade Singulator's unique design begun with extensive research into issues related to pitting and bruising damage, caused by traditional methods, as well as to provide a technology that could be easier to manage while also reducing the costs.  By consulting with cherry industry specialists around the globe, the TOMRA team sought a solution that assured delicate handling and respected the value of each cherry.

Iamino assures that this new technology will improve quality of separation and guarantee increased reliability and consistency in fruit quality, and will also help reduce operational hours and maintenance costs.

To guarantee gentle product handling, the Cascade Singulator's separation system eliminates the need for rotating blades and protective guards. Traditional cluster cutters push cherries at speed to get clusters to the blades, significantly rising the risk of bruising and pitting. The Cascade Singulator decreases the velocity of the cherries by utilizing a non-motorized water system that eases down the water flow between each bank of separation. 

For a better quality of separation, the Cascade Singulator aligns the cluster's center to obtain a clean and even separation without the risk of tearing the fruit.

The new method of Cascade Singulator improves separation location nearer the knuckle where 2 cherries join. 

Polehn Farms, a leading cherry producer in Oregon, USA, was the first one to acquire the machine. This family-owned business has been packing cherries since 1989, and its annual output reaches 2.000 tons of cherries. It has so far processed 634 tons of cherries via the Cascade Singulator. 

Ken Polehn, co-owner of Polehn Farms and Liz, his wife, commented that the Cascade Singulator has reduced maintenance requirements on the line, made the working environment safer, and reduced the mechanical damage to the fruit. According to the couple, this machine is gentler, quieter, and safer to work on than traditional cutters. And whereas the cleaning time on a cluster cutter is 7 man-hours / day, with the Cascade Singulator, it's just one-and-a-half man-hours / day. 

At Fruit Attraction, TOMRA will spotlight the TOMRA 5A, TOMRA 5S Advanced, Nimbus BSI sorting machines, and the TOMRA Insight data platform. 

The TOMRA 5S Advanced is the innovative sorter for the fresh fruit industry, with high throughput, gentle product handling, and undoubtful reliability. 

The TOMRA 5A is a bulk sorting and size grading machine, suitable for potatoes and many other types of food. Due to its high capacity, heavy duty, and high performance, this sorter eliminates more than 98% of foreign materials and detects product defects by assessing the shape and color of materials on the line.

The Nimbus BSI is perfect for IQF vegetables and IQF fruit. Equipped with the Biometric Signature Identification technology by TOMRA, this machine detects and ejects unwanted objects according to their shape, color, and biological characteristics. 

All these sorters can be linked to the TOMRA Insight cloud-based data platform. The access to the live data from sorting machines brings the opportunity for operators to make instant improvements to line efficiencies. The access to historical data makes it possible to quantify the standard of raw materials from suppliers and take concious business decisions.

For further information about TOMRA, see the website