One of the largest frozen vegetable companies in Spain updated its main plant with eleven Nimbus BSI+

As one of the biggest frozen vegetable companies in Spain and one of the most significant in Europe, VIRTO GROUP keeps growing and invests in projects to guarantee the highest quality of its products, even in the tough situation caused by the pandemic. 

The new set-up. Recently, the company has updated their main plant in Azagra (Navarra) with 11 Nimbus BSI+ sorters. 

This frozen vegetable mixing, storage, packaging and distribution center is one of the most technologically developed in the industry. 

They joined the 22 TOMRA optical sorters which were already set in different group factories, including Blizzard, Genius, Helius and Sentinel II models. 

The Nimbus BSI+ sorter futures the Biometric Signature Identification technology (BSI), is easy to use when adding new programs, and performs minimal false rejection rate (less than 1 percent). It serves to remove foreign bodies and undesired plant matter. 

It was used mainly for sorting dried fruits, but once the TOMRA sales team heard VIRTO GROUP’s needs, they found a way to reach an excellent solution for them. 

They’ve provided slight modifications to the chassis to fit the company's sorting lines in the adaptation process.

The machine passed through a month-long validation, which proved the high added value of the BSI+ technology. 

The eleven Nimbus BSI+ machines are dedicated to the final sorting process of deep-frozen vegetables and other mixed produce that is to be sold to supermarket chains.

VIRTO GROUP manages 8 centers in Murcia (El Raal, Santomera), Badajoz, Zaragoza, La Rioja, Segovia and Navarre (Azagra, Cortes, Funes). 

They have their headquarters in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Portugal, the USA and Brazil.

The hands-on experience. Technical Manager at VIRTO GROUP, José Antonio Baldero, said that their main goal was to take an advance in new technologies for foreign material sorting. They wanted to be able to offer a better quality of product to their customers. When TOMRA provided them a machine for testing, they realized that this was the technology that matched their needs the best.

During the testing they realized that it was an effective tool for detecting foreign bodies and foreign plant matter (including dangerous plants like jimsonweed). 

Area Sales Manager at TOMRA Food for Spain and Portugal, Alejandro Palacios, stated that this technology worked well with deep-frozen vegetables, so they agreed with VIRTO GROUP to conduct an on-site validation.

In addition to the benefits of the Nimbus BSI+, it is worth mentioning the further added value of TOMRA Insight. 

The cloud-based data platform brings innovative possibilities for users of TOMRA sorting machines. The sorting process becomes a strategic management tool that lets the users make decisions based on real data collected from TOMRA units at each step of the production chain. 

José Antonio Baldero assured that knowing what the machine is doing will be extremely important while optimizing performance. It is an powerful tool for real-time monitoring and decision-making to advance the business.

TOMRA Food is a producer of sensor-based sorting machines and integrated post-harvest equipment for the food industry. The company uses one of the world’s most advanced grading, sorting, peeling and analytical technology.

Their main goal is to help their customers to improve returns, gain operational efficiencies, minimise food waste, ensure quality and a safe food supply with sustainable technologies. 

Their solutions are installed at food growers, packers and processors around the world. This allows businesses to maximise productivity and recovery rates, while reducing food waste and developing the overall quality of the produce.

To learn more about TOMRA Food, go to the link.