TOMRA's comprehensive cherry sorting solutions

Last April, TOMRA Food participated in the Global Cherry Summit, one of the most important meetings of the cherry sector held at the Monticello Events Centre in Santiago de Chile. An event in which prominent international exhibitors shared information on the variables that affect the growth and global development of the sector.

 

The company attended the event under the theme "Transforming Resource Recovery", and was represented by Klaus Erdmann, regional sales manager, Benedetta Ricci Iamino, global segment manager for cherries and processed vegetables, and Ariel Torres, sales manager for Chile. 

 

TOMRA Food's attendance at the event goes hand in hand with its objectives in the region: to showcase its comprehensive sorting solutions; to expand its market presence; to establish contact with the sector; to strengthen its knowledge; and to foster collaboration within the cherry industry in Chile. Thus, to reinforce its regional structure, the company opened its new service and storage centre in Curicó in 2023, placing itself at the epicentre of one of the most internationally renowned cherry-producing regions.

TOMRA Food, total solutions for a growing market

 

TOMRA Food's main objective for the cherry segment is to offer complete sorting and packaging solutions that meet the specific challenges and requirements of cherry growers, packers and processors in order to optimise the quality of the final product. In other words, providing the precise technology to eliminate defects and poor quality fruit, thereby increasing the quality of the final product.

 

In addition, TOMRA Food's solutions are designed to improve the operational efficiency of the plant, enabling higher productivity (more kg/hour/per lane), automating manual tasks, reducing labour costs and minimising downtime.

 

"We want to help our customers minimise product loss and maximise their yield and profitability. TOMRA Food's solutions focus on equipment that carefully handles fruit, as well as efficient sorting algorithms that reduce waste and optimise yields throughout the production process," said Benedetta Ricci Iamino.

 

TOMRA's LUCAi™ software and improvements in speed and interface. 

 

Technologies for quality assurance, traceability or data analysis are becoming increasingly important in the cherry sector. Delicate fruits are prone to damage during processing, so the industry is looking for gentle handling technologies, with cushioned drops and water transfer systems to protect the product. This is crucial to minimise shocks and preserve the integrity of the fruit along the entire processing line.

 

In addition, TOMRA Food's solutions, which have been enhanced with 15% higher speed and a simpler user interface, allow growers to track cherries throughout the supply chain, monitor quality parameters and make data-driven decisions to optimise processes and improve product quality.

This is the case of the LUCAi™ software for the InVision2 sorting platform, promoted at the Global Cherry Summit, which optimises the packaging process, increases its performance and efficiency and guarantees a product of the highest quality thanks to its excellent ability to detect defects. This innovation incorporates the latest advances in TOMRA's Deep Learning AI technology. It uses pre-trained models that teach computers how to handle data, including complex photo patterns, to achieve unprecedented classification accuracy. This technology, developed by a team of scientists, engineers, researchers and industry-leading experts, has been successfully applied to blueberry applications on the KATO260 and more recently to apples on the Spectrim X platform. TOMRA Food engineers combined their experience with their in-depth knowledge of cherry grading, sizing and packing to extend the benefits of the LUCAi™ software to the InVision2 sizing platform.

With these service and solution portfolio enhancements, TOMRA Food continues to move forward to become a trusted partner for cherry growers and packers, contributing to the success and sustainability of the cherry industry worldwide.