AccuVision Upgrade Program Update - Atlantic Potato Distributors
Matt Johnson
The AccuVision upgrade program is in full swing! Exeter Engineering is working with customers to upgrade their existing machines to the latest in presentation and optical grading technology. That means they get cutting edge technology without having to buy a new sorter!
We recently completed an upgrade for our friends at Atlantic Potato, up in New Brunswick, Canada. They’ve had an AccuVision for 11 years and were interested in upgrading the machine so they could use our ID Technology AI-powered grading suite. They didn’t have the space or need for a new facility, so we had to complete the work in their existing packing shed in tight quarters: only 37 inches of headroom above the side rail of the sorter!
Exeter Engineering techs got the job done. We’ve replaced camera box and installed new cameras and electrics throughout. We also upgraded the controls, with a new 27 inch touch-screen control station, running the latest ID Technology version, customized to Atlantic’s product. While we were at it, we replaced the cables and cable tracks as well as replacing all of the kickers on all 12 lanes of the AccuVision.
The results are in and Atlantic Potato tells us they are very happy indeed! They are seeing a significant jump in grading accuracy with ID Technology, especially with its ability to detect growth crack, green defects, and pressure bruising. Size and shape detection are also way up, and the new ID Technology interface is much easier to use, especially on the new, bigger touch-screen.
At Exeter Engineering, we treat our customers as family, and families don’t stop being family after you haven’t sold them something in a while. That’s one big reason we started the AccuVision Upgrade Program: to continue offering value to our customers throughout the lifetime of the equipment they buy from us.
A new bell pepper line saves costs, increases productivity
Matt Johnson
Our friends at A&B Costanza Farms in Sodus, Michigan recently asked us to help them design and build a new packing line for bell peppers. They wanted a line that would handle greater volume with better protection for their valuable crop. They were also hoping to reduce the number of people required to operate the line, even as they packed more product.
Challenge accepted.
Exeter Engineering worked with A&B Costanza Farms to understand their concerns and identify solutions to those problems that would fit into their budget and physical constraints. The result is a bell pepper line that delivers volumes of more than 45,000 lbs per hour with 30% fewer personnel and far less damage to their product than other lines.
The line centers on Exeter Engineering’s Sidewinder sorter, powered by our ID Technology AI-powered optical grading suite. ID Technology takes advantage of Sidewinder’s spinning presentation system to use its high definition cameras and custom-tuned LED lighting to capture superior imagery of every facet of each piece of product. Better imagery means better grading results, especially using our AI-powered grading features. The system sorts into three separate grades. It quickly identifies the presence and severity of discoloration (sun tan), shape, squatty defects, surface punctures, scarring and machine damage, grading each bell pepper by size, color, weight, external grade and overall shape.
The line also features:
- An XTR 500 Zone Dumper to receive the bell peppers into the line (and automatically clean the bins they arrive in for quick re-use!);
- An XTR 100 4-belt EvenFlow Accumulator to regulate the volume of product in the line, keeping it moving at a steady volume; and
- AccuCount Fillers, to automatically fill cartons with graded product…gently and without additional staff
The resulting line is a huge success. A&B Costanza farms has reduced their overhead while also increasing the quality of the product leaving their facilities. The flexibility of the ID Technology system also offers them the ability to quickly and easily respond to the market, increasing their bottom line without increasing their headcount.
If you’re thinking about adding or upgrading your packing solutions, contact the fresh produce packing experts at Exeter Engineering. Common sense engineering married with cutting edge technology since 1978.
The AccuVision Upgrade Program
Matt Johnson
Throwaway culture. Planned obsolesce. Upgrade cycles. There are a lot of ways used to describe pushing someone to buy something new to replace something they already own, that’s working very well. If you’re like us, when you find a tool you can rely upon, you take care of that tool so it can continue doing its job well. That’s why we have always designed every product we make to be reliable for season-after-season, and we have always built those products to last.
Sometimes, though, the latest and the greatest innovation really is something you can use, and something that will really improve your business. In those times, you have to think seriously about investing in the new thing and deciding what sort of return on investment justifies the expense. That’s just business.
When we introduced our AccuVision 360 last year, we knew that the benefits it offered would tempt many of our loyal customers. The revolutionary presentation system, tightly integrated with our AI-powered ID Technology suite, all built on a super-robust modular system…it’s pretty tough to beat. We also knew that some of our customers wouldn’t be able to make the math work to justify a new machine when their existing AccuVision sorters were still working hard and doing a pretty good job.
Our customers are like family, and we if we can help, we will. We’re also engineers, so we knew that if we did some tinkering, we’d be able to come up with a solution that worked.
We did.
Introducing our AccuVision Upgrade Program. For customers with Exeter Engineering’s reliable workhorse AccuVision who want the latest and greatest without breaking the bank, we’ve got you. With the AccuVision upgrade, we’ll come and replace your existing carrier system with the AccuVision 360’s rotating carrier. We’ll also upgrade the optical sorting equipment with a new camera hood, new multi-spectral cameras, new LED lighting, and ID Technology’s latest software and controls. When we’re done, it’s like you have swapped out an old machine for the best machine on the market…without changing a thing about your packing lines or the reliability you’ve come to depend upon.
Cutting edge technology pared with common sense engineering…that’s Exeter Engineering. If you’re packing fresh produce, we’d love to help your business thrive.
Lone Wolf Farms loves their new Oculus
Oculus potato sorter
Matt Johnson
We have recently installed several of our Oculus compact sorters around North America. Our customers are loving these sorters so much, we felt compelled to share a bit of feedback.
Lone Wolf Farms of Minto, ND recently added a new Oculus sorter. Lone Wolf’s Chris Bjorneby described a few of the ways that Oculus has improved their sorting:
• The ability of the Oculus to fully rotate the product underneath ID Technology cameras has meant better images and better sorting results the first time.
• They love Exeter’s ID Technology AI-powered grading suite and the fact that it uses an AI model we’ve tuned to regional defects/potato red skin found in their area, yielding superior results.
• The Oculus has a shorter drop than other sorters, so it is gentler on their No. 1 potatoes.
• The Oculus is easy to use. It has a flexible user interface and intuitive software. It’s fast and simple to run both AI-powered and “traditional” features, ensuring that each sort works right. And the 24-inch control screens enable operator to select any of the 21 features from a single-screen and see how the change will affect the ongoing sort, live.
• They appreciate our top notch customer service, from installation through operation. They were especially pleased to able to work directly with the software development team building their AI-model.
“We feel like we’re partners as much as customers,” Chris told us. “We appreciate the help that Exeter Engineering gives us to serve our own customers better.”
Check out the Oculus and get in touch!
Honeydews and mixed melons
Matt Johnson
Exeter Engineering recently completed installation of packing line for honeydews and mixed melons. The line features our AccuVision XL and uses ID Technology, our AI-powered grading suite — the first line anywhere to use artificial intelligence to grade those produce types. We worked with our good friends at Five Crowns Marketing to develop the new line and they liked it so much, we offered to make a case study in how Exeter Engineering can help melon packers everywhere. Check it out!
Training on Agrimech Equipment – Complete!
Matt Johnson
Exeter Engineering is a proud partner of Agrimech, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of automated machinery solutions. As part of our commitment to quality and reliability, our staff is fully trained to keep Agrimech products humming, season after season. One of our Field Service Technicians, Gunnar Batchman, has just completed Agrimech’s intensive four-week service-training program. He was congratulated by Darren Smith of Agrimech, after passing with flying colors.
Exeter Engineering is happy to offer our customers Agrimech’s products for weighing, packing and palletizing. These innovative yet reliable solutions will speed your lines and reduce labor costs…all at a very attractive price point. The Zeus Palletizer (pictured behind Gunnar and Darren), for example, is capable of palletizing boxes, trays, bags, sacks, bales and nets quickly and easily. The Zeus is easily operated and maintained, and can work on a variety of product ranges, including potatoes, onions, and hard squashes…among others. No other machine on the market today offers the build quality, ease of use, and trouble-free operation that the Zeus does. And Exeter Engineering is the only company in North America can offer you the Zeus and any required after-sales service.
So if you’re in the market for some seriously fast palletizing equipment, please get in touch. We would love to help you find the perfect solution for your packing operation.
Potato Salad anyone?
Matt Johnson
The secret to the perfect potato salad? Premium potatoes. But have you ever pondered the journey those spuds take from field to fork? We have! For decades, we’ve been working with the folks who bring you that potato perfection, collaborating with growers and packers to make sure that you’ve got the quality spuds your summer salads deserve.
Sure, potatoes are tough, but bruising can turn your BBQ showstopper into a lackluster letdown. At Exeter Engineering, we work to prevent bruising and other flavor frustrating defects from your kitchen. From dirt and debris-busting cleaners, to AI-powered sorting systems like the AccuVision 360 that’d make NASA jealous, to gentle packaging solutions, we help ensure your potatoes are in tip-top shape.
So, next time you’re savoring that family potato salad recipe, spare a thought for the potato people — the growers, laborers, and packers — who make the magic happen. And remember your friends at Exeter Engineering, helping those potato people bring you spectacular spuds.
Want to learn more? Check out potatoesusa.com or click on the potato icon on our homepage to see how we’re helping.
Happy 4th of July
Matt Johnson
From our founding in 1978 until today, we have been a proud, independent, family-owned, American company. It is always nice to have a day off and reflect on how we have grown and thrived from a little business in Central California to one with customers all over the world. And yes, we also enjoy a good reason to gather with friends and family and enjoy good food and drink. 😉
From all of us to all of you, we wish you a happy 4th of July.
ID Technology is AI that works...today
Matt Johnson
You’re probably hearing a lot of about Artificial Intelligence these days. It seems like every third news article talks about how transformative AI will be, how it will change the world.
It’s all future tense.
If you work in fresh produce, you know that the future is tomorrow but there’s work to do today. A prediction or forecast is only as useful as it is accurate. But something that works today…is accurate today…that’s useful.
That’s Exeter Engineering’s ID Technology, our Artificial Intelligence-powered optical grading suite. Using a combination of machine learning, advanced imaging, and a huge proprietary database, ID Technology instantly analyses images of each piece of your product and grades it according to the parameters you set. Want to change those parameters? Easy. ID Technology’s intuitive interface makes it fast and easy. It shows you live images, so you can see what your changes mean in real time, and it gives you predictions of how those changes will affect the whole sort. ID Technology also works with our industry-leading Hollow Heart Detector to grade for interior molds and cavities.
We are constantly improving ID Technology’s capabilities. Upgraded cameras featuring multi-spectral capabilities, better algorithmic performance, and more are coming soon. It’s available on all of our sorters…today. Don’t wait for the future to reap the benefits of Artificial Intelligence. Get in touch to see how ID Technology can help you today!
Guacamole time!
Matt Johnson
At Exeter Engineering, one of our favorite meals is…anything that has guacamole. 😎 Over the years, we’ve partnered with many avocado producers and we know what it takes to get a good avocado from the orchard to your table. That’s one of the reasons that one of the first products we set our new AccuVision 360 sorter to work on was the avocado. Using our industry-leading ID Technology, AI-powered optical grading suite, the AccuVision 360 will help you quickly, accurately, and gently sort your avocado crop, maximizing your profit… and minimizing the time before it can become guacamole! It works pretty darn good on mangoes too! Check out the AccuVision 360 product page or get in touch to learn more.
AccuVision 360 in action
Matt Johnson
Here’s a little video we shot of our newest sorter, the AccuVision 360, in action on some potatoes. The AccuVision 360 represents another giant stride forward from Exeter Engineering. It is one of the fastest machines out there and the best machine we make to take advantage of ID Technology — our industry leading, AI-powered optical grading suite. Check out the product page or get in touch to learn more.
A new melon line taking shape
Matt Johnson
Our installation team is working diligently in Southern California to assemble and commission this melon line for the upcoming season. That’s an AccuVision XL they’re installing in the photos. Excellent choice! 🍈 🍉
Exeter Engineering is going to the 2024 Citrus Showcase
Matt Johnson
We are pleased to announce that Exeter Engineering will be once again attending California Citrus Mutual’s 2024 Citrus Showcase in Visalia, California on March 14th. We hope you will join us at the Visalia Convention Center for this fantastic event.
Exeter Engineering has partnered with the citrus industry since 1978. For 46 years, we have helped countless farmers, packers and other folks in the business make their operations smoother and improve their bottom line. So, if you are at the Showcase, please stop by and say hello. We would love to talk to you about we can help grow your business.
