Cherry packhouses the world over are faced with the same problem, how to fully utilize efficiency of packing staff. There are always variations in the volume and quality of fruit grades between batches and over the course of a shift. Allocating the right number of staff to sorting and packing occupies a lot of the management process during the heat of the packing season.

Rarely when you visit packing facilities do you get the impression staff are working at optimal levels. In the US there holds the assumption that each person on a sorting table can sort up to 100kg each per hour. In Chile it is more like 18kg per hour and Turkey around 50kg. However the averages get dragged down by the staff manning the sorting tables with very low volume grades who would struggle to sort half this volume. Also problematic are the number of batch changes during a shift. Every batch change causes a separation on the packing belts which is effectively down time for staff. This is a real problem for professional packing houses who service hundreds, and in the case of Alara, Turkey and Copefrut, Chile, thousands of growers.

Such were the problems facing Copefrut, Chile’s largest cherry packer (predicted to achieve 1 million boxes this season) they looked for a solution to address the inefficiencies of the traditional cherry packing operation. Copefrut calculated at was achieving only 70% productivity from sorting staff. In conjunction with GP Graders, who have been supplying Copefrut with cherry machinery for the past four years, together designed a cherry pre-sizing line. This line effectively separates the stalk separation and grading process from the sorting and packing process.

The pre-sizing line enables Copefrut to size fruit for one shift and then pack sized cherries for two shifts. This guarantees all packing tables process even and consistent volume of fruit. There is virtually no down time as the batch changes account for no more one metre separations. There are no low volume tables as all low volume grades are consolidated to a larger volume on the pre-sizer and packing together.

Double handling of cherries is not an issue because all the machinery is water flumed and extremely gentle on fruit. Copefrut are the most particular packer in the world due to their 42 days transit times from Valparaiso Port to their Asian markets. If the fruit arrives in poor condition it not only costs them in the cost of the consignment but it damages their reputation which has far more detrimental effects.

Since the installation of the pre-sizing line last year Copefrut have increased staff efficiency by 30% providing significantly increased productivity. The grader operates for 4 hours per day and staff sort for 20 hours per day. Copefrut are the only packer in the world that can claim 100% efficiency of packing staff.

A small number of staff operate the pre-sizing lug filler and it takes far less time for fruit to pass through this machine than an entire cherry line. It can take 15 minutes to clear an entire line of one grower’s fruit before the next is graded, and sometimes in excess of 100 people are involved. At Copefruit, 500 people staff a cherry line. In contrast, if 8 people wait for less than 5 minutes to clear the pre-sizer, this down time is negligible.

The pre-sizing lug filler consists of the delivery end of conventional cherry machinery: a receival tank, in this case cherries are hand tipped, a cluster cutter; a sizer and the sizing tank delivers fruit with water channels to the lug filler. The lug filler is a tank of hydro cooled water containing conveyor belts running the length, one for each size grade. The conveyors are loaded with lugs which are automatically filled. Cherries are gentle dropped from the feed belts into lugs and an ultrasonic device determines when the lug is full and halts the feed belt. At this point the conveyor advances and an empty lug is positioned for filling.

Batches of cherries are tracked using GP Graders traceability software, Hortrack. As each lug is filled a luggage-style label complete with grower details, variety and size and a barcode is printed and affixed. Lugs are cool stored until sufficient of each size is ready for packing.

The first pre-sizing lug filler was in operation for the 2005 cherry season in Chile. So impressed were the Chileans that GP Graders are busy building two more, another for Copefrut and the first for Unifrutti ordered for the 2006 season.

For more information about the pre-sizing lug filler, Hortrack or any other GP Graders products, call 03 9585 9444 or visit the website, www.gpgraders.com.