Sales and Service Partnership for OCULUS Digital Sorters for US Market
A fresh OCULUS Digital Sorters sales and service partnership dedicated to the US potato packers has been formed between Key Technology and Exeter Engineering.
The agreement stipulates that Exeter is the exclusive agent to sell and service Key’s OCULUS digital sorters for fresh market potatoes in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“[...] Exeter participated in the initial development of the OCULUS sorter. This is a technology we already know very well,” said Boomer Batchman, president of Exeter Engineering. “The rising cost and limited availability of workers is a huge challenge for potato packers. OCULUS [...] minimizes labor requirements while increasing production efficiencies and improving product quality and yield.”
According to a recent press release, Key’s OCULUS sorter inspects tubers using a unique 360° roller system to present each potato to the vision system. Compared to traditional cascade bulk sorters, OCULUS achieves up to 20% more surface inspection and offers gentler handling of the potatoes.
“Exeter and Key each have over 30 years of experience automating the process of potato product inspection and selection. Both companies are leaders in this space,” said Carson Brennan, president of Key Technology – Americas & APAC. “Now, with the formation of this new partnership, North American customers will benefit from Key’s innovative technology and Exeter’s market expertise and strong sales-and-service network. Together, we’re in a position to increase the efficiency of potato packing operations in the region.”
Reaching capacities of up to 40 metric tons (MT) of product per hour, OCULUS detects a wide range of color defects, diseases, and surface abnormalities including skin discoloration, green and dark colors, bruising, mechanical damage, blackleg and silver scurf.
OCULUS is ideal for sorting fresh market potatoes, before or immediately following storage, to eliminate defects and identify the dimensional profile of every tuber. Its compact footprint allows easy integration into an existing packhouse layout.
