Haith Sells Its 1,000th Vegetable Washer to Branston

Haith is celebrating the sale of its 1,000th vegetable washer. The milestone machine, one of a pair, rolled off the production line at the end of last month and was acquired by Branston Ltd.

As well as being the thousandth vegetable washer to be sold since Haith first designed the modern barrel washer in 1961, the machine destined for Branston is the eight Haith Supa-Wash to be sold since it launched on the market in March 2018.

At the beginning of this century, Haith launched the Self Clean washer, a machine that is still operating in food packers and processor factories across the world, thanks to its robust design features, such as an electrically operated radial door, direct barrel drive, thick steel slotted barrel, and full pintle lining.

“Our new Supa-Wash washer is the result of months of development work. It is packed with technologically new features, such as cooper split bearings on the top shaft for easy maintenance, and on the main drive shaft, a SEW energy efficient shaft mounted barrel drive and externally mounted stainless steel bearings for longer life,” says Nigel Haith, managing director of Haith Group. “The machine is further enhanced by the presence of a gentle air operated vertical rising crop discharge control gate, a laser cut stainless barrel with slots or holes depending on the produce which will be washed, a full pintle rubber lining inside the barrel and HMI touch screen control with intelligent feedback. All of these features are standard,” Haith goes on.

What’s more, with the Supa-Wash, the crop is gently encouraged out of the barrel using an elevated cone which after a final rinse deposits the crop into a separated discharge tank which houses the discharge elevator. This means the washed product leaves the washer after being fully submerged in clean water that is separate to the dirtier water found in the main tank. The waste which is collected in the base tank is automatically removed by an auger and scraper elevator system alternatively you can have a series of air valves which can be controlled to dump in sequence monitoring the volume of water usage.

Branston will use the record-setting machine at its Lincoln factory. The company, which handles on average 350,000 tons of potatoes each year, has been already using Haith machines in its fresh and preparing factories in Lincolnshire, Somerset, and Scotland.

“The team at Haith recognized the challenges we face in terms of constantly improving our packing process. As a result, the new door-less design has further reduced the potential for damage, and we’ve been delighted with the impact it’s had on the quality of product to our retail customers,” said Mark Willcox, technical director at Branston.