Tong Engineering’s FieldLoad PRO Fieldloader Machine Now in All New Variants

The popular FieldLoad PRO field loader machine from Tong Engineering, a leading designer of vegetable handling equipment, will now come in all new variants with the ability to do sophisticated optical sorting.

The FieldLoad PRO is one of the newest Tong machines available with fully-integrated camera sorting features, considerably decreasing labor needs while processing harvest directly from the field. It is designed to let producers efficiently clean and load crop in-field and on-farm.

“With rising costs and an increasing need for growers to streamline their post-harvest operations to get tractors and trailers off the roads, carting less soil and generally minimizing crop mileage and associated expenses, the demand for our FieldLoad PRO machine has continued to increase since its launch in 2018. Our flagship mobile grader, the Caretaker, has long been available with integrated optical sorting as a replacement for traditional manual inspection, with proven success and continued demand. However, with an increasing number of growers choosing the configuration of the FieldLoad PRO for maximum flexibility in loading crop straight into boxes, bulkers, and bulk storage, the new option to incorporate optical stone and clod removal within one fully-integrated field loading machine bring an unrivaled post-harvest solution that ticks all the boxes,” Charlie Rich, Sales Director explained.

The self-contained and small FieldLoad PRO has a high-capacity reception hopper feeding a variety of crop cleaning units, including Tong's renowned EasyClean separator available with Auto-Touch HMI controls, as well as the company's high-speed PU coil cleaning system and star cleaning units. It is suitable for use on a wide range of root crops, including potatoes, carrots, onions, and more. The FieldLoad PRO was made specifically to the grower's exact specifications. It has a roomy 4-man inspection area as standard equipment, and the innovative optical sorting option is available as an alternative to the inspection module.

“We have been working closely alongside optical sorting specialist TOMRA for many years and our recent Optical Sorting LIVE event has provided a real insight into what can be achieved when integrating optical. The event has given customers throughout the UK and worldwide a chance to see the TOMRA sorter in action at our new manufacturing facility, with the opportunity to run their crop through the sorter. The results have been very impressive both in terms of the amount of labor that can be saved at this stage of the post-harvest handling process, as well as the potential reduction in storage costs as only good crop is being stored,” Rich added.

The crop is cradled deeply into bulker trailers, stores, or box packing machinery using Tong's folding cart elevator after it has been cleaned. Power efficiency for in-field use is provided by a super-quiet onboard generator, which may be bypassed for main power while operating on a farm.

“Our high-quality handling equipment is developing all the time and the new advancements are always driven by working closely with our customers to develop complete systems that overcome vegetable handling challenges most efficiently. The new optical sorting option on the FieldLoad PRO is our latest example of this, which will bring real savings alongside very versatile post-harvest handling”, Charlie Rich declared.

As an experienced optical sorting integration partner, Tong is extending its Optical Sorting LIVE event throughout the Autumn.