Following successful events in Shropshire and Cambridgeshire, Grimme UK is continuing to tour the new Haith Pro Sort around the UK with two demonstrations planned for October 2022.
The Pro Sort optical sorter and a Grimme Clean Loader will be put through their paces when they arrive in Goole at the beginning of October and Herefordshire on October 13 and 14.
The Pro Sort automates the removal of stone, clod and foreign debris from potatoes and helps growers cope with labour shortages. A Tomra 3A optical sorter sits at the heart of the machine, capable of handling up to 100t/hr with high levels of accuracy.
The Tomra 3A employs Near Infra-Red multi-spectral sensors for an unobstructed assessment of every object ‘in flight’, seamlessly identifying between potatoes and foreign material. As well as debris, the 3A’s colour sensors can also detect green potatoes that, like the debris, are removed at the end of the conveyor belt by air actuated finger ejectors powered by the Pro Sort’s onboard compressor.
As the Pro Sort is a modular unit, it can be used in the field or on a farm and easily integrated into a new or existing grading line.
“The Pro Sort demonstrations started in September in Shropshire,” the managing director at Haith Group, Duane Hill, said. “We enjoyed a fantastic turnout, with more than 25 farms coming along and seeing the Pro Sort in action.
“The feedback we received was extremely positive. We even had one grower want to buy the demonstration unit there and then! We’re looking forward to taking our latest innovation to more farms across the country and showing people the future of on-field and on-farming grading.”
