A Helius free-fall laser sorter from BEST has helped Stahmann Farms towards its goal of being Australia’s leading tree nut company. The company sources pecans, macadamias and walnuts from around Australia, supplying to gourmet markets around the world.
Having installed the BEST system at its Toowoomba sorting plant, Stahmann expects to see return on investment within two years.
The laser sorting system has boosted pecan and macadamia output by 30% while lowering false rejects to less than 0.25%. Stahmann’s commitment to quality and its Sales and Processing Alliance (SPA), a contract with each grower that sets the overall value of the kernel, requires highly sophisticated sorting equipment that can be easily configured to accurately process each run based on parameters set by lab analysis.
The Stahmann team have years of experience collecting very accurate data on acceptable product and needed a system into which they could input this data to impose rigid sorting specifications. “We’ve found the BEST Helius with its RES system the most reliable and easily adaptable technology to reduce our false reject numbers - less than 0.25% of acceptable product in the reject material,” claims Ross Burling, General Manager of Processing at Stahmann’s Toowoomba plant. “Our plant’s output of high-quality product has increased by 30% to 900 kg per hour average with grade slippage at >1%.”
Difficulties with an older automatic sorting system helped Burling identify what was desirable in a new sorting system. “It created big production delays because the sorter took so much time to correctly program,” he said. “Despite these efforts, the result typically was the accidental and unacceptable rejection of too much good product with the bad.”
Having seen BEST’s Helius free-fall laser sorter in action, the Stahmann team knew it was the right system for them. Using up to 12 laser signals, the sorter analyses each kernel’s structure, size and shape in a single pass and uses its precise air guns to remove defective kernels while still permitting quality product to continue its fall.
Having the ejection system located at the rear of the sorter means that air valves can be extremely close to the product. This allows for highly targeted defect ejection but minimises instances of adjacent quality product being removed.
The Helius system’s user-friendly interface also saves Stahmann time and money. “The design engineer that creates software in an R&D lab is not the operator that works with it every day,” said Burling. “A big advantage of the technology is its software is designed on a PC platform so an operator can intuitively perform very complex manipulations. If you can compose email at home, surf the web or use word processing, you can effectively operate this system.”
BEST’s technology may have improved productivity in Stahmann’s Toowoomba plant but its customer service continues to keep Burling happy. “The company’s PAX remote diagnostic system is available 24 hours daily,” he comments. “I can logon and talk to BEST’s European technical staff any time. Having instant access to technical support is great peace of mind and sets BEST apart from other companies that eagerly support the sales but not the post-sales support.”
The BEST Helius laser sorting system is available in Australia from Heat and Control.