Optyx is the Key to quality for cranberry producer

Inspired by seeing an Optyx sorter in action at an Ocean Spray plant, L&S Cranberry installed its own Optyx sorter - and has increased its production from one shift a day to two, six days a week. With help from Key Technology, the cranberry grower says it has maximised productivity while maintaining the highest product quality and food safety.

“Prior to having our own packing plant, we shipped our fresh cranberries to an Ocean Spray packing plant, which had Optyx sorters,” said L&S Cranberry General Manager Kevin Connolly. “In 2008, we decided that we had grown large enough to justify having our own packing plant. We installed an Optyx sorter because we saw how successful it was at Ocean Spray.”

Using a combination of colour cameras and lasers, the Optyx 6000 series sorters inspect up to 5400 kg of fresh cranberries per hour. The cameras analyse size, shape and colour, while the lasers detect differences in structural properties, identifying and removing foreign material, defects and soft berries called ‘poppers’ that spoil quickly.

“In 2011, we went from operating one shift per day to two shifts per day, six days a week,” said Connolly. “At that time, we added RemoteMD to allow us to monitor and access the sorter remotely.” RemoteMD is a real-time monitoring and diagnostics tool for the Optyx sorter.

“It gives me peace of mind, knowing that Key is monitoring our sorter and can see problems and provide support. It also enables me to connect to the sorter from my office or from home, which is especially helpful during the night shift. I’ve used RemoteMD every day since it was installed and every day, it’s worked perfectly. It helps us operate the sorter at peak performance while giving me the freedom to be away from the plant.”

L&S Cranberry farms and packs about 3.6 million kg of fresh cranberries each year during the four-month season, making it one of the largest growers supplying Ocean Spray. But even for such a busy company, high staff turnover is a common problem.

“We usually begin every year with new people,” Connolly said. “Optyx reduces our reliance on labour because it automates sorting, and RemoteMD helps us maintain the highest product quality and line productivity even if the most fully trained person isn’t in the plant.”

With high staff turnover comes increased staff training. Fortunately for L&S Cranberry, Key’s PROliance protection plan includes access to Key’s online training program - a self-paced, interactive curriculum that covers hardware, software and user interface topics.

“Key’s online training program frees me up from having to train everybody myself. When employees are better trained, they lean on me less to get involved in the operation,” Connolly said. “With online training, we’ve trained more people, which is a good thing, and we didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to bring in technicians to do the training. Online training is available any time, on-demand, which is especially valuable given our high turnover.

“At L&S Cranberry, we’re focused on producing the highest quality fresh cranberries. Given how short our season is, it’s important that we achieve perfect accuracy from the moment we start up in September,” concludes Connolly.

“Optyx helps us achieve our high-quality standards. Online training helps us be prepared and RemoteMD is like having an insurance policy.”