Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Group, including operating companies Key Technology, PPM Technologies and WECO, will showcase their world-class equipment at Pack Expo Las Vegas booth W-1044. Delivering high-performance optical sorters, conveyors and other processing solutions, Duravant helps customers maximize food safety and ensure product quality while increasing yield, reducing labor and improving operational efficiencies.
“Food growers, processors and packers are navigating significant hurdles right now, from workforce shortages to market uncertainty. With companies making very targeted investments, we're focused on providing technology that offers immediate value by automating manual tasks, minimizing training, simplifying sanitation and boosting overall productivity,” said Jack Lee, Duravant Group President – Food Sorting and Handling. “Our group’s comprehensive equipment portfolio and decades of experience enable us to deliver the ideal integrated systems for each customer's unique goals and application, backed by our best-in-class global service team.”
At Pack Expo Las Vegas, Key Technology is introducing their new COMPASS® belt-fed optical sorter, designed for wet, sticky and delicate products such as potato chips. With a strong return on investment, the belt-fed COMPASS achieves exceptional foreign material and defect removal while setting new standards for ease of use with simplified controls, sanitation and maintenance. Recipe-driven operation mimics smartphone app navigation, allowing workers without technical skills to learn to operate COMPASS in under 30 minutes.
New COMPASS belt-fed optical sorter from Key Technology
Key will also present their reversible Zephyr™ horizontal-motion conveyor. Achieving higher capacities than other horizontal-motion conveyors on the market, Zephyr’s unique motion profile gently slides product without segregation or stratification to protect product quality and reduce noise. With the ability to flow in either direction, the reversible Zephyr maximizes line versatility while improving sanitation and minimizing maintenance.
WECO will showcase several processing systems from their modular Sortivator line for fresh-pack blueberries. The BerryTek color sorter combines gentle handling with sanitary design, while the Impulse2 sorter uses 50 dynamic sensors to detect soft, overripe and damaged berries. WECO's blower system for removing debris features adjustable product flow control and ultra-quiet operation, and the compact 360Tek sorter leverages SpinSort™ technology to inspect every berry with a 360-degree view. Together, these solutions deliver fast, gentle and effective blueberry sorting and cleaning.
Sortivator line for fresh-pack blueberries from WECO
PPM Technologies will exhibit their FlavorWright All-in-One™ seasoning system, which integrates liquid and dry seasoning into a single standalone unit. Combining a vibratory in-feed conveyor, applicators and a removable drum with integrated liquid storage, pumping and filtration, FlavorWright All-in-One achieves consistent, versatile seasoning in a small footprint. A user-friendly touchscreen interface enables precise control of component flow rates and recipe management, making it simple to operate and adapt to production needs.
Also featured at the show will be PPM’s compact Mini VF electromagnetic vibratory motion conveyor. Powered by a universal low-frequency drive and PPM’s patented feedback sensor, the Mini VF delivers precise control of production flow rates. Ideal for a variety of products including snack foods, cereals, confectionaries and vegetables, this versatile and cost-efficient conveyor improves sanitation, reduces maintenance and maximizes reliability over long life cycles.
About Duravant
Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, Duravant is a global automation solutions and engineered equipment company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Through their portfolio of operating companies, Duravant delivers trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. With worldwide sales distribution and service networks, they provide immediate and lifetime aftermarket support to all the markets they serve in the protein processing, food sorting and handling, packaging and material handling sectors. Duravant’s market-leading brands are synonymous with innovation, durability and reliability. For more information, visit www.duravant.com.
As the wine industry continues to evolve, efficiency and precision during harvest are crucial to maintaining the highest quality in every bottle. At WECO, along with our sister company Key Technology, we understand these challenges and have been providing innovative crush pad solutions that help wineries achieve excellence—from harvest to tank.
Join us today and tomorrow at the Portola Hotel in Monterey for more insight!
We’re excited to be part of Central California’s premier wine and viticulture symposium and trade show! Stop by our booth to see the Wine Grape Tek Sorter on display and learn from our experts about how WECO’s optical sorting system can deliver higher throughput and lower labor costs for your harvest.
Don’t settle for less—trust WECO to take your harvest to the next level!
Woodland, CA – September 19, 2024 – WECO, a member of Duravant’s Food Sorting and Handling Solutions group, introduces their PeanutTek active moisture monitoring system. Eliminating the need for peanut buying points to take routine manual moisture samples during the drying process, PeanutTek takes real-time continuous in-shell moisture readings, displays current burner temperatures of all semis/wagons and can automatically turn off each burner once the moisture reaches a set point. By improving the monitoring and control of burners and enabling buying points to make more informed decisions, PeanutTek maximizes production efficiency, reduces labor requirements, improves product quality and increases profitability.
“PeanutTek transforms peanut drying operations, eliminating the need for continuous manual sampling and improving worker safety. Our system provides instant and consistent moisture data while automatically controlling dryers. This not only redirects employees to safer roles but also prevents over-drying, saves energy and preserves product quality," said Nick Lightfoot, Vice President of WECO. "Drawing on our 25 years of moisture monitoring expertise, we've created a solution tailored specifically for peanut buying points."
PeanutTek features a series of sensors that are installed in each semi/wagon to collect moisture data from a substantial sample size. By taking instant samples from a consistent location, buying points can better achieve repeatable success hitting their target moisture content. Buying points can program PeanutTek to automatically turn off burners when the moisture of a load reaches a set point and configure a time delay for how long the fan should run afterward to help remove remaining heat within the semi/wagon. PeanutTek shows up-to-date dryer temperatures to help fine tune gas pressure and ensure that all burners are drying at their maximum efficiency and speed.
The data from sensors is sent to a centralized computer at the facility, where the active drying process for all semis/wagons can be remotely monitored with WECO’s AgTrack information management system. AgTrack enables buying points to collect, access and store data about each load’s entire drying cycle, as well as load numbers, semi/wagon numbers, growing variety, blocks and more. It provides users with in-depth graphs of moisture and temperature curves. Data can be exported to spreadsheets for record keeping. Users can also access AgTrack remotely via a smart device or home computer.
By harnessing data about the drying process, AgTrack can reveal patterns and trends that buying points can use to improve production efficiency. For example, buying points can use AgTrack’s data to determine if certain varieties of peanuts need more time to dry than others. Buying points can also use data from AgTrack to identify whether certain times of the day are inefficient for drying and it’s more effective to wait to turn burners on. Additionally, AgTrack data might reveal that on hot days buying points can simply use fans without burners to get the amount of heat needed for drying, further reducing energy consumption.
"By collaborating closely with the peanut industry, we've adapted our proven technology to solve an 80-year-old problem," said Lightfoot. "PeanutTek has halved both labor needs and over-drying incidents. This success is driving us to develop more solutions tailored to the peanut industry's specific needs."
PeanutTek and WECO’s other high-quality sorting and moisture monitoring solutions are available for sale and lease. WECO’s industry-leading customer service organization provides installation and start-up services, preventive maintenance, technology upgrades and 24/7 emergency assistance.
For more information about WECO, visit www.wecotek.com.
About WECO
WECO has been designing, manufacturing, and servicing optical and color electronic sorters for over thirty years and has thousands of units deployed worldwide. WECO products feature a design simplicity that results in cost-effective equipment and greater uptime for operators. WECO serves growers and processors in several fruit and nut processing sectors: tomato sorting on the harvester, walnut and pecan line sorting and drying, hops kiln moisture monitoring, and small fruit sorting of blueberries, cranberries, olives, coffee cherries and wine grapes.
Visit www.wecotek.com
About Duravant
Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, Duravant is a global engineered equipment company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Through their portfolio of operating companies, Duravant delivers trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. With worldwide sales distribution and service networks, they provide immediate and lifetime aftermarket support to all the markets they serve in the food processing, packaging and material handling sectors. Duravant’s market-leading brands are synonymous with innovation, durability and reliability. For more information, visit www.duravant.com.
Grape Harvest Selection Is Our Expertise
Our machines are meticulously crafted to seamlessly integrate, ensuring, precision, finesse, and expression.
We are proud to be a Silver Sponsor at WiVi! Swing by our booth to see how WECO's automated MOG optical sorting system results in a higher throughput and lower labor requirements.
WiVi Central Coast
March 27, 2024
Paso Robles, CA
Booth #315
