Apetit Plc is a Finnish producer of convenient fresh and frozen vegetable-based products that are healthy, tasty and based on locally sourced raw materials such as potatoes, leeks, carrots, peas, swede, parsnips, celery, beetroot, and spinach. Its aim is to become the leading brand in frozen vegetable products, frozen ready meals and ready-to-use fresh vegetables.
Petri Pyysalo, technical manager at Apetit, says: “Apetit has worked closely with contract growers in the Satakunta region in south-western Finland for more than 60 years. As a company, we have become extremely familiar with the local suppliers and growers and sign agreements with around 140 contract growers every year. We are currently processing approximately 20,000 tons of frozen vegetables per year. During this process, we also sort out foreign materials, to make sure they do not enter the further production line after coming from the storing and mixing process. That’s why we have bought Tomra’s free fall pulsed LED camera sorters for the packaging lines”.
Pulsed Led Sorter Versus Laser Sorter
According to the Apetit representative, Tomra’s Blizzard is a very cost-effective solution.
“For many years we considered buying new laser sorters, which are often thought to be the best machines for sorting IQF vegetables, but after seeing Tomra’s pulsed LED technology in action, we were convinced that this technology was equally as good, if not better. Pulsed LED recognizes the subtlest color and structural differences as well as foreign materials just before packing, and the benefits are abundant: it is calibration-free, stable, and has a long life-span. For peas for examples, the Blizzard is able to take out pods and stalks based on shape sorting”.
Commenting on the initial stages of the partnership, Petri says: “During the installation, our operators received special training courses from the Tomra team in order to learn how to operate the sorting machine, but once you know how to operate it, it’s very easy to work with. On top of that, it’s easy to clean”.
The full version of this case study will be available in the next issue of Frozen Food Europe magazine.
