Launched at Pack Expo 2016 in Chicago, US from November 6 to 9, the new Tomra 5A is fitted with a peel control and can sort 55 tons of potatoes an hour.
Using process control techniques to achieve the desired peel removal, the optimal steam time is then calculated and sent directly to the steam peeler.
Consequently, the result is lower peel loss and less food waste, without operator supervision.
The system ensures superior foreign material removal, effectively discarding items such as corn cobs, wood, stems, plastics, glass and even stray golf balls.
This process minimizes the risk of food contamination further down the line and leads to improved product quality.
With the system, processors can recover product that is not good enough to accept, but at the same time not bad enough to send to waste.
The leftover product can be sent to re-peel or trimming lines.
It can even be made into alternative end products, such as potato flakes.
The system’s interface encompasses a screen layout that shows all critical sort information and real-time sorting data at a glance.
The interface is dynamic, responsive and easy to use, resulting in a sharper learning curve and quicker training to proficiency for operators.
Furthermore, the TOMRA 5A contains onboard 24 hours of sorting statistics, which makes it possible to review all data within an operator-specified time window.
The on-screen display of potato quality data and size distribution is quick to access, with easy-to-read graphic displays of production for all or part of the day. Detailed product data is also available.
The system also alerts the plant of detected issues affecting the sorter’s operation and performance.
