Key Technology Appoints Bert Switten as Technical Sales Support Manager, Optical Sorting

Key Technology announces the appointment of Bert Switten as Technical Sales Support Manager, Optical Sorting.

Based at the company’s Sacramento, California USA customer center, Switten provides technical support for chute- and belt-fed digital sorters to Key’s North American sales team to deliver sorting systems that help customers improve product quality and maximize yields.

“Bert has a deep level of technical expertise with chute-fed sorters and he understands the customers that rely on these sorters from his years of experience as a customer service engineer with Visys in Belgium, prior to the Key-Visys merger two years ago,” said Steve Pellegrino, Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Key Technology. “His knowledge of digital sorters, together with his application expertise and dedication to customer service, contribute to our ability to add value to our customers’ business by offering them the best sorting solution available in the market.”

Prior to this promotion, Switten held the position of Customer Service Engineer for Key Technology based in Sacramento and previously in Hasselt, Belgium. Prior to the Key-Visys merger, he was a Customer Service Engineer for Visys. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electro-mechanics and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Limburg Catholic University College in Hasselt, Belgium.

“It’s exciting to take everything I’ve learned over the years about chute-fed sorters and work with Key’s world-class sales team to ensure we design the ideal sorting solution for each application,” said Switten. “Key is at the forefront of digital sorting with the most complete source of high performance equipment, powerful software intelligence, and information analytics that maximize the value of the sorter. With so many tools to leverage, we’re able to combine high performance sorters, vibratory conveyors, and other processing equipment to offer the perfect solution for each customer’s unique situation.”

Switten supports Key’s sales team in North America through the company’s Innovation and Solutions Center in Sacramento and contributes to the centers’ activities, which include customer equipment demonstrations, applications testing, training, and after-sales service. Demos include a wide range of Key equipment showcased at the center as well as the popular Cayman® BioPrint® Roadshow – mobile tours that offer live demonstrations and tests of Key’s powerful hypserspectral-based digital sorter to nut and dried fruit processors and others at their facilities throughout California’s central valley.

The Sacramento center complements Key’s other Innovation and Solutions Centers at the company’s headquarters in Walla Walla, Washington, USA; and at Key Technology in Beusichem, the Netherlands; Hasselt, Belgium; and Melbourne, Australia.