How North Dakota based potato packer O.C. Schulz & Sons keeps its customers happy

"The customer is always right", that’s their motto. O.C. Schulz & Sons understands the importance of customer satisfaction. 

Every day, this family business does everything possible to exceed their customers' expectations. The company is committed to ensuring consistent quality and on-time delivery to their customers. 

O.C. Schulz & Sons is also known for its high-quality red and yellow potatoes that have beautiful clear skin and outstanding taste. However, every business has its challenges. 

There were limitations and times when not all the customers’ needs could be addressed. O.C. Schulz & Sons was dedicated to changing that. 

Over the past few years, O.C. Schulz & Sons has faced the following challenges: 

• Labor is getting harder and harder to find. We were not always fully operational due to labor shortages.
• Because of variable weather conditions, each season has different, or more prevalent, defects which makes it challenging to deliver a consistent quality.
• With manual sorting, it is more difficult to achieve the desired quality because people are inconsistent in defect detection and ultimately get tired. Additionally, they cannot always detect the defects that can be identified with automation.
• With hand sorting, potatoes can easily end up in incorrect grades or are mistakenly classified as waste. This impacts our ability to maximize the value of each.
• Due to labor shortages and/or lots with significant quality issues, it was difficult to process and pack enough potatoes to meet customer demand.

Every challenge offers an opportunity for a solution. This is O.C. Schulz's story of how they found solutions to satisfy their customer’s needs.

Following are just some of the improvements that O.C. Schulz & Sons achieved: 

• Reduce dependency on labor by eliminating virtually all manual grading.
• Improved quality consistency to increase customer satisfaction.
• Increased production capacity to improve on-time deliveries and expand business opportunities.

Dave Moquist, Plant and Sales Manager at O.C. Schulz & Sons:

"It’s hard to put the transition in words since the installation of the Ellips solution has changed our operation so significantly. Everything is much easier now. We have a peace of mind because we can respond to any customer demand - we never have to say no any more."

About O.C. Schulz & Sons

O.C. Schulz & Sons has spent the past five decades perfecting the growing, packing and shipping of its high-quality potatoes. 

The family-owned and operated company, located in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. O.C. Schulz & Sons is fourth generation company. 

Treat the customer like you would want to be treated. 

O.C. Schulz & Sons is known in the industry for delivering good quality potatoes including reds and yellows. 

O.C. Schulz & Sons serves a diverse customer base across the entire country. While some prioritize price, others seek the best quality at a competitive rate. 

Additionally, there's a segment of customers willing to invest top dollar for unparalleled quality. Despite their demanding nature, these customers represent our target market. Understanding and catering to their varied needs are pivotal for the company success.

At O.C. Schulz & Sons, 1,500 acres of potatoes are cultivated, with 70 percent being reds and 30 percent yellows. The sorting and sales primarily revolve around two main qualities: US number 1 and US number 2, offered in various sizes. The packaging options range from 3-pound bags to totes, providing flexibility to meet customer demands effectively. This customer-centric approach ensures tailored solutions for every client's needs.
 

OC Schultz & Sons - Potato Grading - Maximize your potato throughput to expand your business potential with less labor.

Main Goals and Challenges

The primary objectives to address include labor issues, consistent quality and increased operational capacity. 

Following are the key points associated with each goal: 

Labor reduction issues  O.C. Schulz & Sons' primary objective was to decrease reliance on manual labor through automation. With labor scarcity and a diminishing pool of skilled potato graders, productivity and overall capacity were adversely affected. 

Production sometimes had to be slowed due to workforce limitations. The solution was an optical grading machine aimed at reducing manual labor dependency while maintaining or improving grading accuracy. 

Unlike humans, computers process information swiftly and tirelessly, regardless of hours worked. Moreover, cameras offer consistent, high-resolution views of every potato, ensuring thorough inspection of the entire surface. 

Electronic grading surpasses manual sorting in consistency, with speed unaffected by product quality. 

Andy Moquist – O.C. Schulz & Sons:
 

"Customers should always be pleased with your quality and taste. That should be a guarantee. Something you can rely on."

Dealing with quality variation, weather conditions and storage seasons

At O.C. Schulz & Sons, different varieties come from many acres across multiple locations. Thus, the growing conditions, including soil and weather, can vary. Although the goal is to grow superior potatoes, the quality can vary based on dynamic growing conditions.

Additionally, if potatoes are stored for a long period, quality can change during storage. Goals at O.C. Schulz & Sons include the ability to grade the product effectively and consistently for the entire packing season. This means there's a need to sort out pressure bruises that occur when potatoes are kept in storage for many months.

Dave Moquist, Sec./Treas. at O. C. Schulz & Sons, Inc.:
 

"An intelligent optical grading machine helps to manage this seasonal variation in quality. You get a better look at each product and its full surface."

Increased volumes and improved product handling

The goal at O.C. Schulz & Sons was to improve the speed of the grading process to increase volumes. Additionally, there was a desire to enhance the reliability of the operation, meaning the aim was to sort the same volume every day. There was a desire for more peace of mind concerning responding to customer demands on time.

O.C. Schulz & Sons no longer feels the discomfort of telling customers that orders can't be delivered on time. In addition to throughput, it was important that the machine could handle varying sizes and shapes. Based on variety and growing conditions, sizes can vary significantly, and it was crucial that this situation would not impact the performance of the system.

Andy Moquist, plant & sales manager at O. C. Schulz & Sons, Inc.:
 

"You don't want to disappoint your customers because you can't deliver. You always want to deliver on time."

What were the main motivations for choosing Ellips -Elisam?

One advantage offered by Ellips-Elisam was the ability to incorporate different size cups on their grader. This was a real advantage vs. the competition. Regardless of size (C’s or A's) or shape (round or oblong), the Elisam grader can run at the same speed and deliver the same grading performance. By ensuring that small and large potatoes are running on the optimal cup size, you will maximize throughput (tons/hr) and deliver the best grading performance while avoiding recycle.

Dave Moquist:
 

"I like the way the software works. I believe it’s a bit more intuitive and easier to understand. I am still learning on the more advanced stuff; however, the essentials are easy to learn. While other machines require someone to run it all the time, you can automate many aspects of the Ellips grading programs."

"Other than some minor adjustments, you don’t need to make many changes. I have been able to easily teach my guys how to change settings and switch products going to our different exits and packing equipment. The system has proven to be convenient and very easy to use."

Robust and reliable machine

The Elisam machine is a high-quality system that is durable and built to deliver many years of reliable performance. As an example, the roller cups perform well and are very robust, which should minimize replacement costs.

In order to maximize the investment, a machine that keeps running smoothly, year after year, is necessary. It is important to minimize maintenance costs while maintaining a high level of reliability. To date, the Elisam machine has exceeded expectations.

Smooth installation

At O.C. Schulz & Sons, satisfaction and contentment prevail regarding the entire project. From delivery to installation and commissioning, everything was on time with no surprises. The process went extremely well.

Despite being in the middle of harvest and unable to assist much with the installation, it went off without a hitch. The Elisam team was fantastic. They were like miracle workers, completing tasks quickly with limited help. O.C. Schulz & Sons couldn’t have asked for a better job.

Excellent support and training

The support provided by the Ellips USA team, including Brandon and Chris, has been very good. They have been supportive and punctual in their assistance. The training they delivered was detailed yet clear. Throughout the season, there weren't many changes needed to the grading programs.

Mostly, it involved switching programs (yellows to reds) and changing exits based on product or packing requirements. Whenever there was a question, the information needed was quickly provided by the Ellips USA support technicians.

Results

Dave Moquist:
 

"It’s hard to put the transition in words since the installation of the Ellips solution has changed our operation so significantly. Everything is much easier now. We have peace of mind because we can respond to any customer demand. We never have to say no anymore and we can provide great on-time reliability for customers."

In general, there were very few issues with the system or product quality. The combination of increased capacity and more consistent grading performance provides a certain peace of mind and confidence that O.C. Schulz & Sons can deliver products how and when promised.

With so much less labor required, O.C. Schulz & Sons can respond more quickly to customer demands. The customers are happy, which is important since the success of O.C. Schulz & Sons is built on repeat business and long-term relationships. O.C. Schulz & Sons can get it done, and that’s a good thing!

• Reduce dependency on labor by eliminating virtually all manual grading.
• Improved quality consistency to increase customer satisfaction.
• Increased production capacity to improve on-time deliveries and expand business opportunities.

Reduce dependency on labor with extremely limited hand grading.

Labor requirements have been significantly reduced at O.C. Schulz & Sons, and there are no longer concerns about labor shortages. Previous experiences with production slowdowns and shutdowns are now a thing of the past. Regarding machine downtime, O.C. Schulz & Sons didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever with the Elisam grader.

This has enabled the company to maintain a steady daily volume, making it much easier to meet customer demands. The added benefit of this automation is that it allows O.C. Schulz & Sons to allocate the workforce to the packing (vs. sorting) process. With automation in place, the company has virtually eliminated the risk of human error, which was inevitable after several hours of work.

More time with family instead of working overtime

If O.C. Schulz & Sons ever finds itself short on certain potatoes, they can easily run an extra hour if necessary. It takes very few people to run the line and deliver the potatoes into totes. Only 4 people are needed to run the line, whereas previously, it required 10 or more depending on product quality.

With this efficiency, there's now more time to spend with the family, which is especially important since there is a very young family. Having more time to manage the business and the family has been a significant benefit of the new technology.

Increased quality consistency to take customer satisfaction to perfection.

A portion of the quality consistency issues were due to manual labor constraints. The product is now graded with the same precision. The cameras look at every potato in the same way and with full focus, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute. The machine can work more hours without tiring. The eyes of the cameras are programmed based on experiences and knowledge.

It performs exactly as asked regardless of volume, product quality, or the hours run. If a customer asks for potatoes with certain quality characteristics, they can be delivered quickly. With hand sorting, that was impossible, and rejections have been minimized due to the consistent quality that is delivered. 

The next level of defect grading

The entire surface of every potato is checked to obtain a complete analysis of quality. When grading potatoes by hand, it was difficult to see the entire surface of each potato. Additionally, optical grading technology enables the detection of certain imperfections below the skin that could be particularly challenging when hand grading.

These imperfections, like pressure bruises, tend to manifest as visible defects only 2-3 days after the initial grading process. With the introduction of Ellips technology, these issues can now be identified before it’s too late.

There is also internal grading technology that can be added to the system to detect certain internal defects that are not visible externally. There is space available to add this technology to the machine if needed. When this technology is put into action, it will empower the detection of internal defects within the very core of the potatoes.

New possibilities with product differentiation

The increased capabilities allow for the offering of various product options to meet customer preferences. Additional sizes and quality selections, including differentiation between dark red and lighter red A grade potatoes, are now possible. This enables the maximization of yield per potato. The enhanced grading capability provides additional flexibility and creates new market opportunities.

Improved production capacity to expand business and on-time deliveries.

A significant increase in throughput has been observed thanks to the new machine. Even with lower quality potatoes, the machine enables the packing of more products because the process doesn’t have to slow down due to defects. Previously, with hand sorting, the packed volume would have been much less, and the quality would have been more inconsistent.

Last-minute orders? No problem!

Sometimes, there's a surge in last-minute orders, which used to pose a challenge for responsiveness. Now, it's much easier for the company. The biggest advantage is that O.C. Schulz & Sons never have to say no anymore. This capability also allows them to ship more products when prices are favorable.

Future

The future is always uncertain. However, with the new grading machine, O.C. Schulz & Sons feels more comfortable knowing that there is the ability to react to unexpected events. This season, two additional lanes on the machine are being activated to further expand the company's capacity and ability to serve and satisfy even more customers. 

In addition, internal quality detection technology can be added to ensure the internal consistency of the potatoes. O.C. Schulz & Sons is confident that customer satisfaction can be taken to an even higher level. That feels good!