TOMRA Sorting Solutions experts to showcase Halo technology at Expo Pack 2015 in Mexico

TOMRA Sorting Solutions will showcase its Halo 500 sensor based optical food sorter for the fresh produce market at EXPO PACK, Mexico. 

Processors who visit the TOMRA booth at the show will be offered the chance to visit the manufacturer’s state-of-the-art demonstration and testing centers in Belgium or Sacramento USA to see the Halo in action running their product. 

EXPO PACK is being held June 16-19, 2015 at Centro de Exposiciones Banamex in Mexico City with the TOMRA team located at booth 3114 along with sales partner, Abamex. 

The Halo is a high-performance machine able to sort a variety of fruit and vegetables by size, shape and subtle defects including blemishes and damage. Applications include whole jalapeño peppers, whole Habanero peppers, whole potatoes and tomatoes, plus fresh strawberries for further processing. 

Processors and packers using the Halo benefit from low operational costs, a labor reduction of up to 80%, increased throughput of up to 25%, faster packaging and yield increases that can reach up to 4%. Furthermore, an effective sort drives up food safety on the production line and ensures the best quality produce makes it onto the supermarket shelves. 

Hof Trumann, a German potato grower installed a Halo for the sorting of unwashed, brushed potatoes. General manager, Bernd Trumann, says: “Before the installation of the machine, our potatoes were sorted manually. Contrary to manual labor, a machine guarantees a consistent performance throughout the day. I was looking for a sorting solution to ensure a consistent product quality and to provide an answer to strict quality requirements set by the packers and decided on TOMRA to supply this solution. 

The Halo uses top and bottom sensor banks to view each object ‘in flight’ using a combination of LED, CCD camera and NIR to perform targeted spectroscopy with 1mm precision. The advanced sorting system views and analyses visible attributes such as color, shape, blemish, foreign material, as well as ‘invisible’ defects to the product composition. 

Gentle product handling is assured by design; the first sort produce gently passes through the sorting machine while the second and third grades are redirected into individual streams for further sorting by intelligent finger ejectors. 

Karel Strubbe, sales manager Americas and Oceania, TOMRA Sorting Food, says: “The Halo is a highly sophisticated food sorter which offers high capacity, low maintenance, flexibility, gentle handling and consistent accuracy. It continues to be a leader in its class with advanced functionalities for a flexible and refined sort of the incoming crop, producing primary and secondary marketable pack and process grades.” 

The team will also be promoting the Genius optical belt sorter for nuts, fruits, fresh cut, baby leaf and processed vegetables sectors and the Ixus Bulk sorter for nuts, raisins, grains and beans. 

The Ixus Bulk sorter effectively removes all foreign material from food on the production line, including stones, glass and metal and can also detect pips in olives to deliver a high quality product. Cutting-edge x-ray and imaging software technology sets the Ixus apart, delivering superior safety for optimal brand protection, optimized yield and unparalleled throughput. 

Meanwhile, the Genius is a modular sorter able to remove all unwanted discolorations and foreign material and which can be tailored to customer requirements and needs. With high resolution cameras and lasers, it offers a variety of inspection technologies in different inspection zones to deliver unequalled food sorting performance 

EXPO PACK 2015 will showcase the latest solutions in packaging and processing machinery, materials, containers, and other related goods and services. Attendees include packaging and processing professionals from a wide range of industries, including food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, graphic arts, chemical, electronics, textiles and automotive. 

For more information, visit www.tomra.com/food or click here to view additional events information.