Key, Exeter announce partnership to distribute potato sorting system
Key Technology and Exeter Engineering have announced the formation of a sales and service partnership in North America. Under the terms of the agreement, Exeter is appointed the exclusive agent to sell and service Key’s Oculus digital sorters for fresh market potatoes in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“Oculus has achieved widespread success across Europe for over a decade, and we’re excited to bring this sorting system to potato packers here in North America. In fact, Exeter participated in the initial development of the Oculus sorter. This is a technology we already know very well,” said Boomer Batchman, president of Exeter Engineering, through a press release. “The rising cost and limited availability of workers is a huge challenge for potato packers. Oculus is the perfect solution — it minimizes labor requirements while increasing production efficiencies and improving product quality and yield.”
Key’s Oculus sorter inspects tubers using a unique 360-degree roller system to present each potato to the vision system. Compared to traditional cascade bulk sorters, Oculus achieves up to 20% more surface inspection and offers gentler handling of the potatoes. Reaching capacities of up to 40 metric tons of product per hour (88,000 lbs/hr), Oculus detects a wide range of color defects, diseases and surface abnormalities including skin discoloration, green and dark colors, bruising, mechanical damage, blackleg and silver scurf.
Oculus is ideal for sorting fresh market potatoes, prior to or immediately following storage, to eliminate defects and identify the dimensional profile of every tuber. Its compact footprint allows easy integration into an existing packhouse layout.
Exeter is responsible for Oculus sales and support, including application testing, installation, field service and spare parts. For more information, visit www.
