UNITEC; quality selection to automated packing up to robotics

UNITEC, reduced labor availability, increased energy costs, and polarization of purchases are some of the latest trends affecting the fruit and vegetable supply chain.

In this scenario, to compete effectively, efficiently and consistently on the market, it is necessary to integrate responses between the different stages of the process.

For this reason, UNITEC, international market leader in internal and external quality selection of over 50 types of fruits and vegetables, has recently engaged in implementing its know-how, built over 100 years of experience, to the initial and final phases of fruit and vegetable sorting lines. It is precisely from this process that the motorized harvesting platform was conceived.

This solution integrates the first phase of fruit selection in the field, providing helpful information to the operators on how and what to collect, thus allowing an upfront separation of products destined to the fresh market and products for the processing industry, guaranteeing savings of about 5-6% on costs and on occupied spaces in the warehouse.

Likewise, at the end of its sorting lines, UNITEC is integrating robotic systems for automated palletizing and packing designed by the UNI Robotics division. This solution optimizes workforce and, at the same time, relieves operators from strenuous and alienating tasks, while reducing costs, improving efficiency and increasing profitability. Among these solutions, UNITEC presents some of its latest flagship products at Fruit Logistica; these include, UNI FLOW GENTLE PACKER, a patented solution developed to maximize efficiency and capacity/potential of automatic packing lines for apples through the use of ultra-gentle suction cups individually dedicated to each apple to guarantee a continuous and gentle transfer of the fruit inside the trays. All the while preserving the integrity of every apple.

And UNITEC pushed its innovation boundaries even further. UNITEC, in fact, continues to develop ever more performing solutions for the selection of internal and external quality of fruits, to detect a combination of quality parameters so that products can be divided into clusters to respond to different market demands. This way, products unsuitable for the fresh market can be destined for the processing industry.

Allocating fruits to the correct reference market reduces costs deriving from waste along the entire supply chain, with a significant increase in benefits both in terms of final consumer satisfaction and environmental sustainability.

Cherry Vision 3.0 and UNIQ Cherry, Blueberry Vision 3 and UNIQ Blueberry are the quality selection systems for cherries and blueberries exhibited at UNITEC booth. These solutions can scan 360° of each cherry or blueberry, for an even more performing, precise and reliable external and internal quality selection aimed to enhance the organoleptic characteristics of these two precious fruits, so appreciated by consumers all over the world.

UNITEC R&D department created many innovations dedicated to specific fruits in terms of external and internal quality selection, systems in the VISION range (Kiwi Vision 3, Peach Vision 3, Plum Vision 3, Apples Sort 3, Pears Sort 3, Avocados Sort 3, etc.) and in the UNIQ range (UNIQ Kiwi, UNIQ Peach, UNIQ Plum, UNIQ Apples, UNIQ Avocados, UNIQ Melon, etc.).

Among these, in particular, are the latest additions to UNITEC, Onions Sort 3 and UNIQ Onions for external and internal quality selection of every onion variety. In addition to fresh fruit, UNITEC has also developed solutions/answers for the selection of dried fruit with Walnut Vision and Hazelnut Vision. These systems that bring considerable benefits in the handling and in the quality selection of walnuts and hazelnuts (with or without shell, raw or toasted), detecting defects in addition to shape, size, and color.

Whilst for dates, we offer UNI INTELLIGENT PACK DATES, the robotic solution to arrange dates inside the trays so that they all face the same direction. Alongside this robotic application for processing products that the brand Unisorting specializes in, is the area dedicated to UNI Robotics (Hall 4.1, Booth B-10), where the robot solution exhibited can palletize crates according to the desired and personalized configuration with the use of two coordinated robots.