GearPerformer enhances Frestia's quality
Added on 20 February 2023
Patrick Franken of Frestia sees the GearPerformer as “the start of a new start” in innovation and robotization at the company. He expects it will help to better anticipate future issues, such as labor savings, quality improvement and customer-centric requirements. “We want to look ahead,” he says. “More than 300 bell peppers pass on the belt per minute. Until recently, these snack peppers were inspected for quality by just two people. With such a volume, it’s not always possible to remove 100% of all products that do not meet quality standards. In addition, the availability of personnel is becoming an increasing challenge.”
Frestia was one of the first greenhouse horticulture companies to market snack peppers in the Netherlands. “We want to be trendsetters,” says Franken. “We are pioneering new varieties and new traits to improve quality. Taste is of paramount importance. You taste with your eyes; external characteristics being relevant. Since the consumer puts the snack pepper directly in their mouth, the product must meet the desired quality.”
“I see the GearPerformer as the start of a new start in innovation and robotization at our company”
-Patrick Franken van Frestia
All puzzle pieces in place
Some questions arose: What can robotization mean for the optimization of business processes? What can I do with the product, according to the grower? “We have discussed these concerns with various parties, including those in the industry. You run into limitations. For example, certain innovations are not yet applicable in our company,” notes Franken. However, during conversations with Gearbox, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. “We initially wanted to take the next step in the processing of conical peppers. But since the snack pepper process is already automated after quality inspection, the GearPerformer turned out to be a logical start in this configuration.”
Photo Courtesy of GearBox
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