The Duravant family of operating companies serve the food processing, packaging and material handling segments.
Exeter Engineering and Key Technology Form Partnership to Introduce OCULUS Digital Sorters for Potatoes to North America
Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, and Exeter Engineering announce 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 United States, 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. “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° roller system to present each potato to the vision system. Compared to traditional cascade bulk sorters, OCULUS achieves up to 20 percent 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 and Key each have over 30 years of experience automating the process of potato product inspection and selection. Both companies are leaders in this space,” said Carson Brennan, President of Key Technology – Americas & APAC. “Now, with the formation of this new partnership, North American customers will benefit from Key’s innovative technology and Exeter’s market expertise and strong sales-and-service network. Together, we’re in position to increase the efficiency of potato packing operations in the region.”
Exeter is responsible for OCULUS sales and support, including application testing, installation, field service and spare parts. For more information about the OCULUS sorter, visit: https://www.exeterengineering.com/sorting#Oculus
About Exeter Engineering
Exeter Engineering is a leading manufacturer of electronic sorting, washing, receiving and related machinery for the fresh produce industry. Family owned and operated since 1978, Exeter Engineering is recognized throughout the industry for its cutting-edge technology and common-sense reliability. From potatoes to peppers, citrus to cucumbers, our quality engineering and customer-driven solutions have been making customers happy for over 40 years.
About Key Technology, Inc.
Key Technology is a global leader in the design and manufacture of automation systems including digital sorters, conveyors and other processing equipment. Applying processing knowledge and application expertise, Key helps customers in the food processing and other industries improve quality, increase yield and reduce cost. Key manufactures its products in Walla Walla, Washington, USA; Redmond, Oregon, USA; and in Beusichem, the Netherlands. Key offers customer demonstration and testing services at five locations including Walla Walla and Beusichem as well as Hasselt, Belgium; Sacramento, California, USA; and Melbourne, Australia; and maintains a sales and service office in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico. Key is a Duravant Company.
About Duravant
Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, Duravant is a global engineered equipment company with manufacturing, sales and service facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Through their portfolio of operating companies, Duravant delivers trusted end-to-end process solutions for customers and partners through engineering and integration expertise, project management and operational excellence. With worldwide sales distribution and service networks, they provide immediate and lifetime aftermarket support to all the markets they serve in the food processing, packaging and material handling sectors. Duravant’s market-leading brands are synonymous with innovation, durability and reliability. Visit www.duravant.com.
Reader Inquiries:
Marco Azzaretti
Key Technology
150 Avery Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA
Phone: +1 509 876 9428
Email: mazzaretti@key.net
www.key.net