In a short period, Wiskerke Onions improved its onion sorting line, not only in terms of efficiency but also regarding quality control. The automation solutions provided by Flikweert Vision and KV-Techniek play a major role in this. "It's much more efficient and way less stressful than before."
More efficient and accurate sorting
In 2023, Wiskerke entered into a partnership with Flikweert Vision, a young and innovative company from Nieuwerkerk. With their agricultural background, they have developed smart sorting solutions based on advanced camera technology and artificial intelligence. To improve the sorting process, Wiskerke began optimizing their small sorting line. By adding a Divider and two QualityGraders, the process became significantly more efficient. Previously, eight people had to manually remove the tare, but now the machine takes over this task entirely. Jan Zweemer, head of quality at Wiskerke, immediately noticed the difference: "When we compare the tare removed by a Flikweert QualityGrader and by manual sorting, we see that the machine works much more accurately."
Automation and labor savings
After the success of the small sorting line, Wiskerke decided to automate their large sorting line as well. By the end of 2024, six additional QualityGraders were integrated into the process. Thanks to the compact design of these machines, they could be easily added to the existing sorting line. Where previously twenty-four employees were needed for sorting, now just one operator is required to oversee the process.
Vision camera
After the Divider has removed foreign objects such as stones and clods, the onions pass through an onion topper. This machine is equipped with heavy sieves, and large lids rest on top. To ensure the quality of trimming and cutting the foliage, the sieves of the onion topper were cleaned four to five times a day. An employee from the sorting line removed the coarse dirt with a spade, and occasionally the sieves were taken out of the onion topper for thorough cleaning. "With fresh onions, we had to manually take out all the sieves every week to clean them. And with dry onions from the shed, we had to do that every fourteen days," says Jan.
Jan Zweemer
Wiskerke's head of Technical Services explored the possibilities of Automated Guided Vehicles for moving onion pallets. During his visit to KV-Techniek, a Zeeland-based specialist in robotic automation, he spotted something completely different. In the workshop was a robotic arm capable of replacing heavy sieves from an onion topper. The robot then placed the dirty sieves into a cleaning station. This provided a perfect solution for their automated sorting line. "Now it's just a press of a button, and you can have the system cleaned during any break, without us losing time," says Jan. The robot takes over the labor-intensive tasks and can replace six to seven sieves in just fourteen minutes.
For more information:
Flikweert Vision KV-Techniek
info@flikweertvision.nl
www.flikweertvision.nl
KV-Techniek
bastiaan@kv-techniek.nl
www.kv-techniek.nl