Oregon’s Northwest Onion was looking to invest in a new packing solution but ended up opting for a new topping, grading and packing line. “We’ve been sorting and packing onions with the same line since my dad started the business so this change is very exciting,” says Ryan Bennett, one of the owners. The family behind North West Onion includes Greg Bennett with his sons, Tony and Ryan, and their families.
After doing business the same way for almost 40 years, Northwest Onion was ready for something new. “It’s hard to find quality labor and with rates continuing to climb, we’re moving away from labor and investing in automated technology,” says Bennett. It’s currently working with a team of 30 people but hopes to size down to 10 once the new line is running.
The family behind Northwest Onion.
On top of minimizing labor costs, it’s also looking to make a step forward in sorting. “The Eqrader allows us to provide a superior product. Sending out onions that were graded electronically will give us a feeling of reassurance to guarantee high quality,” says Bennett.
Initially, the company just wanted to invest in a new packing line, but when it started talking to Eqraft, it opted for an Eqrader and topper as well. “We realized there’s no such thing as easing into automation. We needed to make a big step forward,” says Bennett.
After assessing other suppliers, it decided Eqraft was the right fit. “I’ve heard good stories about Eqraft. It seems to be a solid company with great quality of equipment and a lot of engineering expertise,” says Bennett. “Another advantage was it could offer us a package deal. It helps us with where we feed the line to where we load the truck. As opposed to being in touch with several companies for each part of the process--this sounded very appealing to us.”
The new line is quite an investment but Bennett trusts it’s going to make a difference. “Once we put the numbers on paper and saw the return of investment, everybody was on board,” he says.
In all, Northwest Onion’s new line, currently being installed, will consist of an onion topper, an Eqrader and several packing machines. So far, the topper and Baxmatic are running with good results. “After that, we’ll install the Eqrader, which will probably start running next summer," says Nico Bredenhoff, project manager at Eqraft.
For more information:
Rutger Keurhorst
Eqraft
+31 527 256 130
[email protected]
www.eqraft.nl