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The balance-sheet of Zetapack a few months after the launch of the sorter.

It has been a very positive year for Zetapack, a new company which is specialized in the production of grading machines for delicate fruit. "In a few months, we have sold seven processing lines. A result beyond our rosiest expectations. We knew we had a great product, and we thought it was dedicated to a few operators particularly shrewd, but actually there are many companies that want to provide the consumer fruits with a greater degree of ripening", explains the sales manager Nicola Antonacci.

Zetapack's first customers were Trybeca, Coop. Albifrutta, Azienda Agricola Giurset, Fogliati, Leonesi, Agrintesa and Frutas Pisón (see FreshPlaza of 10/17/2018). Next week, a grader will be delivered to Trifoglio.

"Thanks to our innovation, we are getting closer to that balance in which we meet the needs of logistics (shelf life) and those of the consumer, for ripe fruit" goes on the manager.



For example, for Abate pears, each fruit is carried by placing it on a sort of soft cushion that avoids any kickback or damage. Through the Zetapack grading machine, it is possible to work cold pears as soon as they come out of the cells.


The grading machine is circular. If a fruit is not picked up by the operator, it keeps going around until it is chosen. The loading phase is manual, so delicate fruits such as persimmons, pears (after a few months in the cell), ripe peaches, large apricots or nashi, do not deteriorate.

The unloading phase is manual as well, so the operator just needs to take the fruit from a cup of the belt and place it into the specific cavity. A tracking light allerts the operator when the fruit has the size required by the workstation. By the use of the software, and the degree of completeness that the customer desires for the sorter, the fruits can be divided by weight, size and color.


"Our aim is to bring the consumer as close as possible to good fruit, pleasing from an organoleptic point of view. To do this, it is necessary to collect it in the most advanced stage of maturity, on the edge between workability and conservation".


"Thanks to our sorter, fruits can be harvested riper than before, because the loading and unloading phases are carried out by hand, while the computerized system makes the selection following set parameters ", says Antonacci.

DIRECT LINK to the article reported by FRESH PLAZA.