Potato Processor Balances High Demand and Quality with Sorting Tech
Brazil-based Bem Brasil installed an integrated line with two stages of optical sorting to ensure maximum quality and yield at a high production volume.
The VERYX sorting equipment at Bem Brasil's facility enables full-surface inspection of potato strips.
Key Technology
Bem Brasil produces over half of all french fries consumed in its home country of Brazil, not to mention the international markets it serves. Meeting that production demand required equipment that would ensure consistent quality, so the company turned to Key Technology for a solution, the supplier says.
“We reached a point where our existing lines couldn’t keep up with demand for our products,” explains Célio Zero, Director of Operations at Bem Brasil, as the company produces around 500,000 metric tons of product each year. “On top of that, our incoming raw material can naturally vary several times in a single day, so we needed equipment that performed reliably even with those product shifts.”
To meet needs for both high output and consistent product quality, Bem Brasil installed a Key Technology processing line capable of running 30 metric tons of frozen potato strips each hour, with a layered sorting system to find and remove any defects.
“When we compared suppliers, Key stood out because they offered a fully integrated solution complete with world-class optical sorters, graders, and more. Full-surface inspection, quick changeovers, and straightforward operation help us achieve both the high capacity we require and the quality our customers expect,” Zero says.
A two-layer system of product inspection
Bem Brasil’s potato processing line relies on two unique sets of sorting equipment, one each for the wet and frozen areas, to help ensure consistent quality.
Starting with the upstream wet area, Bem Brasil installed three VERYX B210 sorters with off-axis cameras in a tilted-X configuration. This setup enables detection and rejection of any product defects without blind spots. Placing it early in the process creates a more uniform product stream for better performance down the production line.The company has VERYX sorting systems in both its wet and frozen areas to maximize product consistency.Key Technology
“The benefit of VERYX’s full-surface inspection is huge. Since defects can appear on any side of a potato strip, a complete view improves the precision of the sort and helps us achieve the great product quality we’re known for,” Zero says.
Further downstream in the frozen area before packaging, the company also installed three VERYX B175 sorters fitted with cameras and lasers, performing both three-way sorting and final inspection.
The frozen area system separates short potato strips into their own dedicated stream, while also removing any foreign material or product defects. Key’s Sort-to-Grade (STG) software evaluates the dimensions and quality profile of each strip, determining how they would impact the final product quality grade and accepting or rejecting based on that calculation for maximum yield. Further dialing in detection accuracy is Key’s Pixel Fusion technology, which can identify especially difficult-to-find foreign material and product defects ahead of packaging.
This two-stage inspection setup benefits quality assurance for the product as well as ease of use for operators.
“The interface is clear, the recipe changes are fast, and the equipment responds to the setting adjustments as expected,” says Zero. “That makes for a meaningful difference when we’re changing recipes several times a day.”
A full-line approach to quality and yield
Beyond the optical sorters, several additional components work together to support quality and yield across the potato processing line.
One key piece of equipment to improve yield is an ADR EXOS automatic defect removal system. The system is placed downstream of the wet-area VERYX sorters, and accepts defective strips rejected by the sorters. A mechanical cutting system removes only the blemished area of the product and returns good strips back to the line.
“Our ADR adds significant value,” says Zero. “It recovers good product that would otherwise be lost, and in the right conditions, has a substantial impact on our final yield.”The shakers on Key's Iso-Flo vibratory conveyors help to distribute product for precise sorting.Key Technology
Further upstream, three Sliver Sizer Removers before the wet-area VERYX sorters help create a cleaner product stream, rejecting small slivers and nubbins from the proper-sized strips.
Also supporting overall line efficiency are Key’s Iso-Flo vibratory conveyors. The shakers on the conveyors spread and distribute product and regulate flow between processing steps as they feed equipment, contributing to more precise sorting.
“Bem Brasil has a lot of future in front of it. We’re always looking for innovative equipment that enables us to push forward and maintain our position as an industry leader,” Zero says. “Key Technology helps us uphold the great product quality and consistency our customers expect. Since our new line reached full production in 2022, it has proven its effectiveness and reliability across every season. As we continue to grow, having Key as a trusted partner gives us a lot of confidence to tackle what’s next.”
The company has VERYX sorting systems in both its wet and frozen areas to maximize product consistency.Key Technology
