Have you seen Compac’s DVD?  If not, ask your local sales rep or email us at  info@compacsort.com

Apply now for a password to view the customer area of www.compacsort.com and have online access to:
- Compac Parts Catalogue - Upgrade information - Service information - New features available

www.compacsort.com has been fully translated into Italian, Spanish and French. These languages are easily accessible from anywhere on the site.

Freecall numbers are available for customers to access the Compac Service Teams in Australia and the USA.

Australia Free Call:
1800 682 857

USA Free Call:  
1877 402 1755

Deborah Dunn & Lindsay Anderson

At the heart of Compac's Service Dept

FRUIT LOGISTICA
4 - 6 February 2009
Berlin
GERMANY

WORLD AG EXPO
10 - 12 February 2009
Tulare    CA
USA 

PMA AUSTRALIA
25 - 28 June 2009
Sydney
AUSTRALIA

ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA
2 - 4 September 2009
HONG KONG

PMA Fresh Summit
2 - 5 October 2009
Anaheim, CA 
USA

MAC FRUT
7 - 9 October 2009
Cesena
ITALY

ANUGA
10 - 14 October 2009
Cologne
GERMANY

Taste Tech's NIR cameras

From everyone at Compac, we wish you a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Pohutukawa Flowers from the NZ Christmas Tree

Gilbert Pedraza

Compac's new Southern California & Mexico Sales Representative

Nick Cooper

New Business Manager
- Taste Technologies

For the last Compac Innovations Newsletter
click here.

For past Compac Innovations click here.

If you'd like to contribute any information or have any comments please forward them to info@compacsort.com

Compac Wins Largest Project
Hands Down

Despite the current global slowdown Compac has just won its largest project to date. Propal, Chile's largest avocado producer and no. two in lemons, has chosen Compac to supply a full turnkey produce handling and packing solution valued at over US$7.8mill. After a rigorous evaluation process Compac's Vision technology used for defect detection and grading by color and shape, outperformed the competition on every count.

Dave Buys, Compac's Sales Director who flew to Chile to sign the contract in October, says "Compac's leading edge smart technology, expertise in produce handling solutions, and inventive, can-do attitude were instrumental in winning this contract. It was a real team effort by Compac's sales staff based in Chile and Uruguay, supported by our large team of design and development engineers in New Zealand."

Apart from supplying a 10 lane pre-sorting system with Compac InVision 9000CIR sorting technology, Compac will be installing 5 independent packing lines with new Rapid Packs, Weighing Box Fillers, Pack Printing and a produce traceability system.

Compac Takes 50% Stake in
Fruit Handling Systems

Compac has recently purchased 50% of Hawkes Bay-based  Fruit Handling Systems, specialists in fruit handling equipment such as bin fillers, conveyors, in-feed systems and robotics. Compac's General Manager Bob Shaw says, "Compac and Fruit Handling Systems manufacture complementary products so the acquisition is a good strategic move that combines the strengths of the two companies." This enables Compac to expand it's product range quickly and now offer full turnkey solutions.

Compac Changes Colours

Over the next few months Compac will change its equipment colors from the old dark Brown/grey and Cream/grey to a smarter cleaner looking combination of Dark Grey for all base framing, legs & side panels; and a new Light Grey for the upper panels.

Chelan Fruit

Large Washington State apple packer Chelan Fruit has been waxing lyrical about their recent installation of a Compac 10 lane pre-grading system. Replacing two 8 lane pre-graders the Compac system with InVision 9000CIR technology (weight, color, external defect and internal blemish) is operating 50% faster with greater grading accuracy, resulting in significant production efficiencies. They also use Compac's new Pack Printing software to control all their bin ticket printing.

Compac's focus on simplifying the User Interface has meant that within one week of training Chelan's blemish operators could confidently make system changes. With followup training and on going experience they can now operate the system self sufficiently.

Dale Davis, Chelan's Operations Manager was full of praise for Compac's NZ installation team. "Nothing was a problem for your guys. If the quality of the installation is anything to go by we have every confidence that the line will run very well." 

Two months after commissioning Reggie Collins, Chelan's General Manager, visited Compac on our stand at the PMA and had only 2 words to describe the performance of their Compac machine - "Outstanding, Exceptional". "We are achieving 50% more throughput with less people than we used on our old line."

A First For South Africa

The first blemish grading technology is currently being installed at Goede Hoope Citrus, one of South Africa's largest orange packers. Replacing an older mechanical system, the two Compac 8 lane Pre-graders with InVision 9000CIR (color, dimension, blemish and weight sorting), and two 8 lane Commit-to-Pack lines with InVision 5000 (color and dimension grading), are due to be commissioned by mid April 09. They will grade 90MT of oranges per hour. As exporters of citrus Goede Hoope chose a Compac system to achieve increased consistency in their grading and more accurate packs.

Compac is having a strong year of growth in South Africa with a number of new citrus commissions planned for early 2009.

TasteMark™ Takes Off in the USA
Contributed by Nick Cooper
- Taste Technologies Ltd

Taste Tech's ability to sort produce by internal characteristics has seen a sharp increase in demand globally for NIR (Near Infra-Red). Sales over the past 12 months have allowed Taste Tech to research new ways of using NIR to benefit the industry. One such project currently underway is to sort produce based on internal flesh color. Current results are promising.

The TasteMark™ quality assurance label on fruit continues to grow throughout the USA. Currently more than 10 major retail stores actively market TasteMark™ labelled fruit. With demand for the TasteMark™ fruit at an all time high, our biggest challenge is finding enough growers to supply the demand created by the TasteMark™ label.

SAGE PMA - Washington
TasteMark™ has made all the difference in the world to our apple program.  Customers that promote the TasteMark™ Brand and use the benefits it provides have always seen an increase in their sales.  Customers actually come back to the stores when the TasteMark™ season is over and ask to have the apples back in their stores.  Now customers actually look forward to the TasteMark™ Apple Season.

New Carton Handling System Significantly Reduces Labor

Two New Zealand kiwifruit packhouses Seeka Transpack and OPAC in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will soon be using Compac's latest Carton Handling Technology.

After a year of concentrated R&D Compac's new Carton Handling System links several major technology developments to provide a system that reduces labor requirements significantly.

Initially designed for the kiwifruit industry this new system automatically feeds boxes to a bank of Gentle Box Fillers.  After filling, a vibration unit gently settles the fruit into the box. Full boxes are removed and fed onto the main conveyor then transported to the first person in the system who folds in the plastic liner and closes the box lid.

Where previously 1 operator was required to close and label boxes from each pair of Gentle Box Filling units, this system only requires 2 people for every 10-12 box fillers, 3 people for 12 or more, reducing labor requirements by 3-4 units.

Each box is automatically weighed, labeled using Compac's new Pack Printing Software, and tracked throughout the entire process using Compac's new Traceability Software. The boxes are then automatically conveyed to the palletising area.

The system has been designed to be modular with components available in varying lengths with optional chain, roller or belt conveyors so it can be adapted to any size area or configuration. 

For further information contact your local sales office.

Gentle Box Filler Range Expands

The Gentle Box Filler, designed to minimize damage as fruit is gently transferred from conveyor to box, is now available in three models to accommodate a wider range of produce and box sizes. (Medium, Medium-tall, Large).  

There are now 105 GBF units successfully operating in New Zealand packing kiwifruit with a further 50 to be installed within the next two months. A further 18 are in Califrornia at Wawona packing stone fruit, and four Large model GBFs are in Georgia packing onions. All these units are controlled by the Compac sizer.

This month a NEW second generation Weighing Box Filler will be installed in NZ at Jonny Appleseed and in March a further 16 units will be installed at Propal in Chile. This stand-alone Box Filler independently weighs and controls the flow of fruit eliminating the need for alternating fruit delivery. It enables one outlet per pack type.

For further information contact your local Compac sales representative.

Wawona Reaps the Benefits

Earlier this year California stonefruit packer Wawona  installed 18 medium Gentle Box Fillers to pack their utility grade of nectarines, peaches and plums. Director of Maintenance and Engineering, Bob Dorn says, "The units work really well and we like the very gentle method of delivery. Significant savings have been made through reducing staff numbers by 30 packers who previously did the same job manually. Already our investment has paid off."

"But equally important", says Bob, "are Compac's support and service teams. The guys in California are really great, their service is excellent. No other company has the same commitment and service level as Compac. I know as I've worked with them all. Compac are the absolute BEST. Also the New Zealand installation and service techs are great to work with, really excellent. We know them all - when they walk into our packhouse they just feel like family!"

New Compac 2060 H Carrier           Just released

The new 2060 H Carrier with a regular 90mm roller is now available to use on Compac MLS sizers. This new carrier is only used with the heavier duty C2060 chain and is pitched at 114.3mm (4.5in.) It enables sorting of larger fruit varieties up to 150mm such as grapefruit, pomegranates, large onions and avocados. The minimum size for rotation is 50mm. For more information on Compac's carrier range, speak to your local Compac sales office.

Pack Printing
Compac has developed pack printing software that interfaces with thermal label printers, bar code machines  and the customer's own database. Connected to the sizer software it notifies when the packs are complete and enables pack labels, wholesale pack tickets and bin tickets to be automatically generated (or manually if required). Operators can update batch information and print reports all in real time. This software can be used with Compac's new Carton Handling system which significantly reduces the number of printer units required.

Already Chelan Fruit in WA, USA, and Taddei in Australia are successfully utilizing this software. In 09, Superpak in Australia, and Propal in Chile will implement Compac's Pack Printing systems.

Blemish Detection
Significant improvements in Compac's apple blemish detection include:
    • Increased accuracy of blemish detection
    • Use on a wider range of apple varieties
    • More user friendly Operator Interface

Ethernet Ready Systems Make Integration Easy

Installation is underway of 2 DLS (Dual Lane Sizers) for Superpak in Australia. These are the first Ethernet Ready systems that are completely wired and fully automated, ready to plug into the main power supply and site network. The Ethernet connection on the machine can be plugged into a SCADA (Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition) system or a HMI touch screen display panel.

The main benefits of the system are:
• It can be easily integrated into a larger system
• It is possible to have multiple machines interfacing with a single SCADA system
• Control, automation and fault logging over a network connection
• The sizer can operate independently - be self contained if required

Around the world in Compac's Sales Team:

Australia
Grant Konias – new Australia Market Manager
Southern California & Mexico
Gilbert Pedraza – Area Sales Manager
Europe - Compac Sorma
Diego Tapparelli - new General Manager
Taste Technologies Ltd
Nick Cooper -  new Business Manager
 

With record sales over the past year 2008 has been a busy year for Compac's Service Team.

Parts Catalogue
The Parts Catalogue has been updated with more parts, more photos and better descriptions for part identification. If you require a new Parts Catalogue please contact your local sales office.

Pre-Season Service Bookings
We are fast approaching one of the busiest times of the year for the New Zealand service team as the local Apple and Kiwifruit seasons begin. If you require pre-season services please contact your local service team to secure a booking.

Bay of Plenty - Paul Carroll         07 573 0202 
Hawkes Bay - Alan Mouat           021 503 307 
South Island - Jamie McConnell   021 790 932 

New Staff
Dinesh Dias - Auckland Tech - welcome back after 18 months away
Warren Garton - Auckland Tech
Alby Barton - Australian Mechanical Service (Shepparton, Vic.)
Hayden Pond - Hawkes Bay Service Tech
Manuel Alvarez - California Service Tech
Robert Michalk - California Service Tech
Nathan Fudge - California Service Apprentice
William Jolly - California Mechanical Service Tech

Service team Changes
South Island, NZ
Jamie McConnell has moved to the Nelson area and is now Compac's South Island Service Technician.

Australia
Ben Aldridge has taken over as our Australian Service team leader based in Shepparton, Vic.
Australia now has a full time Mechanical Service person - Alby Barton, based in Shepparton, Vic.

There are currently 2 Used Compac machines available:

1. Compac Single Lane Weight & Color Sorter - Australia
2. Compac 6 Lane Apple Sorter - weight, color & dimension grading – Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Compac Model C Carriers - black (second hand) - 10,000 units

For more information see Compac's website or contact your local sales office.