In the Netherlands , the IRISS hydrangea grader from 4More Technology ( 4MT ) has been run for about a year at Kwekerij Vicini . Before that , sorting was done entirely by hand . That is not strange ; that is the only direction it could be done . No machine could do the Book of Job , given the size of an average hydrangea grower . That was until the 4MT team got involved .
For most thinned flower growers , processing lines have been on the market place for age . These can , to a greater or less degree , take care of all the categorization , defoliating , cutting , bunching , and sleeving . Not so in cutting hydrangea . Johan Zwinkels said when he started it in 2004 , the mathematical product group was not the most forward-looking , and mechanisation in this area was not yet truly taken seriously .
Johan Zwinkels , Tim van der Elst and Wouter Vreugdenhil
These days , you still do not have flower in the winter , but aside from that , the market is quite unlike . It has grown considerably and reportedly has about 200 hectares . And with around 120 suppliers at Royal FloraHolland , it is competitive . Automation is needed , quality demand are mellow , and nothing is left to chance .
Eureka4MT is already well represented in the rose section and is a frontrunner in primarily vision engineering science . It saw those changes and , thus , pick up the ball and run with it . It is hard to hang a hydrangea , with its seasonally ever - deepen prime , from a bracket . You could manually sweep a radical in front of a television camera , but if you also want the machine to cut to duration and mechanically sort the bloom , you need a conveyor belted ammunition .
Why not lay it down and put it in the machine horizontally ? Because the electric-light bulb deforms , you may not measure its diam . The resolution : get the blossom enter the motorcar at an slant , and when the swath stops and the bulb hangs in a vacuum for a fraction of a 2d , take a picture . The stem then falls onto a horizontal belt running just below , is cut to length , and delivered to the right sort outlet .
Took some getting used toThat works . And that was what impressed Johan when he visualise a prototype . ' We must have that , ' he knew immediately , and so it was . Mid - season - " not the best sentence ; we had plenty of flower , " he state - the melodic line was installed . And after a chaotic day - " you expend your life story walking leave alone and then suddenly have to go powerful " - the agriculturist regained his posture .
But you have something to show for itThe advantages are apparent : labor savings , uniformity , and a calm process . " Everyone can sort , but no one can continue sharp all day ; that ’s simply inconceivable , " says Johan . He is also especially proud of with the physical process bodily structure . Tasks are clearly divided , so there is far less scrambling . And " you’re able to easily walk away from the machine . "
That is something the 4MT squad has heard from many other agriculturist , too . " They often do their own bunching because they want to have intercourse what goes out , and so have some command over the quality . Now you do n’t have that worry anymore , and you ’re innocent to do something else , " say the 4MT representatives .
Ready for the futureAfter Peeters Hortensia , Vicini is the second nursery with an IRISS Hortensia grader . Since its launch last yr , the engineering firm , which also offers its vision technology and logistics automation solution for other harvest , has sold just less than a dozen of them . For a baby’s room the size of Vicini ’s - two hectare , where , in high season , up to seven thousand stem are harvest per daytime - the machine has more than enough capacity .
' We could easily have ten hectares , " says Jack , Johan ’s Logos , enthusiastically . He formally and legally took over the company last week . That might be a little too ambitious , but he can put it to adept purpose with their 3.5 - hectare new nursery at a second location , to which father and son will move in a few months .
For more information : Kwekerij Vicini BVLangelandseweg 10 , 2631 PSNootdorp , the NetherlandsTel . : +31 ( 0 ) 625 218 110Email:[email protected]www.kwekerijvicini.nl
4More TechnologyNijverheidstraat 10 , 2751 GRMoerkapelle , the NetherlandsTel : +31 ( 0 ) 795 932 121Email : Wouter Vreugdenhil -[email protected]Email : Tim van der Elst -[email protected]www.4mt.nl
© FloralDaily.com/Geert Peeters
