The new company, born from the will of Unitec Group, will present an innovative technological system that allows operators to select different quality characteristics – internal and external – for each apple variety. As a result, costs are reduced, wastes are minimized, and packing houses are able to offer “customized” apples, designed to meet specific needs of consumption.
Bolzano, November 24, 2016 – Unisorting, the new company of Unitec Group, is taking part in Interpoma for the first time and is presenting Apples Sort, an innovative technological system for apple selection, that can revolutionize the market and open new business opportunities.
“As for cherries, our group has achieved a global leadership, but we think that apple market is strategic and this is why we decided to create an ad hoc company that can meet clients’ specific needs in a complete and customized way – explains Angelo Benedetti, President of Unitec Group, the company that owns 100% of Unisorting. “Our proprietary technologies ensure an accurate quality selection, preserving the integrity of apples during the entire production cycle – adds Angelo Benedetti – and this is why we are able to give a decisive push to the future of our clients’ business, which is something Unitec Group has been doing for years, on about forty products.”
Apples Sort Technology
This innovative system allows operators to set the different characteristics of each apple variety and consequently allows packing houses to sort products according to new parameters: exquisite and not. Besides typical parameters such as size, color and shape, now it is possible to detect also internal defects, i.e. pulp damages, hardness, Brix degree or skin defects derived from hail, bruises or parasites such as cochineal, etc.
“For each apple variety – explains Luca Benedetti, President of Unisorting – we have designed a specific software in order to meet any need. Our technologies are not limited to the selection of external or internal quality but cover all the production phases: from bins emptying to washing, from waxing to labeling, from automated packing to automated palletizing … just to name a few. Our systems can deal with pre-sizing and sizing, packing at the same time with different types of packaging. Therefore, they enable packing houses to reduce costs and increase the consistency of the quality they offer to the market and consumers.”
Zero waste and new market strategies
Sorting fruits according to their internal and external characteristics, while maintaining their integrity and offering “customized” apples for certain consumption occasions, thanks to Unisorting selection technologies: all of this allows packing houses to achieve two strategic objectives, previously unimaginable for the fruit and vegetable market.
On one hand there is a great reduction in fruit & vegetables waste, that in large-scale retail trade reaches values around 10% on the volume and on the other hand packing houses can now plan new market strategies, more attentive to specific consumers’ needs.
With Unisorting apples are “customized”
With Apples Sort technologies, packing houses will provide the market with high-quality products designed for specific consumption occasions (immediate or deferred) and for different types of consumers, generating higher profit margins in the future, since this differentiation does not exist now in the market.
“The concept of a perfect or ideal apple is not the same for everyone – explains Angelo Benedetti – because it depends on the use that the consumer intends to make of it at that time. For example, who prepares an apple pie does not care too much about external defects, but only about the sweetness of the fruit and the consistency of its pulp. Instead, a diabetic person who wants to have a fruit juice, only looks for a certain type of apple (juicy and low in sugar).”
