Mayor of Manizales, Colombia, visits Compac development facility in fact-finding mission on its industry-leading postharvest technologies

Mayor Cardona’s visit to the COMPAC facility, organized with the support of New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the country’s international business development agency, is part of a fact-finding mission about best practices and technologies capable of supporting the development of Colombia’s horticulture sector, as well as education and tourism. The meetings focused on how Compac and its partners in Colombia can help the region’s horticulture sector grow and take advantage of global markets. A key area of interest was improving postharvest operations to enable high-quality export produce. The horticulture sector is key to the economy of Manizales and the Caldas department, which is Colombia’s second largest producer of Hass avocado with 33% of its total production. Caldas is also part of the country’s coffee region, known as the ‘Eje Cafetero’ (coffee-growing axis), and is developing its production of mangoes, citrus and stone fruit. Under Mr Cardona’s mayorship, Manizales won the Municipality Award in the Colombian President Duque’s Public Service Excellence Awards in December 2018. After the visit, Mayor Cardona stated: “The visit to Compac was very informative and valuable.  On the one hand, it clearly showed New Zealand’s technological and industrial development. On the other hand, it has enabled us to understand the extended agroindustrial model where the processes to guarantee product quality rely on technological equipment, which becomes a strategic partner in the process.” Compac is well placed to support Mr Cardona’s efforts to develop the region’s horticulture sector with its postharvest solutions. Having entered the Colombian market in 2018 through an association with Agrosermaq, a company based in Medellín specialising in postharvest operations, it has already supplied multiple sorting and grading solutions. This approach, which leverages a local partner in a best-of-breed model, enables Compac to meet the specific requirements of each country. Compac’s most recent project was delivered to Westfalia Fruit Colombia for its plant in Sonsón, in the department of Antioquia. The facility, which was inaugurated in January 2019, is the largest and most advanced avocado processing plant in the country and features Compac’s latest industry-leading grading and sorting technologies. This project has already received recognition for its contribution to the local community through job creation and increased tax revenue for this rural town. “The solution Compac installed at the Westfalia Fruit Colombia facility is at the cutting edge of sorting and grading technology and was developed to meet the requirements of their large-scale operation,” explained Jacinto Trigo, Compac Latin America Regional Director. “However, Compac works with operations of all sizes. We are able to supply solutions for small and medium postharvest operations that fit their initial requirements and provide a platform to grow alongside the company and meet future export opportunities. All these solutions ensure the consistently high quality of product and optimise grading precision. Together with the high quality after sales service that Compac is able to deliver, our technology enables operators to meet their postharvest processing capacity requirements, minimise waste, and ensure their customers’ satisfaction.” Advanced technology and tailored approach to meet every requirementCompac approaches its relationship with its customers as a partnership aimed at designing a tailor-made solution that will meet their specific requirements. Configurations of the Compac Single Lane Sorter (SLS) have been developed specifically to meet the requirements of South American markets. They offer an entry-level solution with lower start-up costs that provide a platform for the operation to grow and increase capacity to meet future demand. For the larger scale operations, its Multi Lane Sorting (MLS) systems ensure the highest processing capacities. The advanced Inspectra2 system uses Compac’s non-invasive, near-infrared (NIR) technology for testing the internal properties of the produce and deliver consistently high grading accuracy. Compac also offers Spectrim, the most powerful optical sorting platform in the industry, developed to address the industry challenges of sorting produce, adding value to packed crops and reducing complexity of operation – all with increased operation efficiency. Compac to present its solutions at key industry events in ColombiaCompac remains committed to the Colombian market and continues to innovate to ensure that it can meet specific needs of the market. The company is exploring with central and local authorities, Chambers of Commerce and industry groups opportunities to collaborate in programmes involving farmers’ associations and postharvest operators with the aim of developing Colombia’s horticulture sector and helping local producers to take advantage of the global markets. Compac will also be present with a stand in the horticulture pavilion at Agrofuturo, the most important industry events that will take place this year in Medellin, Colombia, from 19-21 September. During the show, the company will highlight the benefits of its technology for the horticulture sector and its ability to create value that can contribute to better outcomes for local communities. Compac is also sponsoring the World Avocado Congress, which will take place also in Medellin from 23-27 September, where it will present the latest advances in its dry matter technology on its stand. About Compac & TOMRA FoodCompac provides integrated postharvest solutions and services to the global fresh produce industry using the world’s most advanced grading technology. Combining industry leading solutions with award-winning grading platforms like Spectrim, the company’s mission is to enable its customers to improve returns, gain operational efficiencies, and ensure a safe food supply via smart, usable technologies. To achieve this, Compac operates centers of excellence, regional offices and manufacturing locations within the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia. For further information about Compac, please see www.compacsort.com. Compac is member of the TOMRA Group that was founded on innovation in 1972 that began with design, manufacture and sale of reverse vending machines (RVMs) for automated collection of used beverage containers. Today TOMRA provides technology-led solutions that enable the circular economy with advanced collection and sorting systems that optimize resource recovery and minimize waste in the food, recycling and mining industries. TOMRA has ~100,000 installations in over 80 markets worldwide and had total revenues of ~8.6 billion NOK in 2018. The Group employs ~4,000 globally and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: TOM). For further information about TOMRA, please see www.tomra.com Pictures1. From left to right Ken Moynihan, Compac´s CEO and José Octavio Cardona, Mayor of Manizales2. From left to right Tim Marshall, Compac Product Marketing Manager and José Octavio Cardona, Mayor of Manizales3. From left to right José Octavio Cardona, Mayor of Manizales & Ian Norton, Compac, and Tim Marshall, Compac4. Compac´s factory tour and walk through5. Westfalia plant in Colombia equipped with Compac during opening