TOMRA SORTING SOLUTIONS ready to shake up ASTA SEED EXPO

Two of food processing’s major global players are teaming up to demonstrate the latest developments in seed sorting at America’s largest seed industry conference in Chicago, December 7-11. Sorting systems manufacturer TOMRA Sorting Solutions - Food will showcase its ZEA sensor-based seed corn sorter alongside food processing machinery distributor A&K Development Company’s Shaker Feeder machine at ASTA Seed Expo 2015. TOMRA and A&K will be located next to each other in booths 600 and 601 respectively. A&K’s Shaker Feeder is specially designed to feeder corn seed into the ZEA sorter for an even distribution of product, which is an essential feature of the machine. Visitors to the booths will witness how the systems complement each other to ensure maximum efficiency, improved quality and reduced costs for processors where capacity, husk and defect sorts are critical. TOMRA’s ZEA optical sorter was the first of its kind in the North American seed corn industry and features a top and bottom viewing camera and an option for two or three-sorting streams. The machine scans the surface of each individual item ‘in flight’ by utilising top mounted color sensors to analyze for size, shape and color and NIR (Near Infra-Red) optical sensors seek out gross defects and foreign materials. Gentle product handling is also ensured due the ZEA’s innovative design features. First grade produce gently passes through the machine while second and third grades are redirected by intelligent paddle ejectors with precision and accuracy into individual streams. Karel Strubbe, sales manager for Americas and Oceania for TOMRA, says: “Showing the ZEA and Shaker Feeder together will give delegates the opportunity to see for themselves how versatile and efficient our respective machines are when combined. We have a long standing partnership with A&K, and ASTA Seed Expo provides us both with the ideal opportunity to demonstrate our technology together to existing and potential customers.” Premium irrigated hybrid seed corn provide, Lauber Seed Farms, is an existing customer of TOMRA Sorting Food and has recently installed a number of ZEA machines which have delivered significant business benefits. Click here to view the success story. For more information on TOMRA Sorting Food visit www.tomra.com/food   TOMRA Sorting Food TOMRA Sorting Food, formerly BEST and ODENBERG, designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting machines for the food industry. Over 5,000 systems are installed at food growers, packers and processers worldwide. The company provides high-performance optical sorters, graders, peeling and process analytics systems for nuts and seeds, dried fruits, potato products, fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood. The systems ensure an optimal quality and yield, resulting in increased productivity, throughput and an effective use of resources. TOMRA Sorting Food is part of TOMRA Sorting Solutions which also develops sensor-based systems for the recycling, mining and other industries. This powerful combination of technologies makes TOMRA Sorting one of the most advanced providers of sensor-based sorting solutions in the world, with over 10,500 of its systems installed globally. TOMRA Sorting is owned by Norwegian company TOMRA Systems ASA, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Founded in 1972, TOMRA Systems ASA has a turnover around €550m and employs over 2,400 people.