1. Q. What degree of accuracy
does the machine give?
2. Q. Who uses the asparagus
graders?
3. Q. Does the machine
save labour?
4. Q. How many people
are required to operate a machine?
5. Q. What are the main
advantages of these machines?
6. Q. What is the delivery
time for a new machine?
7. Q. What production
figures can be expected?
8. Q. Can the ORAKA machine
grade white asparagus?
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1. Q. What degree of
accuracy does the machine give ?
A. At present the machine
measures diameter to within 1mm and bunch weights to within 5%.
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2. Q. Who uses the
asparagus graders ?
A. There are about 60 of
our asparagus graders in 10 countries. They are used in countries with high
labour costs such as the USA and Australia, and in countries with low labour
cost such as Mexico, Peru and the Philippines.
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3. Q. Does the machine
save labour?
A. Yes, our customers
report labour savings of between 30 and 50%. A cost of 0.03 manhours per
packed kg or 30kg (66 pounds) per manhour are easily achievable with most
asparagus. This is calculated counting all packhouse staff including
supervisors, cool room staff, forkdrivers etc.
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4. Q. How many
people are required to operate a machine?
A.
A machine can be operated with as few as 6 people but for full production a
team of up to 20 can be used. About 15 is a typical number.
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5. Q. What are the
main advantages of these machines?
A. The main advantages
apart from labour saving are the accuracy and consistency obtained
when compared with human grading.
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6. Q. What is the delivery
time for a new machine?
A. Approximately 8
weeks plus shipping time.
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7. Q. What production
figures can be expected?
A. Our machines currently
run at 12 cups per second. A cupfill rate of better than 80% should be easily
achieved and at that rate, if the average spear weight is 20 grams, the
throughput will be 690 kilogrammes (1520 pounds) per hour and if 30 grams,
1050kg (2310 pounds) per hour. Most crops fall between these two figures
although results in excess of 1500kg per hour are easily achieved on European
white asparagus.
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8. Q. Can the ORAKA
machine grade white asparagus?
A. Yes, we use the latest
in colour cameras to grade white spears. We are achieving excellent results
on both colour and maturity with white crop in Europe.
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