Sackett Ranch, a partner to a prominent potato chip producer since the 1960s, placed their trust in TOMRA sorters to help meet strict quality guidelines for potatoes. Since its investment in the TOMRA 3A and the TOMRA 5A potato sorting technology, Sackett Ranch has increased the quality of the potatoes delivered to the potato chip processing plant.
Before, when we used to ship in the morning until 10-10:30, I had to wait for employees. Now, with TOMRA, we gain an additional three hours without personnel delays—enabling us to perform three processes: shipping, storing, and cleaning the product, all with minimal manual labor and no downtime waiting for personnel.
Potato chip processors have strict guidelines that each of their potato growers must meet. They have a mandatory 2% percentage of green, undersized, oversized, and external defects that their spuds must meet before shipping to the plants.
With the TOMRA 3A optical sorter, Sackett Ranch effectively eliminates foreign material, stones, corn cobs, dirt clods, and green potatoes directly from the field. This ensures that the potatoes are free of foreign material before being stored. The TOMRA 5A is used for a final inspection, categorizing the potatoes by size and quality while removing the green and undesirable potatoes to within the two percent threshold.
Luke Parr, the Farm Manager at Sackett Ranch, praises the TOMRA 3A and TOMRA 5A systems for being user-friendly. He mentions, "Both systems are easy to use, sharing the same user interface for seamless programming and adjustments, whether for soil, color, or texture." The TOMRA sorters have simplified data retrieval, enabling Luke to easily access size profiles, per-field statistics, bin details, and percentages of green or foreign materials directly from the sorter screens.
TOMRA optical sorters solved labor shortages at Sackett Ranch, earning praise from Luke Parr for their game-changing impact and exceptional service. They improved farm productivity and overall success. Since integrating TOMRA sorters, Sackett Ranch has maintained uninterrupted operations. The TOMRA 3A has surpassed initial expectations by efficiently sorting more potatoes than anticipated, running at high capacities of up to 100 tons/hr (120 short tons/hr).
Reflecting on the positive changes, Luke Parr states, "Before, when we used to ship in the morning until 10-10:30, I had to wait for employees. Now, with TOMRA, we gain an additional three hours without personnel delays—enabling us to perform three processes: shipping, storing, and cleaning the product, all with minimal manual labor and no downtime waiting for personnel."
Sackett Ranch's partnership with TOMRA has exceeded expectations, from effortless setup to exceptional service. Parr notes, “They [TOMRA] understand that we can't be down when we need to be running." The farm manager genuinely recommends TOMRA sorters to fellow farmers, highlighting the simplicity of the entire process facilitated by a singular point of contact and commendable service personnel.
