When looking at conveying solutions, the most important consideration for the majority of potato storage customers is reliability. The conveying process, like all industrial processes, is strictly related to efficiency, so having a robust design that requires little maintenance is a high priority. Customers also look for equipment that can adhere to rigorous sanitation standards.

Equipment manufacturers GRIMME, AVR, Tong and DeWulf/Miedema shared with Potato Business Digital some of the most common demands and requirements they get from their clients, as well as their vision for future developments of conveying equipment.

Customization Options

GRIMME’s SL store loaders are available in different belt lengths and widths, to meet the farmers’ specific demands, regarding throughput and maximum reach. The SC, TC and LC conveyors are also available in different belt lengths, to fit in every handling line. “All of our conveyors are electro-hydraulically driven, which allows an infinitely adjustable belt speed and therefore always a perfect adaption to the crop flow. Surely, there is a rising demand for higher transport capacity. High belt speeds often increase the transport capacity, but also the risk of crop damages, especially during the fast transfer from one conveyor to the next. Therefore, the belts in the GRIMME conveyors are V-shaped, to carry a high volume per meter. This allows a high throughput with low operating speeds and ensures a high crop protection. Additionally, the V-shaped belts form active sidewalls, to avoid any skin damages of the crop,” says Simon Schmitz, GRIMME product specialist, Potato Equipment.

Specialized conveying systems can also be used to help unload the product from a belt trailer into the receiving hopper more efficiently and in a more product-friendly way. For this purpose, Dewulf launched its MF 15x last year, the company told us.

For the transport and storing of unwashed potatoes, conveyor belts made out of PVC or rubber are both used. PVC is light, strong, flexible, anti-static and is less prone to the sticking of soil. Rubber belts offer a higher durability and can cope better with low temperatures, compared to PVC. “The heavy-duty nature of a conveying system depends on the brand and the system’s purpose. Our plug-and-play Miedema conveying systems for unwashed product are made with heavy-duty work in mind,” said DeWulf representatives.

You can read the rest of this article in the Autumn Issue of Potato Business Digital magazine, which you can access by clicking here.