J. Haig Hamilton & Sons, a leading Scottish potato grower, recently chose to upgrade their potato grading operations with Tong Engineering’s flagship Caretaker mobile grader.

With the latest equipment advancements including increased automation, upgraded cleaning capabilities, and improved energy efficiency with Tong’s Blue-Inverter all-electric direct drive technology, Haig Hamilton could see that investing in the latest technologies would bring significant savings in labor, time, and costs.

“Our old Caretaker from Tong was reaching 11 years old, and whilst it remained very reliable, the new models of the Caretaker have progressed so much,” Haig Hamilton declared. “[…] When the time came to upgrade our grader, we knew that Tong would deliver the advanced, custom-built solution that we were looking for.”

Featuring a high-capacity infeed hopper, the Caretaker grading system specified for Haig Hamilton incorporates an 8-row model of Tong’s industry-leading EasyClean separator, complete with full Auto-Touch HMI control, for unrivaled cleaning and control in all conditions as well as advanced diagnostics. A 2400mm wide Tong EasyGrade screen grading module carefully grades crop before it passes over a 6-Man LED-lit inspection area and is then gently transferred to boxes via Tong’s best-selling Midi EasyFill box filler.

“Our new Caretaker is configured exactly to our specification,” Hamilton added. “Going from a 4-row cleaner to the 8-row EasyClean means we are now able to double our processing capacity when required, but it’s the automation that is making all the difference. Being based in Scotland, changeable weather is usually one of our biggest challenges, although this year has been unusually dry, the Tong Auto-Touch HMI control system is extremely advanced and easy to use; at the touch of a button, all adjustments to the cleaner’s settings are completely automatic. Most notably, the automatic high-speed cleaning function is incredible! We can schedule it to take place at set intervals, or in relatively dry conditions as we have at the moment, we set it to run at the end of each day. Within seconds dirt is removed from the EasyClean and it is ready for the next day’s work.”

A Real Understanding

Speaking about Tong’s partnership with J. Haig Hamilton & Sons, the supplier’s sales manager, Nick Woodcock, said that having worked with the Hamilton family for many years, there is a real understanding of their dedication to producing crops to the highest standards.

“Their new Caretaker features our most advanced options, and we have even taken their bespoke configuration a step further by designing some additional, unique features which have truly encompassed their most specific requirements. These features include an electric remote-controlled retractable canopy and an in-built water supply for EasyClean’s spray bars. They have left no stone unturned in specifying a highly advanced machine for the most efficient handling,” Woodcock mentioned.

Last but not least, Hamilton said that Tong’s attention to detail in the design and build of every aspect, from the advanced controls to the heavy-duty construction and quality engineering, does not go unnoticed.

“We are delighted with every feature of our new Caretaker, which has completely streamlined our potato grading process,” Hamilton concluded.