Compac, a member of the TOMRA Food family, and its ICOEL and Sardas components faced demanding situations when the COVID-19 pandemic struck while ready to ship and install 3 turnkey cherry filling and packaging lines in Turkey and a fourth in Uzbekistan.
They oversperformed the unprecedented scenario with countries under lockdown, restrictions and disruptions in cargo logistics to complete all 4 projects on time. This achievement required all the ingenuity of the groups involved in the facility, who took credit for Compac’s global supply chain and its excessive operation. Flexibility.
The 4 lines, supplied with Compac’s InVision2 electronic file platform, were operational for the start of the cherry season and operated to the satisfaction of the respective customers. With its new calibration and packaging lines of Compac, Perla Fruit, Karaali, Unifrutti in Turkey and Uz-Segang in Uzbekistan ended the season with resounding success, receiving positive feedback from its customers.
In a cherry season like no other before, Compac, its distributor ICOEL and Turkish agent Sardas have demonstrated how even the toughest pitfalls can be overcome through smart teamwork and original thinking. Its main projects in Turkey and Uzbekistan, the installation of 4 Turnkey sorting and packaging lines totaling 42 InVision2 lanes during the pandemic, are fair examples of their ingenuity and determination to help their consumers succeed.
Careful planning and a global footprint for the programmed implementation “The COVID-19 pandemic represented an unforeseen challenge point, with significant restrictions on the movement of other people and materials,” says Roberto Ricci, Regional Director of Compac EMENA. “Despite the situation, we deliver in full and on time. How did we do that? First, through careful logistics in making plans with our spouse ICOEL, we have leveraged our global supply chain and logistical capabilities. »
All Compac InVision2 appliances for the 4 projects produced at the Compac plant in New Zealand and the TOMRA Food production plant in Slovakia. The company’s global business footprint, which also includes a plant in China, gives it the scale and flexibility to execute projects around the world well, even in the complex scenario created by the pandemic. All devices for the 4 projects were delivered at each site in time to begin the installation and be able to start the cherry season.
A rating for the non-easy Pearl Fruit, Karaali and Unifrutti markets in Turkey and Uz-Segang in Uzbekistan are primary exporters serving some of the non-easy peak markets as cherries, such as China.
Turkey, the world’s leading cherry manufacturer with just over 25% of the world market, has made the strategic selection of expanding its export market and focusing on the most in-demand types of sweet cherries. Between 2005 and 2016 alone, its production of sweet cherries Perla Fruit, founded in 2019 through a circle of relatives of pioneers who put the Turkish cherry industry on the map, effectively closed its first season exporting more than 4000 tons to the markets of Europe, the Far East and Karaali, a circle of family-owned companies founded in 1992 , has an annual export capacity of about 3,000 tonnes, most of which go to the Russian market. Unifrutti, a well-known Italian fruit exporter, established its base in Turkey in 1991 and began operating its new cherry sorting and packaging plant this season, processing 3,000 tonnes for the European market.
Uzbekistan is a fast-growing market, already the fifth largest cherry producer in the world. The government is making a strong investment and making significant efforts to expand its fruit and vegetable exports. It recently signed a protocol with China for the source of cherries for the market and has initiated negotiations with South Korea to facilitate exports. Its proximity to China, the world’s largest cherry import market, is attracting the interest of Turkish cherry exporting companies, which see it as a platform to succeed in a giant group of new customers. . Uz-Segang grows fruits, vegetables and legumes in the fertile land of the Fergana Valley. It basically exports to the Chinese market, making the profits of being located in just 3. 5 days by truck and in South Korea.
The 4 corporations chose Compac for their calibration and packaging plants for the high quality of the product they could offer their consumers with their technology Compac has carefully analyzed their respective desires and developed responses tailored for each of them, all with their InVision2 Platform: The InVision2 platform achieves an incredibly accurate and consistent classification of size, shape , color and imperfections with a rugged combination of color and infrared imaging technologies, controlled lighting and cherry rotation. Together with his partners ICOEL and Sardas, he installed a 16-Lane Formula at Perla Fruit, 10 lanes in Karaali and Unifrutti, and 6 lanes in Uz-Segang.
Remote installation with 24-hour virtual assistance Travel restrictions and countries blocked due to Covid-19 were a challenge not only for the shipment of equipment, but also for the Compac team to succeed in all 4 sites. Roberto Ricci explains: “We have leveraged our remote control service functions with resources located to cover all continents and time zones. These remote resources allowed us to supply literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to the 3 separate technical groups that were on the floor to install and launch the 4 lines. »
“Yes, it was 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, due to time zones,” adds Mustafa Sakarya, senior director of Sardas, a Compac agent in Turkey, who ran all 4 facilities. Compac controlled all 4 projects from its base in New Zealand, ed. through its U. S. -based teams, it is not the only one that has beenItaly-based importer, ICOEL. ” It’s been a tough year, but we’ve made a lot of profit. We understood that we can handle the lack of other people on the site with Smart RemoteArray. We have shown that we can perform installations completely remotely. »
Success also required close collaboration with customers, who provided rapid broadband connectivity in packaging centers. “We also asked them to install cameras in the package so that we can track them 24 hours a day and see the progress of the mechanical and electronic installation. “Mustafa Sakarya explains.
“We also use a little creativity to trump the logistical limitations of advertising flights to Uzbekistan,” adds Roberto Ricci. “With the help of Uzbekistan’s ambassador to Rome, Uz-Segang received permission to bring ICOEL technicians to the country and chartered a personal flight for them, in fact, the most exclusive shipping mode the technical team has ever known!The consumer organized the accommodation and arranged a meal at the packer for the six ICOEL employees, who never left the site within nearly four weeks of assignment to comply with blocking and distance rules.
The customer’s determination to launch this year’s cherry season in the new line coincided with that of Compac and his partners, who did their best to deliver the result they wanted. His efforts were rewarded when the facility was honored through the official scale at the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, on June 5.
A successful cherry season for all four lines was commissioned on time and they were able to start in mid-May, when the season begins, but this year, however, the season was a little overdue and the cherries began to arrive. of the box at Pearl Fruit and Uz-Segang the week of May 25, and in Karaali and Unifrutti a week later.
“The cherry season began and consumers had to run their machines, we were running day and night until installation, but they all had their lines running on time,” says Mustafa Sakarya.
All 4 corporations have effectively finished the season and report staggering effects compared to other systems in terms of packaging quality and power of the sorting process. “They have gained very intelligent comments about the incredible quality of their packaging in comparison with other suppliers, either from their vendors and stores, as well as from the quality ones that bear fruit in the warehouse before entering the distribution chain”, concludes Roberto Ricci.
For more information: Marijke Bellemans TOMRA Food, Compac and BBC Technologies T: 32 (0) 16 28 17E: marijke. bellemans@tomra. comwww. tomra. com/food
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