After 160 years of innovation, the Paynter family show no sign of slowing down, deploying new technology into their business year after year. Technology in the field, in variety development or in their post-harvest facility has been a cornerstone to the longevity of The Yummy Fruit Company, and their apple packing robot is case in point as it passes the significant milestone of having packed 20 million apples.
As an early adopter to technology, The Yummy Fruit Company invested early in the very first Aporo robotic produce packing robot in New Zealand back in 2018.
“We could see that labour shortages were worsening, and this technology seemed a logical next step for our business,” explained Paul Paynter, General Manager of The Yummy Fruit Company and the fifth generation of the Paynter family growing, and marketing produce in New Zealand.
The Aporo robotic produce packer is designed and manufactured in New Zealand by Robotics Plus and distributed globally by Global Pac Technologies. Using a multi-head pick and place robot, the Aporo uses state of the art vision recognition technology to orientate apples optimally and then place them in trays without the need for manual labour. One robot can replace one or two employees and free that labour up for more important tasks in the pack house.
“It was really no surprise that the Paynter’s were the first to invest in this technology in New Zealand with their track record of innovation,” said Cameron McInness, Director of Global Pac Technologies.
“As usual, the Yummy Fruit Company was blazing a trail, and we now see hundreds of Aporo robots deployed around the globe packing millions and millions of apples per year, with no labour involved.”
Paul Paynter in his Hastings, New Zealand packhouse
As this first robot clocks up 20 million apples packed, another container of robots is being loaded for France as this New Zealand technology continues to provide relief to a globally restrained workforce and a planet that needs feeding.
