Fruit Attraction – Madrid, 12th November 2015
Unitec, a company specializing in the conception, design and development of technologies for the processing and quality classification of fruits and vegetables, will have a branch in Murcia and 12-13 people, including technicians and sales agents, that can respond with professionalism to the requests of all the main fruit and vegetables production areas of Spain.
“In Spain – said the sales director Raffaele Benedetti (in the photo below) to FreshPlaza at Fruit Attraction – there is a strong interest in innovation, varieties renewal and new crops. The strength of Madrid trade show lies in understanding that it is necessary to have a customer-oriented approach, tailored to each country. And that is what is happening.”
“In the Iberian Peninsula, Unitec installations for the selection and classification of fruits quality mainly process stone fruits, particularly cherries, but also cherry tomatoes.
With Cherry Vision 2, which is among the innovations selected for Pasarela Innova, great strides have been made in classifying internal and external defects of cherries. Many cherry producers all over the world have chosen this technology for their processing and today they have achieved important results in terms of profitability and quality selection of each fruit. Cherry Vision 2, for example, has enabled them to offer the market only reliable fruits, that is products characterized by homogeneous quality (color, shape, brix degree, degree of ripeness, etc.), that can ensure customer loyalty in the long run.
These innovative selection and quality classification technologies also allow packing houses to plan their export strategies in a targeted manner, taking the different needs of the target markets into account. The standardization of selection processes ensures the quality of the products that arrive on the market (even distant markets): only the fruits that can reach the most lucrative markets are selected, packaged and shipped. ”
“Today – said Benedetti – a concept of “quality” in the absolute sense does not exist. We can talk instead about a quality “perceived” by different types of end consumers. Who likes to eat fresh fruit, for example, considers fruits with a high brix degree as high quality products. Technologies are therefore the tool that ensures a consistent relationship between producers and consumers. They also help to avoid the disappointment that follows, for example, the lack of homogeneity between the products offered in different supplies.
“In Italy we are noticing that the operators of the industry are becoming increasingly aware of the difficulties of the country. The increased attention to technology investments is evident: now they are more focused on the search for quality and reliability.”
Hard times also have positive effects. According to the Unitec manager, the end result is a key factor in the relationship with customers. “You start to consider not only investment costs – concluded Benedetti – but also the importance of achieving a greater efficiency and the usefulness of technologies to packing houses business. And in doing so, the technology will pay for itself.”
Source: Freshplaza