La Huerta can save sort settings to memory on its machine, helping to ensure consistent results and reduce changeover time. The company also reassigned four workers who previously performed manual inspection on the line to other jobs at the plant.
Key Technology
La Huerta is a leading processor of frozen fruits and vegetables in Mexico. Founded in 1957 with only a rented ranch and two trucks, this family-owned business has grown to hold a 65% market share in Mexico while also distributing its products in over 10 countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Japan. The company currently employs more than 2,300 workers.
At La Huerta’s 359,072-sq-ft production plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, visual inspection of products on the line was done manually for many years, with several workers handling that difficult and time-consuming task of examining a variety of vegetables as they moved down the line. Labor was not always consistently available as well.
As a result, La Huerta decided to purchase a VERYX optical sorter from Key Technology for their IQF vegetable processing line in 2022 to help automate this labor-intensive process while maintaining their stringent food safety standards.
Key custom designed La Huerta’s sorter to inspect cauliflower, broccoli (pictured), onion, cactus, pepper, carrots, green beans and more, which come in various cuts and forms, including raw and steamed.Key Technology
“People aren’t very consistent—inevitably they get tired and start making mistakes. Optical sorters, in comparison, are extremely effective and objective, even during our round-the-clock operation. We knew it was time to invest in more automation,” says Carlos Gutierrez, CEO at La Huerta. “This was a big decision for us, and we spent a long time researching different sorting systems. There aren’t many that can handle the huge variety of products we have and consistently meet our product quality requirements.”
Once the machine was integrated into La Huerta’s line, it made an immediate impact on the entire operation. “We’ve been able to reallocate four workers per shift who were previously performing visual inspection on this line to other roles in the plant, all while enhancing our product quality,” says Claudia Picazo, manufacturing manager at La Huerta. “At the same time, the machine has improved our sort accuracy in other ways. It has reduced the volume of good product in the reject stream, so we’re recirculating 35% less than we used to in order to recover good product.”
Mario Gutierrez, Purchasing Manager at La Huerta, adds, “We’ve been using Key’s vibratory conveyors for over 20 years, so we worked closely with them to determine the best technology for our IQF processing line.”
Precision placement
The sensors on La Huerta’s optical sorter are positioned on the front and back of the product stream to view each object in-air. “One reason we chose [this machine] is that it can be configured to achieve all-sided surface inspection with no blind spots,” says Mario Gutierrez. “Other sorters we looked at inspected product from one side only so they couldn’t see all the defects. Ours looks at every single object from both sides to deliver a more accurate sort.”
The optical sorter is installed on the line just after the freezer on La Huerta’s IQF vegetable production line. Operating 24 hours a day, six days a week, this line handles 20,000 lbs of vegetables every hour, on average. Key custom designed La Huerta’s sorter to inspect cauliflower, broccoli, onion, cactus, pepper, carrots, green beans and more, which come in various cuts and forms, including raw and steamed.
The sensors on La Huerta’s optical sorter are positioned on the front and back of the product stream to view each object in-air, and achieve all-sided surface inspection with no blind spots.Key Technology
“We process 12 types of vegetables on this line, along with many subcategories of each,” says Jisel Betancourt, process engineer at La Huerta. “On top of that, the same vegetable can present a variety of distinct characteristics, depending on the region or season it’s grown in. All these differences demand unique sort settings, so we rely on [our sorter’s] recipe-driven operation to achieve the product quality we’re looking for.”
Hygienic design
La Huerta saves sort settings to memory on the machine, helping to ensure consistent results and reducing changeover time. “Our product runs can be as short as 30 minutes, so we’re changing over our sorter a lot,” Picazo says. “We simply select the correct recipe on the touchscreen control panel and then, if necessary, make a few small adjustments based on the specific batch. The whole thing takes less than five minutes, followed by a quick wipe down to remove product residue.”
Luis Picazo, project manager at La Huerta, adds, “Cleaning and sanitation, in general, are very important to us. We have specific requirements we need to meet to maintain our certifications, so before we purchased this machine, we confirmed with Key that our certified cleaning procedure would work with this sorter. Fortunately, they gave us the green light,” he explains. “Per our sanitation protocol, we stop the entire line to deep clean all the equipment every 24 hours. Our sorter gets a washdown with soap, sanitizing spray and water. It’s both easy and effective.”
Accurate sorting
“One of our favorite capabilities on this machine is it maintains great sort performance over hours of continuous operation, since we can’t afford to stop the line,” says Betancourt. “We run tests twice a day to confirm it’s accurately rejecting foreign material and defects, and it always passes every test, no problem.”
La Huerta’s sorter is also equipped with Key’s remote software, which enables a two-way remote session between the sorter and a Key service technician to simplify diagnostics and speed support. “When we were first ramping up, we used it a few times for troubleshooting minor issues. It was much easier and faster than having Key send an in-person technician,” says Carlos Gutierrez.
“At the end of the day, our new sorter gives us more peace of mind,” Carlos Gutierrez concludes. “This first sorter was really a test to see how well it works for us. Safe to say, it’s been a big success, and now we’re in the process of purchasing an additional Key sorter for another processing line.”
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Key custom designed La Huerta’s sorter to inspect cauliflower, broccoli (pictured), onion, cactus, pepper, carrots, green beans and more, which come in various cuts and forms, including raw and steamed.Key Technology
