Made for sorting potatoes by the grower: the new TOMRA 3A improves on the Field Potato Sorter (FPS)

TOMRA Food has introduced the TOMRA 3A sensor-based sorting machine for potatoes and other freshly harvested root crops, offering potato growers unrivalled sorting capabilities, dependability, and affordability.

The TOMRA 3A replaces the FPS (Field Potato Sorter) machine with which TOMRA first entered this specialised sector seven years ago and has been developed in light of customer feedback and experience accumulated during this time.

The sorter is typically used at the entrance to a potato storage shed, where it provides a final clean-up immediately after the freshly harvested crop has passed through a mechanical grader and soil removal equipment.

The sorter employs an in-flight inspection and ejection process to detect and remove stones, soil clods and other debris from the incoming product.

The TOMRA 3A is designed to operate at high capacity, because of the time pressures of short harvesting seasons, and to gently move the product without risk of damaging or bruising it.

Ease of use extends also to serviceability. Improved accessibility of the ejector mechanism allows customers to order and replace parts themselves. New LED lights ensure long life, with no need for annual replacement.

All these new sensor technologies have made it possible to move the camera further away from the product sorting zone, greatly reducing the need for cleaning the camera so that machine uptime is maximized and the crop is more quickly moved to storage.

The space needed for storage is reduced because foreign materials and poor-quality potatoes are so efficiently removed. Moreover, the farmer is empowered to supply customers with the highest-quality product, confidently meeting agreed specifications.

Jim Frost commented:

“Real-world field validations of the TOMRA 3A with farmers in Ireland and France, sorting fresh-pack and processed potatoes, have proven the great capabilities and reliability of this machine.”

“Every one of the farmers who tried the TOMRA 3A wants it!”

“We expect the TOMRA 3A to be popular with all potato growers and packhouses worldwide and to increase TOMRA’s presence in this sector in the USA.”

The TOMRA 3A will be shown publicly for the first time on September 4th and 5th at the Potato Europe exhibition in Tournai (Kain), Belgium, on TOMRA’s stand, booth 16.