MTS Giesenberg Uses Flikweert Vision DIVIDER Select to Streamline Potato Sorting in Arizona

MTS Giesenberg, a Dutch family business with operations in Groningen, the Netherlands, and Willcox, Arizona, has reduced its reliance on manual potato sorting after installing two DIVIDER Select optical sorting systems from Flikweert Vision at its Arizona operation.

Jos Giesenberg has managed the operation in Willcox since 2015. Potatoes are grown at an elevation of around 1,200 metres in a dry climate that helps keep disease pressure low, although irrigation is essential for production. MTS Giesenberg grows creamer potatoes starting from 18 mm. At this small size, potatoes, clods and stones can be very similar in size, making effective separation particularly challenging.

At the same time, finding enough people for manual sorting had become increasingly difficult. Giesenberg wanted to remove foreign material earlier in the process while reducing the number of people required on the sorting line.
 

Two DIVIDER Selects installed after receiving

To address these challenges, MTS Giesenberg installed two DIVIDER Select optical sorting systems from Flikweert Vision. The systems use industrial cameras to capture every object as it travels along the belt. The product remains stable on the belt during inspection, allowing the cameras to obtain clear images for analysis.

Flikweert Vision's AI-based software determines which objects belong in the potato flow and which should be removed. Individual ejection fingers are controlled separately to selectively remove clods, stones, foreign objects and potatoes with extreme defects.

This results in a cleaner and more manageable potato flow before the product continues through the handling process. 
 

Eight fewer people at the same capacity

According to Flikweert Vision, MTS Giesenberg now requires eight fewer people on the sorting line while maintaining the same capacity. Positioning the DIVIDER Select systems directly after the receiving hopper also allows foreign material to be removed early in the process. This gives Giesenberg greater control over the potatoes entering and leaving storage.

Jos Gijzenberg, Owner of MTS Gijzenberg

The potatoes consequently reach the boxes cleaner, while the operation requires fewer people and has greater control over product flow. For MTS Giesenberg, the installation also reflects a broader shift toward automation in potato handling. Jos Giesenberg expects optical sorting technology to take over more work currently performed manually in the future. 
 

Optical sorting technology for potatoes

Flikweert Vision develops optical sorting technology for the potato and onion sectors. Its DIVIDER Select is designed to remove foreign material and major product defects early in the handling process, reducing the amount of unwanted material that continues through subsequent stages.

Potatoes pass beneath the industrial cameras inside Flikweert Vision's DIVIDER Select, where AI-based software identifies foreign material and potatoes with extreme defects for removal

At MTS Giesenberg, the combination of industrial cameras, AI-based recognition and individually controlled ejection fingers allows the two systems to distinguish small potatoes from similarly sized stones, clods and other unwanted material.

The installation demonstrates how optical sorting can reduce dependence on manual labour while maintaining throughput and improving control over potato handling and storage.