Having bought a sorting machine for their plant in Corella, Navarre, back in 2017, BS Cocinados, were already familiar with the efficiency of the TOMRA 5B, a top-of-the-range vegetable, potato and fruit sorting machine. This time, at their plant in Funes, they needed to enhance the quality of the peeled and sliced potatoes used in Spanish omelettes, eliminating defects of any kind.
Hilario Zapata, Director of Operations at BS Cocinados, tells us about the new project: “By opening this new plant, which involves an €18 million investment and 150 new direct jobs – not to mention indirect jobs – the company will increase its production capacity by 30%. We will also be able to access international markets thanks to the exclusive cutting-edge technology we have bought, such as the latest version of the TOMRA 5B. By using this sorting machine, we know we are offering the best product on the market.”
BS Cocinados contacted TOMRA through Luciano Aguilar, the TOMRA Food distributor in Spain for vegetables. Julián Peraira, Technician and Sales Engineer for Luciano Aguilar, says: “In light of the successful incorporation of the TOMRA 5B optical belt sorting machine at the Corella plant in 2017, and the consequent improvements in sorting compared to their previous supplier, BS Cocinados came back to us looking for the same solution as two years ago: removal of defects, mainly around the edges, in the sliced potato. By buying this new machine they are guaranteed to produce a zero-defect potato: no green skin and no rotten or dented potatoes.”
TOMRA 5B: precision and innovation
The TOMRA 5B sorting machine is at the top of the charts in potato and vegetable processing industries around the world. Even so, TOMRA is always striving to improve and has launched a new version of the machine with extra features which further enhance its efficiency.
“The machine at the Funes plant has a new and more robust chassis that houses the whole air solenoid valve system, protecting the valves from any cleaning processes. Lateral safety grilles have also been installed to facilitate access for cleaning and for quicker dismantling if necessary,” explain sources at Luciano Aguilar.
Aside from these enhancements, the sorting machine comes with the same features as always, ensuring ease of use and unsurpassable precision. TOMRA’s smart all-around viewing technology with 4K multi-angle high-resolution cameras allows 360° scanning and zooming-in to find even the tiniest defects. Its flexible set-up provides more accuracy when expelling foreign objects from the products, minimizing false rejects of good product, increasing production, and reducing waste. There is also the option of combining laser technology and cameras in the same chassis, as if they were two in-line sorting machines.
TOMRA also offers custom-designed machine components, and the option of updating existing machines with newer optical technology. Julián Peraira explains: “We have made mechanical improvements to the TOMRA 5B at Corella, installed two years ago, adding the latest version Cronos program version which has extra interface features that make the machine easier to use.”
Hilario Zapata, Operations Manager at BS Cocinados, adds: “The TOMRA 5B machines fully meet our expectations. I would highlight the brand’s reliability, which aligns perfectly with our goal at BS Cocinados, S.L.: first-rate quality and excellence for our products.”
Alejandro Palacios, Area Sales Manager for Spain and Portugal, at TOMRA Food, concludes: “It makes TOMRA immensely happy to know that a client like BS Cocinados, S.L., who produce a typical Spanish product – the tortilla de patata – have placed their trust in us for the second time. The fact that the TOMRA 5B can detect millimetre-sized black spots around the edges of the potato slices improves the appearance of their product and allows the company to stand out from its competitors.”
