BEST opens Sorting Solution Center, launches two free-fall sorters

BEST opened its fourth BEST Sorting Solution Center (BSSC) at its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. 

The center enables business prospects and customers to test the company’s sorting solutions in an environment that simulates their production process.

The company uses products of the customer to demonstrate the efficiency of its sorters, allowing the client to evaluate the results before investing.

Besides the new center, the company has two innovation centers in Leuven, Belgium, one in Denver, US and one in Hanghzou, China. 

BEST has more than 20 machines available in the different locations.

The company has also introduced the next generation free fall sorters, the Opus and the Nimbus sorter.

Nimbus is a laser/camera sorting solution that combines the efficiency of the laser detection on foreign material, together with the accuracy of the camera detecting discolorations and shape differences in free-fall.

The sorter detects color, structure, size and shape defects from a stream of good products.

It can also sort based on biological characteristics, such as chlorophyll, mycotoxins and water.

The Opus is a free-fall modular camera and laser sorter with a small footprint and the ideal inspection width (one meter) to integrate in an individually quick frozen fruit or vegetable packing line.

It is a modular system, with single or double sided camera and laser combinations.

The sorter features the new high resolution BEST camera that can be combined with shortwave infra red (SWIR) technology.

The camera has an adapted spectrum for optical sorting and industrial high quality lenses with an advanced focusing system.

The laser configuration is the optimal solution to detect foreign material among good products.

Using the SWIR technology, water based products such as frozen fruit and vegetables absorbing the light, and difficult defects such as wood and plastic reflecting it, are detected.