RJ Herbert Blog

• Herbert build quality and customer care helps secure major European order
• New washline incorporating 4m Barrel Washer for new customer in France
• Herbert work closely with customer to design bespoke washline system

Herbert Engineering has recently completed another major European installation, for a new washline incorporating a 4m Barrel Washer and specially adapted destoner in December 2011.  Herbert’s French distributor Filpack made the introduction of Herbert to potato packers Ets Gourgues, who were impressed by the build quality of Herbert’s machines and the high standard of customer care.

Ets Gourgues are potato packers based near Bordeaux, producing approximately supplying 20,000 – 25,000 tons of premium quality potatoes each year to French supermarket chains.  The new washline is a replacement and upgrade of an existing system, and will offer throughputs of between 15-17 tonnes per hour.  

Initially, Herbert arranged a site visit to two of their existing washlines in the Netherlands and Belgium, to demonstrate to Patrick Gourgues how the systems worked and could be adapted to suit the needs of different businesses.  Having seen the washlines in operation allowed the customer to work closely with Herbert to design the correct layout for their washline, and several options were looked at and revised drawings presented to Gourgues before the final decision was made.

The new washline incorporates a delivery elevator, delivering dirty potatoes into a specially adapted destoner, before they pass into a 4 meter Barrel Washer for cleaning.  Once the potatoes have been washed, they are dried via a 15 row roller drier and then moved onto a grader module where they are graded to remove smalls before passing over a continuous height conveyor. From here the potatoes are then run towards the sorting and packing areas.

Whilst much of the world’s economies are suffering, Poland is still enjoying a period of sustained growth and stability and many businesses are now enjoying opportunities for major investment, replacing old with new top end equipment. Mark Verschuren, managing director of Herbert’s European arm, Herbert BV, has been spending much of his time in Poland, working closely with companies, like GrupaKlimowicz.

Herbert have just installed a new carrot grading system for Klimowicz who are based in Paczyna. The system receives carrots in almost directly from the field, dry cleans, washes, polishes, grades and packs for Polish supermarkets. 

It was designed specifically to meet the requirements of the Polish fresh food market, Mark worked closely with Klimowicz throughout the design process.        

Based on the standard practices for handling carrots throughout Europe, it incorporates a standard Herbert barrel washer. Much of the design work, though, went into the handling and cleaning up of the waste and water. Soil adhesion is high so Klimowicz needed a new design of treatment tank that could both remove the solids, treat the water which is removed and sent off site for recycling, rather than disposed of through main drainage.

Lead time was also extremely tight: just eight to nine weeks from placing of the order to starting on site. It was challenging but Herbert made it in time: probably one of the shortest lead times ever, an achievement that Herbert’s commercial manager, Andy Hubble, described as “phenomenal”.

He said: “This is a major commitment for Klimowicz. We have worked with them to design and produce one of the most-up-to-date systems in Europe that includes electronic grading, robotic systems and auto-palletising too, as well as being able to meet growing environmental needs for the efficient handling and disposing of waste.”

In 40 years, Herbert Engineering has grown from the inspired idea of a highly gifted young engineer, working on the family farm, to a multi-million pound business, designing and building market leading handling systems for industries as diverse as agricultural, fresh pack, food processing, materials handling, waste management, airport and logistics.

That highly gifted engineer is Rod Herbert who today, 40 years on, still plays an active role in the business as chairman, with his son, Nick, managing director and daughter Jo, marketing director.

Rod in the Field

Even as a child and without training, Rod discovered he was proficient in 3D drawings. He had a passion for engineering and ‘making things’ and, when at school at Duncan Hall in Great Yarmouth, where he rose to head boy, he was able to finely hone his innate skills in technical drawing under the guiding hand of a teacher who had spent the war designing superchargers for Rolls Royce.

In the 1970s, the family farm grew mainly potatoes. Harvesting was always a challenge in the heavy soil of the Fens and clods were a recurring problem. The harvesters on the market were inefficient and the on-farm systems to remove clods did not work well enough for Rod and his father. Inflexible manufacturers were not prepared to modify their machines to suit customers’ requirements.

So Rod took the bull by the horns and decided to design and build his own potato grader and spent two weeks over Christmas in 1971 working on the drawings, before building the machine himself. Rod discovered that, with all the clods being 45 – 50mm, if he could take the larger potatoes away from the clods, it was easier to remove the clods. Rod’s invention worked and the Multi-Grader was born, the early machine processing 10 tons of potatoes per hour, four times quicker than other machines on the market.

Rod realised that by building machines that met the needs of growers, he had a ready market. Herbert Engineering was born and, in 1972, after selling the prototype machine to the family farm, the first Multi-Graders, then powered by a 5 h.p. Briggs & Stratton petrol engine, were sold to local farmers Fred Deptford and Bill Langley

By the end of 1976, with 16 people employed, Herbert Engineering, established in buildings on the farm at Marshland St James on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border, was producing 24 Multi-Graders per year for growers all over the country

While the machine changed little throughout the 70s, except the motor switching from petrol to electric, sales were growing and, by the early 1980s, Rod was developing both the business and the machines. The Herbert philosophy was, and remains, to be flexible to the requirements of the customer – an area where other manufacturers failed. With a demand for faster grading, bigger combination graders were launched, with a modular design that could also incorporate hoppers and elevators, which was exactly what the market was looking for, East Riding Produce buying three machines straightaway. Herbert Engineering’s reputation was growing and by 1982, the company was producing one grader a week.

Meanwhile, the company was moving into packhouse installations: their first a potato grading system for David Johnson at Floods Ferry (now part of Greenvale); in 1990, they built the £750,000 plant at MBM in March which was to become the precursor to large grading plants constructed in later years, culminating in 2001 in the building of what is still Europe’s largest packhouse at Albert Bartlett & Co at Airdrie near Glasgow.

By the mid 90s, work started on the design of the first electronic graders, which were to become the mainstay of the business in years to come and by the start of the new millennium, robotics for the handling of bags and pre-packs and more integrated systems were introduced.

Potatoes remained at the heart of Herbert’s business but the expertise gained in grading and sorting was now encompassing other vegetables with the development in 2003 of the first cabbage de-butting, de-leaving and de-coring system.

This decade saw an expansion into Europe and the opening of Herbert’s office in The Netherlands in 2004 and the introduction of further grading and sorting machines and the building of the biggest carrot and parsnip facility in the country for Alfred Bartlett in Chatteris.

And it was a year later that the business took on a totally new market. Herbert Systems was founded in 2005 to produce baggage handling systems for the airport and logistics sector and, again, it was Rod Herbert’s natural engineering instinct and entrepreneurial skill that came to the fore. Passing through an airport, Rod was delayed as a result of a breakdown in the baggage conveyor belt, which was to take two hours to fix and which caused huge delays at the airport. Within months, he and his team had developed an endless belt system that could be changed within 10 minutes and were presenting it to a delighted airport operator who immediately recognised Herbert as innovators. The system immediately went on trial and has since led to the installation of multiple baggage handling systems and over 400 conveyors in airports the world over.

Today, Herbert’s engineering expertise spans the globe. The introduction in 2010 of infra-red sorting technology for improved grading has seen the launch of improved, faster machines. Growth into European markets has been phenomenal. With a highly skilled design team and the rapid development of 3D modelling, walk through models of installations can be produced, which means customers can see accurate representations and machinery can be despatched in pieces for on site assembly all round the world.

2012, Herbert’s 40th year sees the introduction of a raft of new products for the agriculture and fresh pack sectors as well as a rapid expansion in airports. It enters its fifth decade with an excellent, skilled and dedicated team, market leading systems, a global presence and an exciting future ahead.

With product launches taking place throughout the year at trade events, 2012 is set to be another exciting year for the company. As Rod Herbert says: “Innovation and flexibility remain key to our success whilst always retaining high quality, robust machinery – built stronger to last longer”. With this attitude evident throughout the business in every department, attention to detail and a forward thinking approach will confidently secure the company’s future for another forty years.

“I always had an interest in engineering at school and was always top of the class in technical drawing. My mentor was my TD teacher who had designed superchargers for Rolls Royce during the war.”

Rod Herbert

Founder and Chairman

UK-based Herbert Engineering, the leaders in handling systems for the agricultural and fresh pack industries, are kicking off their milestone 40th anniversary year with a stand at this year’s Fruit Logistica, where they will be offering visitors the chance to find out more about their innovative new product launches for 2012.  The show takes place from 8th – 10th February in Berlin and Herbert Engineering will be showcasing two of their eagerly awaited products in Hall 3.1, stand D-11.

Fruit Logistica Stand

The first of these products is the Herbert Ultra-Wash, the latest potato washer from Herbert that allows the crop to be effectively cleaned without submersion in dirty water. Born out of a joint development project with leading potato packers Greenvale who tasked Herbert with the challenge to develop a specialist washer to complement their award winning Cascade Water Treatment System. The Ultra-Wash works in conjunction with a continual water treatment system, which feeds in large volumes of clean, cool water. This allows the crop to be washed without being submerged in increasingly dirty water.

The system works by blasting the tubers with jets of water as they are rotated.

The potatoes are gently tipped into water and subjected to a ‘whirl pool’ type pre-clean as they are moved forward by adjustable jets. Stones and clods are immediately separated while sludge and debris are removed out of the side of the system, as the potatoes are flumed into the barrels. A jet wash provides a final clean and excellent bacterial hygiene, before passing over a highly efficient drying system.

Herbert are also showcasing the Variclean, their new cleaner separator, which has been designed to work with all of Herbert’s Contractor grading systems, or as a standalone machine. It incorporates the very latest in technological developments that combine improved cleaning of crops with gentler handling for reduced crop damage.

The Variclean features four soft foam filled plastic fluted rollers and four ebonite or steel clod rollers. The speed of the rollers can be varied, with separate speed and height controls for the clod rollers, which can also be easily reversed.

Each clod roller rotates around the circumference of the adjacent fluted roller. This unique ‘constant geometry’ design maintains a consistent gap and pressure in every cleaning position.

Herbert are also celebrating both their product launches and their anniversary with a ‘Win an iPad’ competition, which visitors to Fruit Logistica can enter by visiting their stand.

With 40 years of industry expertise and a highly talented experienced staff, Herbert is a leading expert in British and European post-harvest root crop operations. Marketing director, Jo Herbert, said: “Ensuring that quality comes as standard is a promise that we deliver throughout our business and, at Herbert, our priority is to provide a first class solution from concept through to completion whatever the changing need of the market demands.

“This year, we’re incredibly proud to be celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the formation of the company this year and we look forward to welcoming old and new friends to our stand. Herbert has been engineering solutions for growers and packers for four decades and today has earned its place as one of the world’s foremost companies in innovative handling and packing solutions.”

New Variclean

The flexibility and range of adjustments means the Variclean is equally effective with virtually all soil types and a wide range of crops, including potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, turnips and celeriac.

The Variclean comes in widths ranging from 900mm to 2400mm and from four to 12 rows.

Marketing director, Jo Herbert, said: “Continual development of post harvest cleaners for effective soil, clod and stone removal in all weather conditions remains a key focus for Herbert.”

In 2012, Herbert Engineering will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary and launching a record number of new products. From the early days of serving growers, originally in post harvest on field grading to, more recently, electronic grading for processors, Herbert’s ties with the potato industry have remained strong and become the backbone for the business.

Auto Sort 2012

Herbert Engineering, the leaders in handling systems for the agricultural, process and fresh pack industries, is set to launch a new Auto-Sort defect detection system for potatoes early in 2012.

Key improvements to Herbert’s top-selling Auto-Sort include easier operation and cleaning, and it’s redesign to be suitable for use with peeled produce. The Auto-Sort enables very quick and highly effective grading of potatoes, using high-speed infrared cameras to produce images. Specialist software then analyses these images to enable this system to sort the crop by quality and size, based on a pre-determined criteria.

The new Auto-Sort incorporates a new simple user interface, infrared camera technology as standard, unique maintenance friendly features and an increased hygienic build to satisfy the process industry. Its redesign makes it a more aesthetically pleasing machine while its smaller footprint means it is also space saving and easier to integrate into existing factory layouts. Using 360° product rotation capability, the Auto-Sort can sort up to 36 tonnes of fresh produce per hour with up to 95% accuracy, even with a high percentage of waste.    

In 2012, Herbert Engineering will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary and launching a record number of new products. From the early days of serving growers, originally in post harvest on field grading to, more recently, electronic grading for processors, Herbert’s ties with the potato industry have remained strong and become the backbone for the business.

Herbert Engineering, the leaders in handling systems for the agricultural and fresh pack industries, is announcing the launch of Ultra-Wash, the potato washer that allows the crop to be effectively cleaned without submersion in dirty water, at British Potato 2011.

The Ultra-Wash System

The new Herbert Ultra-Wash was born out of a joint development project with Greenvale who tasked Herbert with the challenge to develop a specialist washer to complement their award winning Cascade Water Treatment System. The new Herbert Ultra-Wash contains all of the excellent features from this design project.  The Ultra-Wash works in conjunction with a continual water treatment system, which makes available large volumes of clean, cool water. This allows the crop to be washed without being submerged in increasingly dirty water.

The system works by blasting the tubers with jets of water as they are rotated. The barrel of the Ultra-Wash, which has a completely smooth inner surface, has no spiral, but is pitched at an angle, meaning that it is very gentle on the crop.

The potatoes are gently tipped into water and subjected to ‘whirl pool’ type pre-clean as they are moved forward by adjustable jets in this tank. Stones and clods are immediately separated while sludge and floating objects and debris are removed out of the side of the system, as the potatoes are flumed into the barrels. A jet wash provides a final clean and excellent bacterial hygiene, before passing over a highly efficient drying system.

Hydraulic tilting barrels and a motorised drier emptying blade keep downtime to a minimum when changing varieties. All the components are mounted over an integral tank system, giving a ‘dry floor’ solution, full stainless construction, fully enclosed by see through doors allowing safe operation and easy maintenance.

In 2012, Herbert Engineering will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary and launching a record number of new products. From the early days of serving growers, originally in post harvest on field grading to, more recently, electronic grading for processors, Herbert’s ties with the potato industry have remained strong and become the backbone for the business.

New Coil Cleaner Plus

Herbert Engineering, the leaders in handling systems for the agricultural and fresh pack industries, will be announcing its most innovative coil cleaner yet at British Potato 2011 with the official launch at LAMMA 2012. The new Coilcleaner Plus spiral cleaner moves the crop continuously, separating loose soil, clods and small potatoes from the main crop.

 The Coilcleaner Plus features several key innovations, which increases its cleaning effectiveness, as well as providing easier maintenance. A core difference is the key components are made of polyurethane instead of steel,  providing a better cleaning action.  The CoilCleaner Plus also uses a split drive system, which enables every other coil to be driven at an independent speed, giving a more flexible cleaning action, holding crop to ensure effective cleaning. The module is designed to be used with a Herbert standard interchange mechanism and can be easily fitted in place of another cleaner to suit the conditions. Herbert is the only supplier to offer this unique interchange design on its graders.

 In 2012, Herbert Engineering will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary and launching a record number of new products. From the early days of serving growers, originally in post harvest on field grading to, more recently, electronic grading for processors, Herbert’s ties with the root crop industry have remained strong and become the backbone for the business.

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