Although the visitor numbers at this year’s Fruit Logistica 2022 were noticeably lower than in previous years, the globally active family-owned company KRONEN is satisfied with its participation in the trade show. Visitors to its stand were particularly interested in innovations such as its fully automated, networked salad processing line, which was presented in the virtual showroom, and the live demonstration of the Convenience Avocado Line.

Visitors from around 40 countries were interested in the new and well-established solutions of the food machinery manufacturer from the German town of Kehl, which was represented by its international team with members from around 20 countries at its booth at the event. In typical KRONEN style, the company presented live demonstrations of the machines and their salad, fruit and vegetable processing functions. A new feature that celebrated its premiere at this year’s trade show was the virtual showroom, in which KRONEN demonstrated its latest innovations. “We are delighted to finally establish personal contact with the industry after such a long break from events. It was clear that this year’s Fruit Logistica would still attract fewer visitors, but we are pleased with our presentation and the contacts we were able to make,” states the spokesman of the KRONEN Board of Management Stephan Zillgith. “The innovative salad processing line in the virtual showroom attracted particular interest, as did the Convenience Avocado Line, which we demonstrated for the first time at a trade show, and proven KRONEN classics such as the GS 10-2 belt cutting machine.”

New trade show highlights from A to Z: Avocado processing with a robotics option, washing, dewatering, cutting and packaging

One of the highlights of KRONEN’s presentation was showcasing its semi-automatic Convenience Avocado Line, which is optimized for gently and efficiently peeling, halving and pitting up to 4,800 avocados per hour, at a trade show for the first time. KRONEN also used the virtual showroom to present the fully automated robotics solution that it has developed for processing the delicate fruit. The main advantages of this solution include the maximum hygiene and reliability of the robot, which remains unaffected by even cold temperature ranges, thus minimizing the risk of failure. The robotics option also offers impressive flexibility and planning because the robot can be used for as long as required and processes a fixed quantity of fruit that can be planned in advance.

Another solution that celebrated its trade show debut was the DEW 200 dewatering press, which is used to remove excess liquid from products such as canned mushrooms and pickled or thawed vegetables with a capacity of up to 1,600 kg/h, as well as the further development of the MINI form, fill and seal packaging machine from the KRONEN partner GKS Packaging, which was also represented at the booth. The compact MINI was redesigned in 2021 and can pack a wide variety of packaging sizes – bag widths of 40 to 160 mm and unlimited bag lengths – with a capacity of up to 65 bags per minute. The fact that the MINI can also process small bag widths makes it particularly suitable for packaging ingredients and accompanying products such as croutons, rocket, salad dressing or mustard.

Another live trade show premiere showcased the semi-automatic PDS4L for coring and segmenting up to 3,360 peppers per hour, which was launched on the market in 2021. The machine enables two to three people to process up to 750 kg of bell peppers per hour. Using the PDS4L therefore means that at least two to three fewer people are required for product preparation. The peppers can be halved and optionally quartered by the machine. With its optimized operation, the system guarantees perfect cutting quality and a yield of around 85%, depending on the bell pepper variety and quality.

In addition to the machines at its booth, KRONEN also presented its latest developments in the virtual showroom, including:

• its innovative processing line for up to 1,000 kg of baby leaf lettuce and the corresponding quantity of mixed lettuce, which is networked and boasts state-of-the-art technology, sets new standards in the field of hygiene in particular and also features integrated new and further developments such as the K850 drying system, the GEWA AF pre-washing machine and the GEWA XL helical washing machine
• the GEWA AF pre-washing machine with the new “Active Flume” washing system, which is suitable for large capacities of, for example, up to 1,500 kg of baby leaf lettuce, up to 3,000 kg of iceberg lettuce or up to 1,000 kg of baby spinach per hour and is optimized in terms of hygiene and low water consumption

• the KRONEN CITROCIDE® washing system, an effective and organic-certified solution for the hygienization of products and process water, which is an alternative to chlorine-based disinfection and also significantly reduces water consumption
• the Chicory Root Cutter, which cuts up to 4,800 pieces per hour efficiently, safely and with perfect cutting quality

Visitors were also able to re-experience many KRONEN classics live at the booth in 2022: the DECONWA Prep for the hygienization of whole fruits and whole vegetables, the GS10-2 belt cutting machine, the KUJ V cube, strip & slice cutting machine, the KS-100 Plus and KS-7 ECO spin-dryers, the AS4 and AS6 apple peeling and slicing machines, the PL40-4K potato peeling machine, the AMS220 pineapple and melon peeler and many more.