Key Technology, Inc. (KTEC), headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington, recently introduced Manta™, a new state-of-the-art high volume, high performance sorter. Manta, developed in response to a market need for improved production efficiency at higher capacities, is the company’s largest optical inspection system. This system extends the company’s family of sorters to meet a broad range of customer requirements.
Manta incorporates the company’s G6 processing platform and features a two-meter wide scan area that can process up to 27 metric tons (60,000 pounds) of processed vegetables or fruit per hour. While initial solutions target the needs of the processed vegetable and fruit industry, Manta is being developed for other industry applications as well. According to David Camp, president and CEO of Key Technology, Manta was delivered on-time to the marketplace within nine months, from concept to introduction.
Manta was designed for versatility, serviceability and sanitation. The company can configure Manta with up to eight top-mounted color or Vis/IR (visible infrared) cameras and up to two top-mounted FluoRaptor™ fluorescence-sensing lasers. Combining color and laser sorting on one platform provides the most comprehensive sort available today, maximizing product quality and food safety. A number of Manta systems are scheduled for installation for the 2008 processing season in locations around the world, said John Boutsikaris, Sr., vice president of sales and marketing. One of which is Bonduelle, one of the largest vegetable processors in Europe.
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