Technology

LEMKEN launches modern production facility for crop care technology

The new LEMKEN Competence Center Crop Care has been built at the Dutch site in Dinteloord. (Image source: LEMKEN)

The new LEMKEN Competence Centre Crop Care was constructed in Dinteloord (near Rotterdam) in the Netherlands in February 2023

Within a record-breaking nine months, as early as October 2023, the largest construction phase for the production department was put into operation and the first LEMKEN blue hoeing machines were delivered to customers. With the construction of the new factory, LEMKEN has fully integrated the hoeing technology it acquired from Steketee in 2018 into its own brand world.

In the following months, everything from the offices to the cafeteria and the façades were completed and occupied. Dinteloord specialises in the development and production of crop care technology. It will also be home to the Competence Center Crop Care for farmers, experts and universities, which will form part of the global network of LEMKEN sites. For this purpose, a sophisticated technical auditorium has been built next to the AgroForum exhibition area, where events and training courses can be held in an optimal environment.

Production is divided into three areas:

- The manufacturing area: This includes the manufacturing and preparation of parts for the paint line.

- The warehouse: Pre-produced parts and components from suppliers are received and stored in the warehouse.

- Pre-assembly and assembly areas: Assembly takes place in these areas. The plant is set up for stationary assembly and currently has eight assembly stations, which can be expanded as required to accommodate larger machines. Free-floating cranes offer maximum flexibility.

The final inspection which involves two fully equipped test stations ensures the quality and functionality of each machine prior to leaving the factory.

“The new LEMKEN factory in Dinteloord stands for innovation, efficiency and sustainability in the agricultural machinery industry and will play a central role in meeting our customers’ future requirements," said partner Nicola Lemken. "We are therefore very excited about its opening."

Thulit MF/1200: LEMKEN's new innovative weeder harrow

The Thulit MF/1200 harrow which is now available in small quantities, will start its series production in March 2025. (Image source: LEMKEN)

LEMKEN presents Thulit MF/1200, its first weeder harrow with more than 12 m working width

The new model is based on the innovative properties of the Thulit MF product series launched last year. The design with four bars and eight rows of harrow tines and hydraulic tine pressure adjustment is unique on the market. The tine pressure can be continuously adjusted from 100 g to 5,000 g across the entire width during travel and remains constant at every setting – for optimum and reliable work results.

The new Thulit MF/1200 comprises five harrow sections, with various folding options available for different applications. For greater ground clearance at the headland, LEMKEN offers the option of folding the weeder harrow into a V position. To do this, the outer folding segments are angled slightly upwards to prevent the tools from coming into contact with the ground. For convenient and safe road transport, the weeder harrow can be folded in on both sides to a transport height of 3.3 m. The automatic transport locking system is active in all variants, making manual intervention a thing of the past.

For the frame, LEMKEN uses torsion-resistant support profiles that guarantees both stability and low weight. The frame design with six support wheels at the front, distributed across the entire working width, has an extremely positive effect on the smooth running of the machine and thus on the guidance of the harrow tines to the soil surface. The Thulit MF/1200 can additionally be operated as a rigid implement or with ground contour adjustment.

Customers opting for the rigid frame will not need the optional support wheels behind the side panels. If the individual working sections of the weeder harrow are to follow the soil horizon at all times, the Thulit must be equipped with additional rear support wheels. This ensures maximum flexibility and perfect working results on hilly terrain. Precisely adjustable trailing harrows on the rear support wheels eradicate wheel marks and leave loosened weeds on the soil surface to dry out.

The Thulit MF/1200 harrow which is now available in small quantities, will start its series production in March 2025.

Helios AI launches new platform to boost agrifood supply chain resiliency

CommodiTrack is a dynamic, interactive platform that allows users to track, forecast and strategise to improve supply chain resiliency. (Image source: Helios)

Helios Artificial Intelligence, Inc., the leading AI company that predicts the price and availability of agricultural commodities, recently launched CommodiTrack, a revolutionary AI platform that gives agrifood buyers and traders unprecedented access to the climate risks impacting the commodities they care about

CommodiTrack is a dynamic, interactive platform that allows users to track, forecast and strategise to improve supply chain resiliency. The platform uses Helios’ proprietary climate risk data set which includes over 500 billion unique risk signals generated by custom machine learning models specific to more than 50 crops being tracked, rather than generic weather information, giving users a unique advantage to predict where and why disruptions are likely to occur.

CommodiTrack not only transforms how users interact with and interpret agricultural commodity data, but also integrates critical elements such as climate risk factors, price forecasting, demand and supply signals and more — data that was previously scattered or inaccessible — all on one platform, providing not only comprehensive data but also actionable insights.

One of the unique features of CommodiTrack is the WA%R (Weighted Average Risk Ratio), a proprietary metric that quantifies climate risk by assessing the number of high-risk locations within the global market. The higher the WA%R, the greater the likelihood of a price shift for the commodity in question.

The CommodiTrack dashboard also offers a range of features tailored to meet the needs of commodity traders, procurement leaders and market analysts including climate risk analysis, price forecasting & trading signals, trade insights, climate change trends, supply chain visibility and expansive news coverage. While the initial release of the product focused on the top eight globally traded commodities such as corn and wheat, the platform analyses billions of signals in real time to empower organizations to be one step ahead of the market.

“The launch of CommodiTrack is our response to the urgent needs of our customers in the face of increasing climate disruptions. Agrifood buyers and traders have never seen this level of climate and price volatility before, and the tools they’ve historically relied on are no longer working,” said Francisco Martin-Rayo, co-founder and CEO of Helios. “With this new platform, we are democratising access to the world’s best climate risk information so our customers can quickly identify and react to the climate risks impacting their supply chains.”

Advanced Navigation launches Certus Mini Series

Three variants of the Certus Mini Series

Advanced Navigation Introduces the Certus Mini Series. (Advanced Navigation)

Advanced Navigation, a world leader in navigation and autonomous systems, has announced the expansion of its versatile Certus range, with the new Mini series

Available in three variants, the Certus Mini series includes a GNSS-aided Certus Mini D and Certus Mini N inertial navigation system (INS), while Certus Mini A functions as an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS). The series which weighs only 55 g offers impressive performance, while also being cost-efficient.

“Manufacturers and system integrators often face trade-offs between performance, size, cost and weight. The Certus Mini series is a testament these attributes do not need to conflict with one another," said Advanced Navigation CEO, Chris Shaw. "For customers deploying land-based vehicles, this value-driven breakthrough lowers their entry barrier to precise and reliable navigation. It also unlocks new possibilities for those using lightweight airborne platforms, such as drones, where every gram counts towards flight efficiency and power consumption.

Future of navigation

- Dual-antenna INS: The Certus Mini D features dual-antenna GNSS heading which allows it to deliver superior accuracy in heading, position and velocity. With a maximum weight of 55 g, it fills a critical gap in the market for a dual-antenna INS in a lightweight and compact size.

- Multiband GNSS receiver: By operating on the L1/L5 multi-constellation GNSS, the Certus Mini series offers leading capabilities in interference immunity, position accuracy and multipath resistance in urban environments, such as near tall buildings, tree canopies and canyons.

- Software-enabled hardware: The series houses Advanced Navigation’s breakthrough algorithmic technology. This software-enabled hardware delivers navigation data superior to outputs based on traditional filter methods, offering new levels of performance for miniature INS in GNSS-challenged environments.

Seamless integration

The Certus Mini series can be easily integrated into legacy systems and new builds, ensuring seamless upgrades, reducing installation time and minimising costs. This flexibility accelerates deployment across diverse applications including:

- Agriculture: Certus Mini can be used in purpose-built agriculture robots and equipment to assist with a diverse range of tasks, including aerial spraying, weed detection and localisation, monitoring crop health, inspecting moisture levels, creating field maps, autonomous pruning and grass-cutting, among others.

- Geospatial surveying: Certus Mini can augment drone solutions by providing accurate positioning and attitude without weighing the system down. This enables new applications for surveying environments across open-pit mines, construction sites, urban areas and critical infrastructure.

- Open-pit mining: Certus Mini is the ideal solution for surface drilling OEMs and integrators seeking precise rig alignment. Best-in-class accuracy provides precise alignment even in deep pits where multipath errors occur, and a ruggedised design delivers durability and reliability in harsh mining conditions.

- Asset tracking: Certus Mini can be used to track and monitor assets for a range of industries, including mining, facility management, manufacturing, construction, commercial fleets, automotive, oil and gas, among others.

Rapid delivery and in-house manufacturing

By manufacturing all solutions in-house, Advanced Navigation employs a vertical integration framework which streamlines development, enhances quality control, and ensures agility in responding to customer demand. Further, by utilising machine learning and advanced quality control mechanisms, only components meeting the highest standards are integrated into the navigation system.

This in-house capability guarantees exceptional product reliability, quality, and longevity, while providing complete control over production timelines, reducing lead times and ensuring swift, efficient delivery of the entire product series.

The Certus Mini series is now available for purchase in OEM and ruggedised form.

Ishida's new multihead weigher offers the perfect dumpling solution

The new product weighs dumplings mainly into 400g packs but is able to handle a large variety of pack weights. (Image source: Ishida)

Wierzejki, one of Poland’s largest meat manufacturers has installed a new Ishida multihead weigher, significantly improving the line throughputs

This has been achieved when packing the company’s new range of dumplings, with the investment resulting in a payback of approximately 18 months. Previously a laborious and time-consuming hand packing operation that required six people to achieve the 1.2 tonnes of dumplings to be packed every hour, the Ishida CCW-RVE-214W-1S-30-WP has considerably reduced overall losses from 5% to less that 2% per pack.

The new product weighs dumplings mainly into 400g packs but is able to handle a large variety of pack weights, including multiple weighments into the same pack for very large foodservice packs, using the 'multi-dump' mode. This gives Wierzejki the flexibility to respond quickly to market and customer demands. Equally important, the consistency of pack weights that the Ishida weigher delivers helps to enhance the consumer experience to support Wierzejki’s premium brand image.

Featuring a patented Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technology, the Ishida RVE model provides greater control of the infeed of product at the top of the weigher and during transfer to the hoppers. By being able to automatically vary both the amplitude and duration of vibration, the vibratory feeders deliver a controlled and consistent flow of product in order to maintain speed and efficiencies while virtually eliminating overfill in the hoppers. Embossed surfaces facilitate a smooth product flow throughout the weigher. A special distribution system beneath the Ishida weigher provides a fast and efficient transfer of dumplings into the thermoforming machine.

Thanks to its intuitive touch screen operation, the Ishida multihead which is in operation for 12 hours each day requires only one operator to supervise the line, with set up and changeovers being easy to undertake. Moreover, the weigher’s modular design allows easy removal and replacement of contact parts for a fast and thorough daily clean down.

This is the second Ishida multihead weigher to be installed at Wierzejki and like the first, which Wierzejki reports has been working perfectly for over two years, the new model has proved extremely reliable. The weigher was installed by Ishida’s long term local partner in Poland, Fenix Systems, with the installation being completed in under two days. Fenix also hosted a a one-day workshop to help operators familiarise themselves with the machine, as well as providing ongoing remote technical support.

“Precision is everything in our business and this was the driving force behind our investment in the Ishida solution,” said Adam Zdanowski from Wierzejki. “Our new Ishida weigher has given us increased accuracy and efficiency, and no downtime, together with excellent service and support, all of which are delivering significant improvements to the bottom line.”

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