Key Technology announced it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with EVK DI Kerschhaggl GmbH and Insort GmbH to deploy Chemical Imaging Technology (CIT®), an advanced value-added hyperspectral solution, in Key’s products, further enhancing potato sorting capabilities.
Additionally, an exclusive distribution agreement enables Key to market Insort’s Chemical Imaging Sorters to North American and global accounts in the potato industry.
Chemical Imaging Technology (CIT) is EVK’s and Insort’s proprietary solution that utilises unique software and algorithms that process the information from the hyperspectral sensors to evaluate the chemical composition of the potato to determine the presence of sugar ends, dry matter, and percent of solids.
“These agreements further strengthen Key’s leadership position in the potato industry and allow us to continue providing our customers with the most innovative, value-add systems to improve their yield and product quality,” said Jack Ehren, President and CEO of Key Technology. “Partnering with EVK and Insort and the integration of CIT into Key products will enable Key to enhance existing technologies and create new differentiated sorting capabilities for potato processing applications.”
Chemical Imaging shows tremendous potential to solve a variety of outstanding product quality and processing challenges. It can detect invisible defects such as sugar ends prior to frying, an issue that plagues many potato processors. It can also help potato processors maximise total solids utilisation (TSU) by analysing the chemical composition of incoming potatoes to optimize blanching and frying. For a wide range of applications, the technology is highly effective in detecting foreign material (FM) because it is so precise in identifying the chemical composition of good product.
