Dutch sorting-technology company Flikweert Vision has launched a new generation of its QualityGrader optical sorting machine for potatoes and other root crops, according to a company press release published by PotatoPro on 20 September and Potato Business on 22 September. All technical specifications below are the company’s own.

The machine comes in two widths, 1 metre and 1.5 metres, and according to the company handles up to 30 tonnes per hour. It uses six or nine RGB cameras combined with artificial intelligence to assess each tuber.

The company says the system detects wireworm damage, common scab, mechanical damage, growth cracks, greening, Rhizoctonia, rot, and foreign material such as stones and clods. Tolerances can be set separately for each defect in the company’s VisionCommand software. An optional second ejector allows the machine to sort into a third quality stream instead of the usual two.

According to the release, the first six upgraded units were delivered earlier in 2026 to a single customer in the onion sector. Flikweert Vision says it has placed hundreds of machines in the market; this figure has not been independently verified.

Context

POTATOES NEWS reported on the earlier QualityGrader generation in 2024. Several other manufacturers offer camera-based graders for potatoes.

The new generation’s main changes, according to the company, are the higher camera count, the AI-based defect recognition and the option of a third output stream. The press releases do not give prices. The per-defect tolerances and the third stream could suit packers that supply several market segments from one grading line.

Why it matters

In a short-crop year, the value of each tonne of marketable potatoes rises, and so does the cost of mis-grading. A third quality stream can let packers separate a middle grade for processing or discount markets instead of rejecting it outright. Buyers comparing optical graders should ask for independent throughput and accuracy data on their own varieties and defect profiles rather than relying on manufacturer figures.

Photo: An optical grading machine at Agritechnica 2023, Hanover; not Flikweert equipment (illustrative). MB-one / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0