September/October 2023 - 13

FACILITY OPERATIONS
TOMRA's 5B optical sorting machine helped
McCall Farms increase its canning capacity with its
360° view and ability to capture and store images of
foreign materials for easy alerts. Photo courtesy of
TOMRA Food.
 Above: McCall Farms in Effingham, South Carolina, increased its production capacity to 204 million cans of
green beans per year in 2022 using TOMRA Food's 5B optical sorting machine. Photo by Melinda Waldrop.
Middle: McCall Farms in Effingham, South Carolina, uses TOMRA Foods sorters to produce some of its 235
products for national brands including Glory, Margaret Holmes and Veg-All. Photo courtesy of TOMRA Food.
we felt we needed to. "
McCall Farms already used TOMRA
Sentinel II optical sorting machines, costefficient
equipment that works product at
rates between 400-200 tons per hour. The
farm decided to invest in the TOMRA 5B,
with an on-belt inspection zone and 360°
view, along with the ability to capture
and store images of foreign materials
for easy alerts.
The machine, which can sort by
shape, size and length-to-width ratio
using advanced sensor technology and
shape algorithms, has improved the
quality of McCall Farms products while
reducing dependence on manual labor,
Salisbury said.
" The sorter didn't give us what we
wanted; it gave us better than what we
wanted, " she said. " Being able to have a
machine that can control everything and
work at speeds that no human would work
at ... it's huge. What we've been able to
accomplish is just phenomenal. "
Parker Fales, area sales manager for
TOMRA Food, takes satisfaction in seeing
how the company's equipment has helped
McCall Farms boost production.
" It's really shot through the roof, "
Fales told Produce Processing during a
recent visit to McCall Farms. " We've been
able to run additional product through
our equipment with higher yields, more
efficiencies, and get more product out
the door to McCall Farms' customers. "
GROWING OPERATIONS
The continued growth of South Carolina
agribusinesses such as McCall Farms is a
goal of a newly announced state incentive
program. The $40 million Growing
Agribusiness Fund, launched in August,
aims to buoy businesses engaged in the
processing, packaging, manufacturing,
distribution, storage and transportation
of agricultural products.
A 2022 study by Joey Von Nessen,
research economist for the University
of South Carolina's Darla Moore School
of Business, found that South Carolina
currently imports $11.7 billion in
agribusiness products from outside
the state. Bringing that demand instate
would increase the total value of
agribusiness, which had a $51.8 billion
economic impact on the state in 2022,
by 23%, according to the study.
Those numbers, along with the supply
chain disruptions encountered by instate
producers during the COVID-19
pandemic, led to initial conversations
with 40-50 companies about ways to
keep more aspects of production closer
to home, said Clint Leach, assistant
commissioner for the South Carolina
Department of Agriculture.
" Our state has incentive programs to
help companies expand their operations, "
Leach said. " We wanted to make sure that
the companies in the agribusiness space
had the opportunity that is afforded to
other companies coming in or expanding. "
Agribusinesses that are considering
expanding and investing at least $3
million in their current location or
establishing an additional location in
the state are encouraged to contact the
agricultural department to discuss their
project. Operations located in Tier 3
PRODUCE PROCESSING
13

September/October 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September/October 2023