Success Stories

Success Stories

Success Stories

Complying with Rigorous Fruit Traceability Laws is Made Easy with Datalogic - Datalogic

Agrocanillas S.L. Uses Datalogic’s Gryphon™ M Bar Code Readers to Meet New Product Traceability and Tracking Laws


Overview

Agrocanillas S.L. is a Spanish fruit producer centrally located in the most important tropical fruit production zone for Spain and Europe, where it operates with some of the sector’s most modern facilities. Agrocanillas is known for cultivating the highest-quality fruit due to the area’s subtropical climate and excellent soil and water conditions. The Agrocanillas team consists of approximately 30 employees, which varies according to the time of year.


The Challenge

Agrocanillas markets exotic tropical fruit to a specialized market throughout the European region. Within this region, the company supplies customers with more than 11,000 tons of freshly picked avocados, 880 tons of mangos and cherimoyas and 220 tons of medlars annually. Agrocanillas has a 1,486 square m / 16,000 square ft production facility that is completely mechanized with specialized equipment to handle and pack fruit. The facility is equipped with large cold storage chambers where fruit is maintained at 5.0 - 7.0 °C / 41.0 - 44.6 °F for freshness until being shipped.


Rigorous controls are carried out during handling and packing to track the fruit’s original source. As a result of new legal traceability requirements, Agrocanillas must ensure the tracking of each piece of fruit from the moment it arrives in the warehouse until it leaves the warehouse for shipping. Each pallet, crate, and mesh bag must be properly labeled to track their source and location at all times.


Agrocanillas needed an efficient and reliable data capture and identification solution to automate tracking and provide visibility into the status of each shipment. The company also needed tracking capabilities for products on the production lines throughout the plant; thus, a combination of both manual and automated identification was required.


Furthermore, production traceability depends upon the ability to accurately read bar codes. Since these codes are often damaged during production, Agrocanillas needed a bar code scanning solution that enables the operators to easily read the poor or damaged bar codes.


The Solution

Agrocanillas turned to Captura de Datos (CDC), a Datalogic Accredited Reseller and System Integrator in Spain, to assist them in selecting the automatic data collection devices. CDC recommended a complete solution based upon Datalogic’s Gryphon™ M cordless readers combined with Datalogic Automation’s Matrix™ 2000 scanners with DS2100A fixed position scanners.


The Gryphon readers were chosen to provide complete mobility within the packing line. The Matrix scanners were selected based upon their ability to read poor quality bar codes. To connect the fixed and handheld systems, Datalogic’s STARGATE™ RF (radio frequency) base station and STAR Cordless System™ industrial modems were installed and provided narrow band radio coverage throughout the plant.


Using the new solution, boxes of fruit arriving from the fields are now labeled with a bar code containing a lot number. This bar code is read by a DS2100A scanner stationed at the entrance to the grader machines before the boxes are emptied for sorting. The DS2100A is connected to the STAR Cordless System to send data in real-time to the central IT system.


Gryphon cordless readers provide complete mobility on the packing line, and are used to read bar codes on the incoming fruit pallets. Fruit is then sorted and put into crates under the supervision of stationary Matrix scanners. These scanners are located at the front of each line and read the bar codes containing the lot number. They connect with the STARGATE RF base station and send information in real-time to the IT system.


Each individual custom package varies by the fruit’s retail destination. To verify the product code and correct packaging, Gryphon readers are used at the packing line. The data collected by these readers is then transmitted in real-time, which continuously updates information regarding the fruit and quantity in each package.


The Results

By selecting Datalogic and Datalogic Automation products, Agrocanillas S.L. now enjoys a fully automated tracking system. Plant managers are able to determine the production status at anytime, which is invaluable to customers across Europe.

According to a Plant Manager at Agrocanillas, “We now are able to track the number of pallets passing through the grader machines, the number of crates produced by each operator and any other information required from the time fruit arrives in the plant until it is packaged. We are extremely pleased with the technological advancements to our production facilities as a result of selecting Datalogic products.”


Customer

Agrocanillas S.L.


Industry

Manufacturing


Sub-Industry

Food and Beverage


Application

Track and Trace


Country

Spain


Datalogic Products

Gryphon™ M

Datalogic Automation Matrix™ 2000

Datalogic Automation DS2100A


Datalogic Partner

Captura de Datos