15
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • JULY 2017
AUTOMATION •
TheHamiltonDrum seeder is apopular choice for
automatic seeding.
do 20,000pots a year’ without realising that you simply
cannot domore, even if themarket is there,” adds Ian.
“Sometimes even abasicmachinewill help improve
throughput - the one thing that is very difficult toget back
is lost time.”
“Often the first areas of production that are automated,
andwith aproven recordof automation, are seeding and
transplanting,” points out BernardoGreeve, of Dutch
manufacturer KGSystemsBV.
“Potting is the easiest process tobothmechanise and
speed up, as long as the system iswell thought out,”
explains IanThornhill. “It is imperative that the flowof the
ingredients is alsowell thought out to avoidbottlenecks
inproduction. After potting, seeding and transplanting
follow closebehindbut, once again, theprocessmust be
properly thought out. Changing tray sizes, growingmedia,
seeds etc. takes time and theproductionprocessmust be
planned in advance.”Hewarns thatmachinery designed
for onemarketmay not always be suitable for others:
“Somemodelsmay be very fast but inflexible.We have to
look at what is out there and adapt it for theUKmarket.
Someproduction runs are so short that by the time any
machine changeover is done, it wouldhavebeenbetter
to have a separate flexibleproduction line for smaller runs
alongside the ‘mass production’ line or lines.”
“When installing an automatic line it is important toplan
for current and future requirements,” stressesPhillip
Ashton. “Tobe fully efficient you need tohave a tray or
pot dispenser, feedingonto a tray-filler and thenonto
the transplanter. If trays are fedmanually, theperson
presenting the trays onto the tray filler is not fully occupied
but alsodoesn’t have the time todoother jobs.We have
one customer who has three automatic transplanting
lines inonebuilding andoneperson is able to keep up
with loading thede-nesterswith trays, puttingplug trays
onto the in-feedbelt of the transplanters and also loading
compost into thebale opener that feeds all three lines via
anoverhead compost conveyor system.Without thede-
nesters thiswould require four people.”
Rotomation is due to install fourmorepackdispensers
over the next fewweeks, ranging from single tray de-
nesters tomulti-headeddispensers. “Themulti headed
dispensers aremountedon an in-feed conveyor,” explains
Phillip. “Minimal change over time is required as by the
flick of a switch you can immediately change to a new
tray type savingon time spent re-adjusting for new trays.
These tray dispensers canbe retro-fitted to any existing
transplanting line.”
While seeding and transplanting arewell established
areas formechanisation, new technology is opening up
other parts of the greenhouse to automation. “The newest
developmentsmake automatingmovement of product in
the greenhousepossible,” saysBernardo. “Automationof
theworking area is starting tobe the standard solution,
with automatically placingplants onbenches, and
completely automating themovement of thebenches in
theworking area to save on labour.”
While the complete automationof plantmovement in the
growing area is possible and canbe a fantastic solution,
its suitability depends verymuchongrower’s product
lines, aswell as the varieties grown and the level of
