Smart Conveying Solutions: Gentle Produce Conveying
In fruit processing, vertical conveying often leads to bruising and product loss, especially with delicate produce like apples. Traditional belting systems struggle to provide both gentle handling and reliable performance in complex layouts.
This case study explores how Volta engineered a customized FMB-SD Positive Drive Belt with forked cleats to gently elevate apples in a reverse L-shaped conveyor design.
By preventing collisions and minimizing rolling, this innovation reduced damage, improved line efficiency, and safeguarded product quality.
Company:
Fruit processing
Application:
✔ Apple conveying – vertical elevator with a reverse
✔ L-shaped conveyor design.
Challenge:
✔ Vertical conveying, while minimizing damage.
✔ Apples needed to be separated during elevation to avoid collisions and bruising.
Solution:
✔ Volta FMB -SD Positive Drive Belt with forked cleats.
✔ A forked cleat design was developed, preventing the apples from rolling or tipping over during transport.
Result:
✔ The customized cleat design, combined with the Volta Positive Drive Belt, successfully enabled the gentle elevation of delicate products.
✔ The solution minimized product damage, improved line efficiency, and ensured reliable operation through a challenging conveyor layout.
Conclusion:
By closely analyzing the customer’s processing layout and the sensitivity of their product, we developed a customized belting solution tailored to their specific structure and application.
Our ability to engineer unique cleat designs and adapt belt features to operational demands ensures gentle handling of fragile goods like apples — reducing damage, minimizing waste, and preserving product quality.
This tailored approach not only optimized line performance and hygiene but also delivered long-term cost savings through increased efficiency and reduced product loss.
Curious about Volta belts for fruit & vegetable processing?
Download our eBook or contact our experts today to reduce damage and boost efficiency.
