Trip down memory lane: focus on fresh.

Over the past 30 years, DERO GROEP has developed into a specialist in automation solutions for the food industry, among others. In the past few years, the fresh produce sector has grown to become one of our most important growth markets.

Several milestones in our history have contributed to this. "In the early years of DERO, we worked together with Abar (now Lan Handling Technologies), for whom we designed and built solutions for the fresh produce and salad market," says Maro Dedel, CEO and founder of DERO GROEP. "Later, Abar started building these installations themselves. Many years later, when BOSGRAAF in Joure became part of DERO GROEP, we again got involved with the fresh produce market through a request from a French company to supply sachets and accessories for ready-made salads."

One of the solutions for Abar.

The sachet feeder

That request led to the development of the sachet feeder, an innovation that involved a number of technical challenges. "The small bags containing items such as dressing, croutons, cheese or seeds are delivered in bulk and are often crumpled up," Maro explains. "A bin-pick installation seems like the ideal solution, but it doesn’t meet the required capacity. That's why we came up with a system in which the sachets are first singulated."

By persevering and continuing to improve, we eventually developed a hygienic and flexible robot cell with a vision system that places sachets – with both liquid and solid contents – at high speed (up to 80 per minute) in ready-made salads and fresh meal kits. It proved to be a great success.

Fast and hygienic packing

This success was quickly followed by more projects for fresh produce. Such as for Vezet, a major player in the fresh produce industry. "After DERO GROEP Joure delivered a special version of the egg slicer, a new inquiry soon followed: packing vegetables and salads," says Maro. "With our focus on and knowledge of hygienic design and cleanability of robot cells, we were able to make a difference at Vezet." We designed a packing cell with Schneider delta robots, which are made entirely of stainless steel, have an IP67 protection rating, and can be cleaned with high pressure.

Through all our activities in the fresh produce market, we also came into contact with companies that process delicate fruits, such as avocados and mangoes. For this, we also developed robotic solutions with custom-made grippers to carefully and precisely place these delicate products.

The solutions we have developed for the fresh produce sector in recent years.

Eyes on the future

In 2022, DERO GROEP presented an ambitious five-year plan for a future-proof organization. This involved extensive research into new markets and growth opportunities, and fresh produce was given a permanent place in the strategy and product portfolio of DERO GROEP Nieuw-Vennep. "A logical step, given the high need for robotization in this sector and our proven expertise in food handling," says Maro.

The next big step followed in October of that same year, when DERO GROEP acquired Selo's robotics and convenience product portfolio. "When Selo decided to discontinue its robotics activities, we did not hesitate to take over this discipline and its associated customers and expand it further," Maro explains. "Thanks to the acquisition, we further expanded our product portfolio with, for example, the avocado fastpicker. By applying the DERO DRIVE, we have improved this solution and have now successfully placed it on the market many times over."

Plenty of opportunities 

Robots combined with vision and AI are the future for processing and packaging fruit and vegetables. "We therefore have the ambition to grow into an important robotics partner for this sector," says Maro. "In addition to packaging, feeding sachets, and handling delicate fruit and vegetables, we are now on the cusp of a new development: the automated assembly of fresh meal kits. In this way, we are constantly pushing our boundaries and remaining open to what our customers and the world need."

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// P. Mulder - Synergy Food  //