Seed Today - Q1 2008 - (Page 11)

the seed we process. It also gave us more flexibility in how we can handle seed.” What the 2003 upgrade did not provide was a complete inventory of new equipment from start to finish. Instead, most of the existing equipment is still fully functional and was retained. New equipment was added only when the existing machinery was not capable or designed to meet the high quality standards demanded by domestic and international customers. “Most of our grower-owners are fiscally conservative farmers who expect us to spend their money wisely,” says Cal/West President/CEO Paul Frey. “They are less concerned about appearances and are far more concerned that we have a system in place that can process their seed production in a manner that adds the most value for our customers.” New Equipment, New Capabilities During the course of upgrading the facility, a Sortex optical color sorter, a Columbia/Okura robotic palletizer and a new Oliver gravity separator were added. “With the addition of this equipment, we are able to ship better prod- (Lower left) Alfalfa seed on an Oliver gravity separator. (Lower right) Oliver/ Okura LLC robotic palletizer. uct with less effort,” says Stilwell. “What leaves our plant is now truly able to compete in the global seed market and provide both our customers and our owner/growers top value.” The color sorter is particularly useful for processing safflower seed. Any dark foreign material stands out in striking contrast to the white safflower seeds. Even a very small percentage of offcolor seeds give the visual perception that the seed is of lower quality. By eliminating dark colored material, the sorter greatly improves customer satisfaction and confidence. The Sortex sorter can also be used to remove foreign material and offcolor kernels from sunflower seed. Another addition—a Columbia/ Okura robotic palletizer—is especially helpful for stacking bagged seed bound for export. “International customers request seed in a variety of bag sizes, some of which are difficult to stack manually,” says Stilwell. “With a robotic palletizer, we can get tight, square pallets that wrap well and make a good impression when the customer opens the container.” All in all, Cal/West’s Artois seed production facility is an expression of its corporate priorities. Management has installed new innovative technologies along side existing equipment to achieve operational efficiency. “The goal is to provide value to our Sortex color sorter. customers worldwide by developing, producing and marketing high quality seeds of improved varieties,” Frey says. “That is what this facility does well.” Joe Funk, editor First Quarter 2008 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q1 2008

Seed Today - Q1 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature: Agrecol® Corporation Reed Barker, Ph.D. Cal/West Seeds Inc. Annual GM Use Report Bt Resistance Reported Camelina Tony Harper Gayle Jacklin According to ASTA Krauter Structures AOSCA AOSA/SCST GM and Greenhouse Gas Seed Associations Ad Index

Seed Today - Q1 2008

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