Optical Sorter F
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The FMSR series in Brazil
by Laudelino Almeida Ramos Neto, Marketing, Satake America Latina LTDA
he technological solutions provided by FMSR series of optical sorters have brought excellent performance, with an attractive cost/benefit ratio, to many areas of Brazil and throughout Latin America. Satake, with its headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan, initiated its activities in Latin America, establishing its subsidiary in Brazil, Satake America Latina in 1999. Over the last 20 years, this operation has brought many innovative solutions to this expanding agribusiness market-developing and manufacturing various types of processing equipment, bringing high quality processing performance to business owners and their teams, mainly in the rice milling sector. These benefits have spread rapidly among other sectors such as beans, cashew nuts, coffee, corn, seeds and other grains. As a result, the region looks for Satake for insight into current and future challenges, to provide optimal solutions for local conditions. The increasing demand was not just for mechanical equipment, there was also a strong drive for optical sorters that could meet ever-more stringent requirements, as well as provide innovation
46 | June 2020 - Milling and Grain
over the older existing optical sorting technologies available. Satake America Latina started importing the popular model FMS2000 from Japan, and successfully sold many units. These sorters have not only improved the final product quality, but also increased their customers’ sales numbers by attaining higher production capacity. As the demand for a higher capacity option accelerated, Satake rushed to bring the solution to its customers and released a new model, the FMSR series, offering up to three times the production capacity of the FMS2000. Manufacturing this machine in Brazil naturally brought down the cost, as well as avoiding import duties, thereby allowing much higher access for customers locally to this sophisticated technology. In 2018, Satake America Latina released in Brazil the first FMSR with a three chutes model and a two chutes model and later adding a one chute model. Recently a model with up to six chutes was introduced in order to offer customers the opportunity to have a machine with higher production capacity. The FMSR brings in its composition several advantages including components originating. Various components of the FMSR still originate from Japan, such as the full color highresolution RGB cameras, intuitive touchscreen control, precise feeding mechanism, and highly durable conveying chutes. The