Apple harvester: getting closer

摘要

A potential "landmark" apple harvesting system will undergo further testing in 2012, and could soon be available on a wide scale. IT WAS just a couple years ago that Michigan apple growers Mike Rasch and Chuck Dietrich, along with equipment guru PhilBrown of Phil Brown Welding in Conklin, MI, got together to form DBR Conveyor Concepts, LLC. The three had been working together on the development of an apple harvesting prototype that uses a vacuum system to pull picked fruit into bins on a trailer. Their goal was to create a model that would maximize labor efficiency, minimize fruit bruising, and be adaptable to different equipment. DBR would serve as a way to develop, manufacture, and market the machine, bringing the expertise of all three men intothe mix.