Avocado Advice with Erica Faber Just Avocados

 Autumn of 2022 brings changes to the Darling Group business.

Firstly, there is a change in the look of the leadership team with Jacob Darling filling the newly created chief operating officer role which will see him step up from sales and marketing manager, into the leadership of the wider businesses including Just Avocados.

Managing director Andrew Darling says Jacob has been an integral part of the growth of Darling Group, and they are excited to see him with a title that reflects the work he does for the business.

The next big change is the rebuild of Just Avocados’ packing facility on Woodland Road, which includes making room for a new packing line.

After removing the old machine last month, the company will spend the next six weeks installing a state-of-the-art MAF RODA Pomone two-lane sizer.

MAF Roda has installed over 300 avocado packing lines globally and is excited to be partnering with Just Avocados on this project, Andrew says.

As part of this upgrade, Just Avocados will have the latest camera grading system – the Globalscan 7.

This state-of-the-art camera setup has one colour camera and three infrared cameras, each taking 10 photos per avocado.

With three setups per lane, each individual piece of fruit is photographed 120 times.

It also features a wash bath with pre-soaking, ensuring the avocados are free of any debris and residues.

“All the technology featured should allow us company to achieve a major increase in quality and efficiency and drastically cut down on double handling of fruit,” Andrew says.

The project is set out in stages, with stage two involving significant earthworks around the packhouse that will make way for new loading bays and eventually include the ability to load export product directly into containers through a dedicated temperature-controlled loading dock.

Andrew says he is pleased the business is now able to offer this service to growers and is excited by the efficiency and improved quality standards it will bring to customers.

“We look forward to these changes positively impacting your relationship with the Darling Group of businesses.”