The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is an EU grant programme for innovations that contribute to the energy transition and to a sustainable living and working environment. The company ZTI is looking for safe and efficient solutions for industrial processes with a lot of manual repetitive work. This project robotises the processing of fruit and vegetables, thereby reducing agricultural waste, among other things.
Robotics
Using the latest software systems, the engineers at ZTI design machines that make fruit and vegetable processing safer, faster, more hygienic and easier to maintain. The higher production obtained by fully automatic orientation, detection, counting, weighing and processing of the fragile agricultural produce also makes fruit and vegetable processing industries more future-proof. Robotisation and AI reduce production losses.
ZTI has its own workshop where the innovative machines can be tested, tested and demonstrated.
Technological phases of innovations
For over 30 years, ZTI has been developing and assembling machines. For the last 9 years, the focus has been on peeling, slicing and de-coring fruit and vegetables with mechanical solutions. In parallel, ZTI is working on its own algorithm, robot, vision and AI to take these machines to the next level to gain a technological competitive edge and get the most out of the natural product.
Heemskerk councillor and member of the JTF Regional Steering Committee Aad Schoorl said, "It is interesting to note that technological innovations have to go through several internationally established innovation phases: invention, development, demonstration and sales/installation. The aim of ZTI's JTF project is to market a compact slicer and develop 3 new machine variations (for other vegetable/fruit varieties, such as mango). It is nice that a project pays attention to marketing their innovation. This is also a great project for the horticultural area around Heemskerk."
Sustainable working environment
With this project, ZTI focuses on transforming unhealthy repetitive work into process-responsible work by retraining 70 employees of the clients from the fruit and vegetable processing industries. In addition, ZTI, a recognised training company, is providing in-company training for 80 students.
JTF stands for Just Transition Fund and is an EU grant supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment,
North Holland province and the municipalities of Beverwijk, Castricum, Velsen, Heemskerk and Uitgeest.
