Bardsley Farms have been expanding at an exponential rate over the past decade and their latest development sees a revolution of their packing lines. Out goes the old equipment and in come the state of the art packing lines from one of our premier suppliers; BURG.

Ben Bardsley, the Managing Director, had a vision to future proof the packing process and has introduced five new lines spanning the three disciplines; flow wrapping, hand lines and poly bagging. This diversification has ensured the company is able to keep pace with the constantly changing requirements placed upon them.

A brand new BURG 3D POLSAP now stands pride of place; one robot serving five lines. The cutting edge robot has a very high capacity, allowing preferential feeding to high throughput lines and also dedicated safety zones, if hand feeding of imported product would be necessary at the same time as British fruit. This allows the customer to have maximum flexibility whilst remaining as productive as possible. Furthermore, bin nesting is an additional option, saving space and time. 

After months of planning, the equipment arrived on site and was put in place and ready for initial testing within one week. No hyperboles needed here! The 5th line was brought forward due to Bardsley Farms growing order volumes and adds yet more capacity to an already high throughput enterprise. 

BURG's exceptional customer service has been invaluable during both the planning process and installation; tailoring their machinery to suit the customer's needs. Their expert engineers, along with Kent Fruit Services', work tirelessly to make the customer's visions a reality.
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We at Kent Fruit Services hope our partnership with Bardsley Farms continues long into the future and look forward to our next project together.

If any of this has raised any questions or you would like to discuss an upcoming project, don't hesitate to get in touch. ​​

Everyone here at Kent Fruit Services would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and an even better New Year. We're hanging up our overalls and donning our Christmas jumpers and we will see you all in 2018!

We will be available for breakdown call-outs over the festive period, on the usual numbers. 

Maybe you think the millennium bug was actually 17 years delayed or you've just been too busy picking this year's crop and have forgotten about next year; fear not we still have some trees available for planting this winter! At the very least it would make a wonderful Christmas present for that special someone and doesn't even need to be wrapped.

We currently have:
Apples:
1000 Bramleys on M26
Plenty of Gala trees

Cherries:
​Merchant, Karina, Regina and Sweetheart

The National Fruit Show 2017 has drawn to a close and what a great show it was this year! From all of us here at Kent Fruit Services we want to thank all of you that came to see us and made the show such a success. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to catch up on all the seasons exploits.  Coming to my first fruit show ever, it was great to be welcomed with such warmth and to have lovely conversations with everyone. 

The Smartpackr was a big draw, with the ingenius robot running causing quite a stir at the exhibition; no passer-by could resist taking a look! We hope to see a few operational in UK packhouses over the course of next year!

Once again thanks to our suppliers, Greefa (Gert Brouwer) and Munckhof (Thijs and Vincent) and everyone that made the few days so special. We hope to see you throughout the season to come and at next year's show too.

The National Fruit Show 2017 at Detling Showground is nearly upon us and fret not, Kent Fruit Services will be there! Residing in our usual area of K8, we will be bringing you an array of Munckhof sprayers to marvel at, including a tower sprayer and the impressive new 3 row. To compliment these, we will also be displaying a Pluk-O-Trak which is an everpresent in any commercial orchard. More information and photos can be found on our Munckhof product page

We are also very excited to announce we will be displaying Greefa's brand new Smartpackr! This incredible piece of machinery picks and places apples, blush side up, into cells using highly intelligent cameras to detect which side is red. This can also be combined with defect cameras to ensure only the best fruit is selected.

A video of the machine in action can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYI_pWeZTM

We look forward to seeing you all there next month.

Prime Produce have moved home; only by about a hundred yards but what a change it is! Their new packhouse is vast and state of the art. What better to put in such a building than a Greefa Geosort! They have extended their existing grader by 8 metres to create an extensive multifunctioning machine, to allow for both dry bin filling as seen by the brand new Greefa GBF's and also the ability to pack from it too. 

The new Greefa gentle bin filler has been redesigned to make it the most fruit friendly version yet, ensuring the gentlest of handling. 

All credit must go to Richard, Sean and Steve for their vision becoming a reality, creating an impressive new area for them to further be able to expand the business. Here at Kent Fruit Services, it's been a pleasure being able to facilitate their ideas and make their plans come to fruition. We hope to continue our relationship long into the future.

A new way to grow cherries is beginning to gain traction here in Kent, with an increasing number of people coming away from traditional polytunnels, which do have their virtues, to a new and exciting method. This evolution is similar to the Voen system, but irons out some flaws. At the heart of this evolution is our 5 metre stakes, which provide the height that give this method its benefits, increasing air flow and regulating temperature much better than previous incarnations.

In combination with our high quality stakes, durable plastic is secured overhead, with rain water falling in the middle of the row, rather than onto the trees themselves, negating any risk of splitting. The real advantage of this system is the ease of access; clients can now drive their full height Munckhof tower or airbag sprayers into the tunnels, with no frustrating low hanging plastic hindering row to row penetration.

With the cherry season being so short, this way of growing gives the ability to have a later crop, seizing the initiative in the latter part of the market when other supply is low.

To find out more or to place an order in preparation for next year, get in touch with us now!

The cherry season has whizzed by and the top fruit season will soon be upon us! Some of the highest priorities of fruit growers is ensuring the picking process goes without any hiccups. If fruit is damaged at the first stage of the process, this doesnt bode well for later down the chain. 

Our premium quality Heijmul picking buckets have been the cornerstone to many of the premier soft and top fruit companies harvesting efforts across the UK. The holy grail of large capacity buckets combined with superb comfort mean harvesters can pick vast quantities of fruit without any adverse physical effects that inferior copies may induce. Customers have already been enjoying the benefits of our cherry buckets but make sure you order your apple buckets in time!

If you would like to be part of the ongoing development of fruit harvesting, or would like an additional information, contact us today!

AC Goatham & Son have undertaken a huge planting exercise in the past few years, with their status in the fruit farming world becoming ever more important.

Kent Fruit Services has teamed up with them in their latest project to plant nearly a quarter of a million trees over the past few months and in the months to come. Having seen first hand the style, precision and speed with which the stakes are put in place, it's hard not to be impressed; all orchestrated by Peter Bukowski.

Our pressure treated creosoted stakes, pointed at the thicker end, are of the highest quality and are available in various sizes to suit a variety of needs. The creosote penetrates deep into the wood in order to ensure maximum weather proofing and provide utmost longevity to the stake. In association with our suppliers, we visit our clients regularly in order to make sure our stakes meet and exceed expectations.

Contact us today for details and quotes!

Simon Bray in Sittingbourne said hello to his brand new 3 Row Standard Munckhof Airbag Sprayer this morning.

3 Row Airbag Sprayers are fantastic for larger orchards where a single row would usually take 3 times as long. It saves on fuel and tractor running hours, as well as requiring less power to run and being considerably quieter than other models. Growers can respond faster to signs of disease and the effect of the crop protection agents can be extended by spraying at the optimal time.

With adjustable and retractable boom arms, there are a variety of spraying heights and widths available (both optional up to 4 metres) thus a range of orchard layouts can be accommodated, even with small headlands. A 3000 litre model has just been introduced, meaning even less downtime.

Get in touch today to find out how your orchard could benefit from a 3 Row Sprayer.