01/03 Taiwan Orchid Show

Codema Systems Group: Optimize production results by mechanization!

At March 5^th at16.00 PM, we want to invite you for a spectacular seminar about:

How to optimize your production of Orchids: Young plants, potted plants and orchid cut flowers. The occasion is the Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS), organized by Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA). During a presentation of approximately 40 minutes we will take you through a journey of the last 15 years in Holland and the way we can use this information onto the Taiwanese market situation.

Push here to dowload our leaflet about the Taiwan Orchid show

As a business in this sector, where margins are always under pressure, increasing professionalisation and scale are things you have to deal with every day. Strict environmental standards, increasing quality requirements and competition from abroad are all forcing growers to do business smarter. That means constant attention to increasing labour productivity, fine-tuning the production process and getting the most out of your greenhouse space.

Codema delivers growers and investors tools to make their production processes the best that they can be. Our unique knowledge and experience coupled with our integrated approach make us the only ones in the world able to design and deliver completely integrated logistics systems. In short, we are the solution to our clients' issues in logistics processes control.

Codema Systems Europe BV is the trade name of WM Systems BV, with registered office in The Hague. The group consists of three independent operating companies, each specialised in its own area and each active in its own specific market segments.

HAWE Systems Europe B.V., with office in Bergschenhoek, develops, manufactures and delivers internal automated logistics and transport systems for greenhouse architecture. HAWE is an innovative developer that utilises the latest, proven technologies in custom applications for internal transport systems, from machinery to completely robotised container systems.

Wevab B.V., with registered office in Maasdijk, is specialised in aluminium and plate processing and assembly of container bottoms, cultivation gutters, growing and presentation tables, conveyer belts and roller belts.

SDF Tuinbouwautomatisering B.V., with office in Bergschenhoek, develops and supplies the operating and management software and hardware that meet the unique needs of businesses in the horticultural sector. Software for registration and planning of horticulture management and operation of logistics systems hardware are just a few examples of the products of SDF Tuinbouwautomatisering.

Summary of semimair:

Transportation and Robotics for Greenhouse crop production Systems

Materials handling, crop transport and completion of labour tasks are necessary activities within all controlled environment plant production systems (CEPPS). Management of materials and resources for completion of the multitude of plant culture operations, for example transplanting, harvesting, watering etc.., is required. Nearly all operations require transport of materials or movement of labour. The proper design of automated systems integrating transportation and robotic capabilities can greatly enhance the efforts of the manager and the overall production system performance.

Machinery and equipment have been developed to help with many types of operations. These may range from mechanized processes (mechanization) to flexible automation processes (robotics) or there may be some combination of each. Effective application of these processes is essential for the economic viability of the greenhouse system.

A procedure known as SDF analysis will help for evaluating the selection of transport and robotic systems within the overall greenhouse system design. The design and operation of Controlled Environment Plant Systems (CEPPS) is a daunting task even for the most experienced persons. Greenhouses used for plant productions are one example. They are highly complex systems. The design of a specific greenhouse system may include mechanized processes or flexible automation processes or a combination of each. As the capability of the systems matures, the need for effective and fast communication becomes more important. The machinery must have the ability to communicate from within is work area to its surroundings. This information is important for other components or machines within the system as more intensive automation is included.

Much of the benefits of greenhouse automation have come from focusing on the flow of materials and the labour considerations. The primary objective is to reduce costs and/or increase productivity and quality. The greenhouse is like a factory in that raw materials (soil mixes, pots, seeds or seedlings) enter, they may be stored in the raw from or utilized in process immediately. In reality, the process consists of the grower’s effort to encourage the plants to grow and mature. As the complexity of the automated mechanisms increase, the difficulty in transporting them to the crop can also increase.

For example, it is much simpler to transport a bench of potted plants to the pot spacing robot, then it would be to do the opposite. However the example of automated watering has demonstrated otherwise. It is more simple and cost effective to distribute it throughout the greenhouse, then to require bench transport to a centralized location for every watering event. The last 20 years, the number of possible options for plant handling has greatly increased. The decisions have become more difficult. A means to begin to understand and then evaluate a particular design for materials handling systems has become even more important.