Optical sorting Machines that are made in Italy for the vegetable, fruit, seafood, wine and agricultural industries
PROTEC is an industry leader, specialized in the design and production of sorting machines for companies that work and process agrifood products. The PROTEC factories located in Collecchio, Parma, have for almost thirty years designed, developed and manufactured electronic inspection and selection systems that use optical sensor technology applicable in the processing of a wide range of food products in various industries.
The founder and president of the company, Luigi Sandei, is a visionary in his field. His first futuristic idea came about in 1968, when he designed the first machine for mechanized harvesting of tomatoes: a machine destined to change the way this vegetable was harvested in Italy and in Europe forever.
Twenty years later, the entrepreneur from Parma came up with another production problem in need of a solution that was the application of optical sorting machines during produce collection, there was a need for machines that were able to carry out quality control and discard unsuitable produce, before delivering the product to the next stage of processing down the line.
With this idea in mind, in 1990 Sandei founded PROTEC-Sorting Equipment, the first Italian manufacturer of optical selectors was 100% Made in Italy.
These machines are able to detect defects in products and foreign bodies on the selection lines, discarding them with extreme precision. Thanks to the color selection and infrared illumination, only regular and uniform produce is selected based on the item’s degree of ripeness, skin and pulp integrity. The defects that need to be expelled can be preset by the user via simple touch-screen technology.
From that moment on, the development of PROTEC technology has only moved quicker, and the company now has a new mission: to offer its customers safe, accurate and efficient products that solve all types of production requirements.
PROTEC, which was established to facilitate Sandei self-propelled harvesting machines to collect tomatoes, has over time has been able to utilize the same technological expertise for other products such as olives, vegetables, corn, legumes, seafood, salads, potatoes, nuts, chestnuts and grapes selected for winemaking.
The present range of optical sorting models offers users a wide range of functions, which both assist with and apply to the food, wine, fish and agricultural sectors.
The history of Protec is as important as its future. The company is continually expanding, thanks to its powerful Research and Development Department, which supplies the innovative technology to create sorting machines that are not only efficient and reliable but also precise and capable of increasing the production and technological prowess of companies in the agrifood sector, even those with specialized projects. Among the many accolades that PROTEC is most proud of are those that have transpired in the wine industry.
These distinctions prompted Sandei and the team to create a dedicated wine division. In recent years, the company has installed more than sixty different grape selectors tailor made for winemaking.
These are not only found in Europe (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Austria) but also in Japan, the Napa Valley, California, South Africa, Chile and Argentina. The company name has become a reference point for the wine sector, thanks to x-tri technology.
PROTECS commitment to research and innovation is also demonstrated through the rewarding collaboration the company has developed with the University of Parma, with whom there is a mutually beneficial exchange of resources.
As PROTEC uses state-of-the art equipment to carry out its experiments, the company can offer real-life opportunities for young and deserving engineers to work and study inside a modern and stimulating business reality.
The PROTEC optical sorting machine collection is designed for agriculture and the industrial processing of food products. The current range of products is the result of many years design and management experience and the development of a highly competent and motivated professional team who are continuously developing ideas and processes that can adapt to the most varied project requirements and production lines.
In 2021 Protec has designed and placed on the market a new sorting machine called X-TRI 50 ECO, more compact and customizable to sort different products especially winemaking grapes, easily adaptable to new and existing processing lines.
This machine is equipped with the most advanced artificial vision system for a deeper grape analysis. This model “ECO” is the new line of sorters that are also suitable to sort whole vegetables, in leaf and fruit. Always one step ahead, Protec brings innovation to the sorting world.
