| 51 T T Kim Newth Leading robotic solutions Many growers have benefited from using smart products designed by Hortworx, including robotic bin fillers. Hortworx Since launching in 2019, Hawke’s Bay innovators Hortworx have worked wonders in orchard packhouses throughout New Zealand and beyond through adding tailored, simple automation to post-harvest production processes. With the vision now expanding to other industries, the company is rebranding as Controlworx to reflect a broader reach. Many growers have benefited from using smart products designed by Hortworx, including robotic bin fillers, supported by service and maintenance. CEO Rob Elstone says the impetus behind the current shift in focus is partly due to difficult times in the horticultural sector, but it’s also about embracing their core talents and wanting to make their expertise more widely available to other production-line industries. “We realised we’d been trying to do everything – including looking after production lines, doing maintenance and responding to breakdown callouts – when what we do best is designing and building simple robotic solutions. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a rise in requests from a range of industries, with horticulture now only 30% of our business. It makes sense for us to rebrand to meet this changing market. What we do is look at production-line processes: if there is heavy lifting and repetitive work – things that no-one should be doing for eight hours a day – we can replace some of that and free up staff to do more useful things.” Controlworx is off to a flying start in 2025 with the first bespoke machine under that branding already installed. “This particular machine was developed for a cherry producer in Central Otago. What it does is pick up cherry bins and dumps the cherries into a water tank that goes to the production line. It required a quick turnaround, only five months, from conception to delivery. We design from scratch and take it all the way through to installation and commissioning. “We have a number of projects on the go in Australia as well. In 2025, a large portion of our work will be in Australia. It’s all about having the right relationship at the right time and being able to leverage that in the different markets there.” Controlworx enjoys a strong working relationship with OMRON, a global industrial automation supplier. “As OMRON manufacture and support the products, we have access to their engineering team, especially dealing with Mobile Robotics and Vision. It gives us that extra bit of leverage and enables us to do more with less.” Rob started his electrical career some 20 years ago as an avionics technician with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and has since held commercial roles as an electrician and project manager. He moved fully into the industrial realm at Panpac Sawmill and then pursued a passion for machines and automation at Fruit Handling Systems (later Compac Sorting). His foundational business, RBE Automation, was launched 12 years ago, with a focus on adding automation in the post-harvest industry. Rob and his father Paul, a fitter and turner, worked together to create a robotic bin filler tailor-made for local packhouses before joining forces, at the time, with Jarrod Eichler, a highly experienced avionics maintenance engineer, to form Hortworx in 2019. Can we change the ad to read the following at the top with the contact address at the bottom : Suppliers and Stockists of Engineering Plastic Materials 3D CNC Machining services Rotational Moulding Sheet Thermoforming Regards, Allen P 06 843 2299 E info@classique-plastics.com W www.classique-plastics.com 21 Wakefield Street, Onekawa, Napier Suppliers and Stockists of Engineering Plastic Materials • 3D CNC Machining Services • Rotational Moulding • Sheet Thermoforming Your Partner for Smart Automation Solutions for OEMs With an unrivalled range of industry-leading brands and support services, EllisCo is the partner you need on your next project. 09 570 5267 www.ellis.co.nz Castors: • workbench castors • Heavy-duty castors • Mini castors • Medium duty castors “If it rolls, think Richmond” P: 0800 61 71 81 E: nzsales@richmondnz.co.nz W: richmondnz.co.nz 650A Great South Road, Papatoetoe Door Hardware: • Barn door hardware • Hanging door hardware Gate Hardware: • Automatic hardware kits • Cantilievers • Sliding gate kits • Outdoor cameras Material Handling: • Pallet jacks • Lift tables • Roll cages • Trolleys & Dollies New Zealand’s largest supplier of rolling solutions since 1997 HORTICULTURE
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