Onion & Carrot Washing Production Line Case

From the Land of Tulips to Europe's Vegetable Basket – Dutch G***V Group Introduces Hadof Fully Automatic Onion & Carrot Washing Line to Break Through Multi-variety Mixed Washing Challenges

Client Name： G***V

Country： Kingdom of the Netherlands

Region： South Holland – the Capital of European Vegetables, the core area of Westland Greenhouse Cluster, export base for onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes

Core Products： Onions, Carrots, Bell Peppers, Green Peppers, Chili Peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Zucchinis, Beets

Equipment Configuration： Hadof customized flexible brush + bubble + spray combined root & fruit vegetable washing line (compatible with multi-variety quick change and ice water fresh-keeping system)

Commissioning Time： Q3 2024

The Netherlands is the world's second largest agricultural exporter after the United States, and the Westland Greenhouse Cluster is known as "Europe's Vegetable Basket". G***V Group is the largest vegetable exporter in South Holland, supplying products to Germany, France, the UK and Nordic markets. However, with the extreme pursuit of vegetable cleanliness by European retailers and the rising labor costs, the traditional cleaning model is facing severe challenges:

Onion Skin Peeling Easily： The papery outer skin of dry onions softens when exposed to water. Traditional cleaning causes a 20% peeling rate, losing commercial value and only being sold at a discount.

Deep Mud in Carrot Grooves： Carrots have longitudinal grooves with hidden mud that traditional brushes cannot reach, resulting in multiple returns from German supermarkets.

Water Accumulation in Pepper Stems： Water easily accumulates in the concave stem parts of bell peppers and chilies after cleaning, causing mildew during transportation with an 8% rot rate.

Slow Multi-variety Switching： Switching from onions to tomatoes to cucumbers requires 2 hours of shutdown cleaning for traditional lines, causing heavy losses in peak seasons.

Surface Scratches on Tomatoes & Cucumbers： The delicate skins of tomatoes and cucumbers are easily scratched by traditional brushes, oxidizing and blackening within 24 hours.

Solution: Intelligent Washing System for "Root + Fruit & Vegetable Diversity"

The customer's requirements were clear: intact onion skins, mud-free carrot grooves, no water accumulation in stems, zero scratches on tomatoes and cucumbers, and fast multi-variety switching.

After comparing washing equipment from Belgium and Germany, the customer finally chose our company. Our advantage lies in deep process adaptation for the different characteristics of root and fruit vegetables, not general-purpose machines.

Solutions: Five Customized Designs for Dutch Multi-variety Vegetables

1. Flexible Air Cushion Rollers + Variable Frequency Brushes, 97% Intact Onion Skin Rate

To solve the problem of dry onion peeling, flexible air cushion rollers replace traditional rollers, allowing onions to float on airflow to avoid extrusion. Brush speed is automatically adjusted (20-40rpm) according to onion size, with imported horse hair brushes that gently remove mud without damaging skins. Tests show the intact rate of dry onion skins increased from 80% to 97%.

2. Ultrasonic Cavitation + Directional Spraying, Zero Mud in Carrot Grooves

A 40kHz ultrasonic field is added in the washing tank for carrot longitudinal grooves. The cavitation effect shakes off deep mud, combined with 45° directional high-pressure spraying for thorough cleaning. According to German TüV testing, zero mud residue was found in 100 carrot samples.

3. Stem Flipping + Pulse Airflow, Zero Water Accumulation for Bell Peppers & Tomatoes

A stem flipping device is added at the end of the line to turn bell peppers and tomatoes upside down, with pulse high-pressure airflow (0.5s/time) to completely dry water in concave parts. Transportation rot rate reduced from 8% to 1%, shelf life extended by 4 days.

4. Sponge Cushions + Silicone Brushes, Zero Scratches on Tomatoes & Cucumbers

For delicate fruits and vegetables, food-grade sponge cushions are used on conveyor belts with independent grooves for each fruit. Silicone brushes (soft as fingers) with automatic speed adjustment (10-30rpm) reduce damage rate from 5% to 0.3%, keeping surfaces smooth.

5. AI Visual Recognition + One-key Production Change, 30-second Multi-variety Switching

An AI visual recognition system is integrated at the line entrance to automatically identify material types (onion/carrot/bell pepper/tomato/cucumber), adjusting brush speed, spray pressure, water temperature and other parameters within 1 second. Production change time reduced from 2 hours to 30 seconds, daily capacity increased by 50%, handling 15 varieties per day in peak season.

Client Testimonial: Dutch Vegetables Regain Top Supplier Status in German Supermarkets

One year after commissioning, G***V Group has achieved a complete transformation.

Capacity & Market Breakthrough

Daily Capacity: Increased from 150 tons (manual line) to 400 tons (automatic line), exceeding 500 tons in peak season. Delivery punctuality rate rose from 75% to 99%.

Channel Upgrade: Cleaned onions, carrots and bell peppers entered top supermarkets including Edeka (Germany), Tesco (UK) and Carrefour (France), with prices 20% higher than ordinary products. Exports to Germany increased by 80% in 2024, regaining the top onion supplier position in the German market.

Significant Economic Benefits

ROI: "We used 200 workers for sorting and washing before, now only 15 people for the whole line. Annual labor cost savings exceed 4 million euros. Combined with reduced losses, the equipment investment will be recovered in less than 20 months."

Loss Reduction: Onion damage rate reduced from 20% to 3% (saving 2 million euros/year); tomato & cucumber scratch rate reduced from 5% to 0.3% (increasing revenue by 1.5 million euros/year); transportation mildew loss reduced by 80%.

Technological Leadership

The line became the first vegetable washing line in the Netherlands certified by German Edeka "Zero Defect" supplier standard, winning the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture "Smart Agriculture Innovation Award" and driving technological upgrading of the entire Westland production area.

"Hadof's equipment makes our Dutch vegetables shine in European supermarkets. German customers say our onions are as dry as freshly picked, and tomatoes as smooth as untouched. This is the technological power of Dutch greenhouse agriculture."

—— G***V, Group CEO