California grower-shipper JJB invests in technology to reduce manual labor at Onions Etc.
JJB Family Farms grows, packs, and ships a wide variety of agricultural products on the American West Coast. Derrell Kelso manages the onion branch, also known as Onions Etc. Like many farmers, he struggles with finding the right people for manual labor.
‘We want to offer our clients the best quality possible, so I knew we needed to invest in technology,’ says Derrell. He first heard about Eqraft through one of his own clients. ‘I quickly noticed Rutger and his team take their job very seriously; they were genuinely interested in our business.’
Reducing manual labor
The first machines he purchased were an Evenflow, a combination scale and a Baxmatic. ‘They’re really well made and – the most important part – they run.’ His latest addition is an onion topping line that automatically cleans up the onions and trims the roots. ‘This is the only machine out there that can get great results without manual labor.’ He's happy with service Eqraft is offering. ‘If something doesn’t work exactly like it should, they take it very personally and solve the problem as soon as they can.’
“The new line will make our employees’ work more pleasant”
Fully automated onion shed
But the most exciting part of JJB Family Farms’ collaboration with Eqraft is still about to happen: they’re planning to build a fully automated onion grading and packing shed. Derrell is excited to teach his employees about this new technology. ‘We’ll have fewer people working for us and they’ll do a higher-level, better paid and more pleasant job.’ JJB has noticed an increased interest in small packages since COVID-19. Derrell: ‘The new line will be able to handle many types of packaging efficiently and quickly.’