New Zealand's BBC Technologies invited fruit industry representatives to its office in Chillán, Chile to show off the company's technological offerings on site.

As a top producer of blueberry machinery, the company opened its Latin American headquarters in Chillán last year to be closer to the continent's heart of berry production.

Regional manager José Manuel Bustos told www.freshfruitportal.com that clients will now have access to machines on demonstration at sales points and have greater access to technical service.

The company has also hired a new service manager from New Zealand who will work from Chile on the company's technical aspects.

Regarding new machinary, the company launched a new harvesting machine for fresh blueberries. The EZ Harvester is aimed at improving harvest efficiency by an estimated four to five times per person.

"We have a machine on demonstration that clients saw and gave feedback on. We are going to test products this year and most likely market something this year for the Chilean season," Bustos said at the event.

The company also displayed its Fill-by-weight machine that fills clamshells to a determined weight. Other machines included the Color Sorta for selecting fruit by color, the Soft Sorta for selecting fruit based on firmness and the Dura Touch sensor.

"Apart from being pioneers and having invented this technology in 2004, this year we've launched equipment improvement with Dura Touch sensors that damage less fruit in the selection process," Bustos said.

www.freshfruitportal.com