Potato Packer Wada Farms surpasses its ROI objectives in the very first year using optical grading technology

As a leading grower of fresh potatoes, Wada Farms set out to improve efficiency, enhance product quality, and reduce reliance on manual labor. All while preparing for future growth. With rising labor costs, strict customer demands, and the limitations of manual and mechanical sorting, these goals were ambitious. They made a major step forward: first switching to an Elisam optical grader, then upgrading to Ellips True-AI.

The result?

Faster throughput, greater quality consistency, and surpassing their ROI objectives in the very first year. Today, Wada Farms confidently meets customer demands, handles larger volumes, and has significantly reduced labor requirements, while opening new growth opportunities. In this short video, Kip Yeates shares what changed and how AI grading made the difference. 

Kip Yeates, Vice President of Fresh Operations at Wada Farms:

"Exceeding expectations in the first year of a major investment really builds your confidence. We hit our first milestone in just 30 days, achieving the throughput rate we aimed to achieve after 12 months of operation."

Curious to see how Wada Farms’ results were achieved?

The Ellips – Elisam AI potato grader is being showcased live at:

• Fruit Attraction in Madrid – Stand 10D27, Hall 10
• Global Produce & Floral Show in Anaheim, California – Booth 3423

Discover how AI is changing the game for potato growers and packers such as, Folson Farm, Hughes Farms, Wallace Farms, Pioneer Potatoes, Maple Wood Farm, OC Schulz and Sons, Agroteam, Stular, Dutkiewicz, Phoenix Farms, Wild, Wilhelm Weyers, Zerella Fresh, and many more already in the running. 

Challenges Faced Before Switching to Optical Grading

• Labor availability and rising costs – Wada Farms needed to enhance production efficiency.
• Meeting demanding customer standards – delivering consistently sized and graded products was difficult with existing processes.
• Improving grading accuracy – to avoid false positives and increase returns, accuracy needed to improve.
• Limitations of manual sorting – sorting by hand is challenging; despite best efforts, humans can overlook details and make mistakes.
• Mechanical constraints – mechanical sizing and manual sorting limited grading, product handling, capacity, and ability to meet changing market demands.

Results Achieved with Ellips True-AI
 

• Labor related to manual sizing and sorting reduced by 75%, lowering operational costs and improving efficiency.
• Grading capacity increased by over 20%, reaching the first-year production target within just 30 days.
• Improved quality consistency and operational flexibility, enabling Wada Farms to better respond to strict customer requirements.