A single-lane sorter can‘t keep up with a growing industry. Here’s how a four-channel breakthrough helped one Sichuan plum packer process 50,000 fruits per hour — and why it matters for the future of the industry.
The Sichuan Plum Industry: Growing Fast, Outgrowing Manual Sorting
Sichuan is one of China‘s major plum-producing provinces. By the end of 2020, the province’s plum cultivation area had reached approximately one million mu (about 66,700 hectares), ranking fourth in China in both total area and total production.
But with scale comes pressure. As the plum industry expands, labor costs rise accordingly. Manual sorting — once the standard — is becoming slower, more expensive, and less reliable. For packers handling increasing volumes, the math is simple: more fruit needs to be processed in less time, with fewer people.
For Mr. Chen, the owner of the Xin Hongyang factory in Sichuan, this wasn‘t just a theoretical problem. It was a daily operational challenge.
The Challenge: One Lane Isn’t Enough
Traditional weight sorters typically operate with one or two lanes. They work well for smaller operations. But for a packer processing the output of a million-mu plum industry, single-lane sorting creates a bottleneck:
Challenge | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
Limited throughput | One or two lanes simply can‘t process the volume generated by large-scale plum production |
Labor bottlenecks | Manual sorting can’t keep up with modern harvest volumes |
Inconsistent quality | Fatigue leads to errors — undersized or damaged fruit ends up in the wrong pack |
Missed market windows | Slow processing means fruit misses the optimal window for retail delivery |
Mr. Chen wanted to achieve fully intelligent automatic plum sorting — a system that could handle high volumes without compromising quality. He needed more than an upgrade. He needed a breakthrough.
The Solution: Four Channels, One Breakthrough
After understanding Mr. Chen‘s requirements, the Fstsort research team began developing a four-channel sorting and packaging line. After multiple rounds of testing and continuous refinement, the line was successfully completed and installed in October.
The result: a four-channel system that can handle up to 50,000 pieces per hour — a significant leap from traditional one- or two-lane machines.
What the four-channel design delivers:
· Higher throughput without compromising accuracy — Each channel operates independently, processing fruit simultaneously. The result is four times the capacity of a single-lane system, with the same ±2g precision.
· Non-destructive sorting — Fresh fruit requires gentle handling. The system uses reliable weight sorting technology with soft-touch mechanisms that classify fruit with high precision — without bruising.
· Seamless integration — The line combines a hoist, picking table, sorting machine, and packing table in one continuous flow, eliminating the delays of manual transfer between stations.
· Ready for retail — Sorted fruit moves directly to packing, enabling rapid packaging for sale and helping packers achieve better prices through consistent quality.
The Impact: From Manual to Intelligent
For Mr. Chen‘s operation, the transformation was immediate. The four-channel line processes plums faster, more accurately, and with less labor than ever before.
But the impact goes beyond one factory. The Sichuan plum industry is moving toward scale and standardization — and the four-channel sorting line is helping make that possible. By commercializing Sichuan plums through intelligent sorting, packers can now meet the quality expectations of retail and export markets.
Ready to see how a four-channel sorting line can transform your plum operation? Explore the full specifications on our plums grader page →
The Future Is Multi-Lane
The plum industry is growing. Consumer expectations are rising. The packers who succeed will be the ones who can process high volumes quickly, accurately, and gently — without relying on ever-increasing labor.
The four-channel breakthrough proves it‘s possible. The question is whether your line is ready for the next season.