AI and robots help Hawke's Bay apple exporter double processing capacity

A Hawke's Bay apple exporter has seen a doubling in what it can process due to artificial intelligence and robotics.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

A Hawke's Bay apple exporter has seen a doubling in what it can process due to artificial intelligence and robotics in his packhouse.

Every day, about 10 40 foot shipping containers of apples are trucked out of Taylor Corp Apple's packhouse to be exported around the world. The Napier packhouse is processing 12,000 to 14,000 cartons of apples a day, which is about 3000 apples a minute.

The family owned business has been exporting apples for over 100 years, and fourth generation grower Cameron Taylor told RNZ a lot has changed since then, as these days the entire packing process is fully automated.

Cameron Taylor.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

He said the family has always embraced change.

"Grandad was the first to have hydraulics on a tractor in New Zealand so I think automation and all that is in our DNA. We've always been pushing it," he said.

After Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed the packhouse in 2023, the family had a huge job of rebuilding the operation and took the opportunity to upgrade many of the machines.

These upgrades have resulted in the doubling of how many tonnes of apples can be processed and a key tool is the use of AI in checking for blemishes on the fruit.

Each apple is photographed about 500 times before it leaves the site, by an AI machine called 'Spectrim'.

"They're high definition cameras and we're (processing) upto 3000 apples a minute... using AI they can detect splits, stem punctures, black spot... that keeps you in market. Like for China you're not allowed codling moth or a certain insect," said Taylor.

AI technology takes upto 500 images of each apple.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

Many of the blemishes are hard to spot with the naked eye so by using AI instead of humans, the machine can detect the tiniest flaw that might determine how long the apple is stored for before being sold.

"If it has real fine splits then you won't send it on a journey of seven weeks, but you might be happy to send it to a market which is only 2 weeks away," he said.

Taylor Corp employs about 400 workers at its peak, which includes about 80 staff in the packhouse. Surprisingly, Cameron said that number hadn't changed much with the introduction of AI and robots to the apple packing process.

However, he said the use of new technology had doubled the amount of fruit being exported.

Taylor Corp Apple's packhouse.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

"What we are doing is keeping the same amount of staff but going through way more tonnage.

"The staff have stayed the same basically... we've trained them to control the robots so we've actually upskilled them," he said.

One of Taylor Corp's newest hires is Lewis Worthing, who is the head of digital operations.

"We develop all of our systems internally which means we can pack faster, higher quality, and we can change things quicker and we deliver a better result for our customers.

"But we are also thinking about what the next season looks like - planning in the off season if we are going to upgrade certain lines, are we going to integrate different software," said Worthing.

The 'Spectrim' machine is also used further down the line, to grade the fruit into different boxes depending on its colour and size, so that when a customer opens the box it's presented properly.

The AI Spectrim machine that detects blemishes in the fruit.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

Most of the equipment is designed and built in New Zealand, such as the Aporo machines that place the apples onto trays depending on size and colour, so that each box is well presented. The machines cost several million dollars each, but Cameron Taylor said it's worth it.

"The payback time is five years - with technology it goes so quick... it's outdated real quick.

"In this shed you're probably looking at about 30 million dollars of technology here," he said.

Once the fruit is packed in boxes a conveyer belt takes it to a robotic forklift called an AMR. They look like giant robot waiters, and are stacked high with apple boxes. The robots are covered with sensors and reduce the health and safety risk of using forklifts in a busy factory.

"It's so safe. This is all AI too so it's self learning, they're talking to each other.

"These forklifts know before us when a pallet is going to be full becuase there are scanners and sensors all through the shed, so they can get ready because they know that pallet is going to be next because it's down the line."

Cameron Taylor with an AMR robotic forklift.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

There are robots out in the orchard too, spraying weeds and cutting grass. But Cameron Taylor said the industry is yet to design an effective robotic apple picker - something he dreams of as he wants to reduce human error.

"You can grow all this beautiful fruit and getting the wrong picker... it can damage the fruit so you spend all year growing it and go to harvest and if it's not done with care then you can lose millions of dollars of fruit," he said.

The chief executive of New Zealand Apples & Pears, Danielle Adsett, told RNZ that technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly part of the conversation for the apple and pear sector.

"Opportunities for technological advancements and digitisation are emerging across the sector, and our growers and post-harvest facilities are ready to adapt.

"However, in the near term, gains are coming from targeted technology, improved data use, and incremental efficiencies, rather than rapid transformation driven by a single solution," she said.

10 shipping containers of apples are sent to Napier Port every day.

Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook

Adsett said while post-harvest facilities are early adopters of advanced technology and AI, the sector's most significant pressures remain in labour and productivity.

"While technology has potential to support, many solutions are high-cost and high-risk. And while 17 percent of orchards are considered 'robot ready', big-ticket tools such as robot harvesters are not expected in the near term.

"As an organisation we are looking into what can be done to de-risk investment in these high-impact opportunities, and how we could support a practical pathway for adoption. But of course, any developments must be fit-for-purpose and economically viable to achieve widespread uptake," she said.

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