Next-gen AI blueberry grading machine

AI-driven blueberry grading machines help growers and packers improve efficiency, reduce labor dependency and deliver more consistent quality.

Key benefits include:

✅ Reduced labor requirements
✅ Higher throughput and processing capacity
✅ More consistent quality grading
✅ Improved pack-out rates
✅ Reduced waste and customer claims
✅Reliable performance throughout the season

By combining advanced AI grading, gentle product handling and high-speed processing, Elifab blueberry grading machines powered by Ellips True-AI help packhouses meet customer requirements while improving profitability.

An Elifab blueberry grading machine, powered by Ellips True-AI, uses advanced cameras and deep learning algorithms to inspect and classify every blueberry in real time.

The grading process includes:

• Accurate singulation to ensure every blueberry is individually assessed
• Rotating cups and 360° grading for full surface visibility
• Up to 30 high-resolution images per blueberry
• Analysis of size, shape, color, weight, and external defects
• Internal quality inspection for hidden defects

The collected data is analyzed by True-AI, which classifies each blueberry according to the required quality standards and grading specifications.

This enables growers and packers to achieve consistent grading results, maximize pack-out and deliver reliable quality. Batch after batch.

Elifab blueberry grading machines powered by Ellips True-AI are designed for simple day-to-day operation. The system automatically manages complex grading parameters, reducing the need for manual adjustments and operator input.

Benefits include:

✅ Easy-to-use operator interface
✅Automatic grading parameter management
✅ Fast product and grade changes
✅Reduced training requirements
✅ Consistent grading performance

When adjustments are needed, settings can be changed quickly and intuitively, allowing operators to maintain full control of the grading process.

Yes, Ellips True-AI continuously improves by learning from new data, helping the grading system become more accurate and efficient over time.

The system is trained using:

• Real-world grading data
• Customer quality control expertise
• Different blueberry varieties
• Multiple growing regions
• Data collected across seasons and conditions

By combining new data with its existing defect database, True-AI continuously refines its ability to recognize defects and optimize grading decisions. This ongoing learning process helps improve grading accuracy, consistency and long-term performance.

In practice, defects in the final product are typically reduced to below 2%, while only a small percentage of good blueberries is removed during sorting.

Elifab blueberry grading machines equipped with Ellips True-AI deliver highly consistent and objective grading results. By eliminating subjective human judgment, the system reduces variability and minimizes grading errors, even at high processing speeds. As the system processes more data, True-AI continues to improve its ability to detect and classify defects accurately.

Ellips True-AI inspects the entire surface of every blueberry and detects a wide range of external quality defects with exceptional accuracy.

Detectable defects and quality characteristics include:

• Softness
• Ripeness
• Dehydration / shrivelling
• Flower
• Bruising
• Cuts / Cracks
• Cell breakdown
• Compression damages
• Bloom
• Mold
• Stem tears
• Taste (Brix and Acidity)
• And many more

With detection accuracy down to 0.2 mm, the system delivers consistent and objective grading results.

Benefits include:

✅ Reduced customer claims
✅Improved pack-out rates
✅ More consistent grading
✅ Reliable shipment quality
✅Stronger customer relationships

Yes, the Ellips blueberry grading software allows you to define and apply multiple quality classes based on your specific requirements.

For example, blueberries can be sorted into:

• Class 1 (Premium)
• Class 2 (Minor defects)
• Class 3 (Processing)

The system is fully flexible, enabling you to customize grading standards for different markets, customers and applications.

This helps ensure each blueberry is directed to the most appropriate market, maximizing value and maintaining consistent quality standards.

Elifab blueberry grading machines typically process 200–300 kg per lane per hour (depending on average berry weight), which translates to approximately 2.4–3.6 tons per hour on a 12-lane sorter.

Capacity can be scaled through multi-lane configurations to match the throughput needs of any packhouse operation.

This high-capacity design helps packhouses handle peak volumes efficiently while maintaining consistent grading performance and meeting delivery deadlines.

Labor savings depend on your operation, product mix and current grading process. By automating grading, an Elifab blueberry grading machine can significantly reduce the need for manual sorting and lower labor costs.

Several customers have reported concrete results:

• Costa Berries (Australia) invested in a 12-lane Elifab blueberry grader powered by Ellips True-AI to keep pace with rising harvest volumes and a labor-constrained, remote location. By packing more fruit within a single shift, Costa reduced labor pressure without expanding the shed or running double shifts — a shift the team called a “massive win for labour availability and cost-efficiency.”
• African Blue (Morocco) turned to a 12-lane Elifab grader to scale toward doubling production over five years without simply adding headcount. The line delivers the equivalent output of three manual sorting lines and enabled a full shift to bulk harvesting, letting the team “increase productivity, without just adding more people.”
• Dr. B’s (Washington State, USA) found that with the Elifab grader’s quality control so accurate, manual inspection was no longer necessary. This directly reduced labor requirements and associated costs in the packhouse, even as volumes grew from 7 million to a projected 16 million pounds of blueberries.
• Handvol Boerdery (South Africa) cut its labor requirement by nearly 50% after installing a 2-lane Elifab grader, without sacrificing quality. Advanced defect detection and automation let the team cut manual sorting in half while still meeting export standards for bloom, firmness, and shelf life — described by their Production Manager as a system that “completely changed the rhythm of our packhouse.”

Benefits include:

✅ Lower labor costs
✅ Reduced dependence on seasonal workers
✅ Fewer night shifts
✅ Higher throughput
✅ More consistent grading results

Yes, Ellips True-AI enables full-speed grading regardless of fruit quality. The system maintains maximum processing speed while accurately detecting defects, even in mixed-quality batches.

Traditionally, batches with uneven fruit quality often required slower processing speeds to maintain grading accuracy. With True-AI, this is no longer necessary.

Benefits include:

✅ Maximum throughput
✅ Accurate defect detection
✅Consistent grading performance
✅Higher operational efficiency
✅More volume processed without compromising quality

Yes. For most blueberry growers and packers, an AI-powered grading machine pays for itself within a few seasons by reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and improving fruit value.

Key value drivers include:

✅ Reduced labor costs
✅ Higher pack-out rates
✅ More consistent quality
✅ Increased throughput
✅ Lower waste and fewer claims

In addition to cost savings, AI grading helps maximize revenue by sorting fruit more accurately into higher-value categories.

The exact return depends on your operation. Ellips and Elifab can provide a customized ROI calculation based on your volumes, labor situation and business goals.

The payback period depends on factors such as production volume, labor costs and the level of automation. In most cases, blueberry grading machines achieve a return on investment within a couple of years.

Typical savings come from:

✅ Reduced labor costs
✅ Higher pack-out rates
✅ Lower losses from waste and claims

By improving both efficiency and product quality, the system quickly contributes to a more profitable operation.

To provide a clear and realistic estimate, Ellips and Elifab can calculate the expected return on investment based on your specific operation, volumes, labor situation and market requirements.

We follow a structured process to help you find the best solution for your operation and maximize your return on investment:

1. Discovery call – We discuss your goals, challenges, product characteristics and capacity requirements.
2. Reference visit – We share relevant customer cases and, if desired, arrange a visit to an existing customer installation.
3. Live demonstration – We test your own produce to show grading performance and results.
4. ROI analysis – We calculate the expected return on investment based on your situation.
5. Solution design – We develop a grading solution tailored to your operation.
6. Installation & training – Our specialists install the system and train your team to ensure a smooth start

This approach ensures you have a clear understanding of the technology, expected results and business impact before making a decision.

The Elifab machine with Ellips AI grading technology is widely used by blueberry growers and packing companies around the world. More than 85 blueberry sorting systems and over 750 lanes have been installed, supporting high-capacity blueberry grading operations across different markets and conditions.

Customers include:

• Costa Group
• Fruitist
• Agrovision
• Prize
• Driscoll’s
• Fall Creek
• DRB’s Inc.
• African Blue
• Hall Hunter Partnership
• ABB Growers
• Berries Paradise
• BG
• Blaubeer Garten
• Castleton Farm
• Our Family Garden
• Fruit Masters
• Hortifrut
• Nuleaf
• Silver Valley
• Artberry
• Berries Valle Maule S.A.
• Zimflex
• SanLucar
• Morrisons
• PLV Looije Packing
• Agricola Andrea
• Sant’Orsola
• Family Garden
• Handvol Boerdery…and many other blueberry growers and packers worldwide.

Ellips brings more than 37 years of experience in grading technology, with over 3,500 grading solutions installed worldwide across 19 different fruit and vegetable types.

Together with Elisam and Elifab, the company supports a global installed base of more than 350 grading machines and 3,000 retrofit installations, helping growers and packers improve quality, efficiency and consistency.

As a family-founded company, Ellips combines proven technology with long-term customer relationships, delivering practical solutions backed by decades of industry expertise.

Yes, Ellips is a family-founded company with over 37 years of experience in grading technology. Founded by Erwin Bakker, the company is now shaped by the next generation, with his children Mitchel, Levi and Jody actively contributing to areas such as product development, customer relationships and user experience.

This combination of experience and new perspectives ensures continuous innovation in AI-powered grading solutions, while maintaining a strong focus on long-term partnerships, trust and practical solutions that work in daily operations.

Elifab and Ellips provide fast, expert support to keep your packhouse running efficiently throughout the season. Many issues can be resolved remotely by experienced engineers, while local service specialists are available when on-site assistance is required.

Operators receive comprehensive training to confidently manage grading, system settings and daily production.

To ensure long-term performance, we provide ongoing maintenance and support, including:

• Pre-season inspections and preparation
• In-season technical support
• Post-season performance reviews
• Software updates and system optimization

This proactive approach helps minimize downtime, maximize throughput and keep your grading operation performing at its best year after year.

Installation time depends on the size of the system and the complexity of the packhouse. Smaller installations and retrofits can often be completed within days, while larger projects may take 2-4 weeks.

Each project is carefully planned by Elifab and Ellips specialists to minimize disruption to your operation. From mechanical installation and software integration to testing and commissioning, experienced teams manage the entire process to ensure your grading system is up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The commitment to staying on-site until everything was fully handed over speaks volumes. It’s not just good service. It’s a success story, and something worth celebrating.

Dewald van der Merwe | Costa Berries | Australia

Yes, Ellips and Elifab grading systems are designed for long-term use and continuous improvement. Regular software updates enhance performance and introduce new capabilities over time.

The system is built around modular architecture, allowing you to upgrade components as technology evolves, including:

• Cameras
• Software
• AI grading capabilities
• Extra lanes for added capacity

For existing sorting machines, Ellips also offers retrofit solutions, enabling you to upgrade your current equipment with the latest grading technology without replacing the entire machine.

This helps protect your investment and ensures your operation remains competitive for years to come

Yes, Ellips TrueSort provides real-time dashboards and built-in reporting tools, giving operators and management full visibility over grading performance.

Live dashboards track key metrics such as:

• Production status
• Defect rates
• Waste levels
• Packing performance by product or classification

This helps teams identify issues early, respond quickly and keep operations running efficiently. The system also includes built-in reports for products, classes, and packaging, which can be exported or integrated with tools such as Microsoft Power BI for deeper analysis and reporting. By combining real-time monitoring with historical data, TrueSort helps you improve efficiency, reduce errors and continuously optimize performance.

Yes. Ellips TrueSort collects detailed grading data that helps you improve quality, efficiency and profitability over time.

You can use this data to:

• Compare growing techniques and production methods
• Evaluate field, supplier or grower performance
• Identify quality and yield trends across batches and seasons
• Reduce waste and improve consistency
• Support more informed operational and commercial decisions

With the optional Data Acquisition feature, grading data can also be combined with external sources such as weather, storage and logistics data to support:

1. Harvest planning
2. Demand forecasting
3. Quality prediction

By turning grading data into actionable insights, Ellips TrueSort helps you continuously optimize performance across your operation.

Ellips TrueSort tracks every blueberry from intake to final packaging, digitally linking each product to its grower, field and batch. This provides complete visibility throughout the grading and packing process, making it easy to trace products, verify quality and meet food safety requirements.

Traceability data also helps you:

✅ Support accurate grower payments
✅ Improve quality control
✅ Reduce food waste
✅ Respond quickly to recalls
✅ Protect brand reputation

The result is full product traceability and greater control across your entire supply chain.