Company will demonstrate how its latest offerings are transforming every stage of the postharvest production process
MAF Roda will present its AI- and robotics-powered solutions for the smart packhouse of the future at this year’s Fruit Attraction.
Conceived to address the sector’s new challenges regarding efficiency, traceability, quality, and automation, the company will highlight the progressive integration of AI and robotics throughout the entire production process in postharvest facilities – from fruit grading to packaging and end-of-line operations.
Amidst growing demands from retailers and end consumers, quality grading has become one of the most strategic and complex processes within any produce packhouse. Ensuring consistent quality, batch after batch, requires technologies capable of precisely analysing each piece of fruit, applying objective selection criteria, and facilitating faster, more consistent decision-making.
To respond to this market evolution, MAF Roda has developed electronic quality systems that incorporate AI, such as its Globalscan 7 AI platform. This platform enhances fruit analysis capabilities and is complemented by specialised software –such as the Smart range for citrus and avocados, and QS software for cherries, blueberries, and stonefruit.
“Beyond integrating AI into selection criteria, these solutions improve the user experience by simplifying equipment operation and making plant-level quality management more accessible,” the company said.
Within this framework, Berryscan G7 plays a prominent role as an advanced electronic grading system for blueberries. Equipped with multispectral cameras, 360º fruit rotation, and AI-based technology, it analyses parameters such as colour, diameter, morphology, and external quality, while also detecting defects with greater precision. Its integration with BerryQS – the quality software developed for this sector – enhances the system’s autonomy and facilitates operations that are more intuitive, precise, and tailored to the specific needs of each packhouse.
“The latest version of BerryQS includes features designed to assess attributes linked to the consumer experience – capabilities that can be explored at our stand during the upcoming Fruit Attraction,” MAF Roda said. “With this development, we are moving toward a more comprehensive blueberry grading process, capable of combining criteria regarding appearance, external condition, and organoleptic qualities.
“This fosters greater product uniformity and helps marketers meet one of today’s key market demands: offering fruit that is consistent, attractive, and aligned with consumer expectations.”
Another innovative solution the group will showcase in Madrid is Fast Pack AI Lemon, which it said represents “a significant leap forward in the automation of citrus packing”.
“The packing stage – traditionally labour-intensive and particularly sensitive to changes in packaging format, fruit size, or order specifications – thus takes a decisive step toward a more flexible, intelligent, and autonomous model,” MAF Roda said. “Fast Pack AI Lemon combines AI, computer vision, robotics, and advanced automation to respond more quickly and precisely to the needs of packing facilities and their commercial clients.”
The system allows operations to be configured based on basic information regarding the packaging, the fruit, and the size. Using this data, the machine automatically maps the packaging format via computer vision and determines the optimal position for each lemon within the container.
This ability to read, interpret, and place the fruit makes Fast Pack AI Lemon a particularly valuable tool for reducing reliance on manual adjustments, speeding up product changeovers, and ensuring consistent results on lines handling a wide variety of packaging formats, MAF Roda said.
“Beyond merely automating the packing motion, the innovation lies in the equipment’s ability to bring intelligence to the process. Fast Pack AI Lemon does more than just perform a repetitive task: it interprets the product, adjusts the fruit’s orientation to the required position, and enables a more agile response to changing orders,” the company stated.
“For fruit and vegetable packhouses, this means moving toward more stable packing lines with reduced operational complexity, greater process control, and an enhanced ability to meet increasingly demanding commercial specifications.”
Furthermore, Fast Pack AI Lemon’s connectivity adds another dimension to the smart warehouse concept: the machine can be monitored and controlled via a mobile app from anywhere in the facility. This strengthens real-time management, improves the plant team’s responsiveness, and contributes to a more flexible, traceable, and connected operation.
As part of its end-of-line automation offerings, Strauss – a subsidiary of the MAF Roda Group – will also showcase an automatic bagging, sealing, and weighing unit for apples. This solution integrates the entire process, from placing fruit into polyethylene bags, sealing them, and checking their weight, into a single workflow. It incorporates data such as variety and EAN codes to enhance traceability and optimise packing operations.
TAll these solutions can be viewed on October 6, 7, and 8 at Fruit Attraction 2026, in Hall 10, Stand 10D21.
