ICOEL
TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR FRUIT & VEGETABLES Powered by Inside Food & Drink
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ICOEL
I PROFILE
160 Inside food & drink
ICOEL is dedicated to the research and development of cuttingedge technologies for the fruit and vegetable market. Owner and General Director Bruno Stravato explained ICOEL’s innovative mindset. or over 50 years, the Italian
F
A cutting-edge portfolio
company ICOEL has been supporting
ICOEL manufactures a complete range of
customers around the world in the
machines for every stage of processing
fruit and vegetable processing market.
for various categories of fruit and vegeta-
ICOEL's aim has always been to listen to
bles: cherries, kiwis, stone fruits such as
its customers, and to design and imple-
peaches, plums, apricots; citrus fruits,
ment highly personalised solutions based
apples and more.
on their needs.
From feeding to packing, via sorting and
From its origins as an artisan business,
grading, ICOEL offers manual, semi-auto-
the company has undergone a process of
matic or fully automatic configurations
evolution that has led it to equip itself with
to meet the heterogeneous and evolving
a state-of-the-art industrial organisation.
needs of its customers. The aim is to auto-
“We export all over the world and we are
mate the process without returning to
always curious and attentive to the new
solutions that are too rigid and unable to
needs of each market,” explained Owner
adapt to requirements that vary in structure,
and General Director Bruno Stravato.
processed volumes and market demand.
“Thanks to our partnership with TOMRA,
“What makes our range popular is the
we put all our experience and expertise
evolution of the software and HMI inter-
at the service of innovation and the
face, which, together with the automation
improvement of our customers’ business.”
inherent in our peripherals, simplifies and
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ICOEL
I PROFILE
speeds up the management of informa-
strong internationalisation and great inte-
tion for the operator,” said Mr Stravato.
gration with even more market-oriented
“This is a huge competitive advantage,
realities, man and his authenticity remain
as it allows us to meet customer require-
the cornerstones of ICOEL. The entire value
ments by adapting to the changing needs
chain is nurtured by the constant training
of the market. We are pleased to be able
of engineers and technicians; this is the
to offer machines that improve both
only way we can guarantee the excellent
the relationship between operator and
quality of our machines and software.”
machine and the relationship between the quantities processed and the degree
A fruitful partnership
of delicacy guaranteed.
Of particular note is the agreement
“This choice goes hand-in-hand with
with TOMRA, a Norwegian company with
that of staff training. Even in a context of
expertise in the design and manufacture
162 Inside food & drink
mentary companies able to combine their advanced technologies in a single solution. The customer thus interfaces with a single entity that guarantees a linear relaof sensor-based
tionship and faster responses throughout
sorting solutions; a
the design and implementation process.
partnership that began
Their relationship is based on the shared
more than 20 years ago with
importance of the customer throughout
Compac, and has grown since it was acquired by the TOMRA Group.
the process – from design to commissioning of the installation.
The agreement with TOMRA,
“The added value also lies in the
signed in 2022, makes ICOEL a privi-
attention we pay to the relationship
leged partner for the supply of periph-
with the customer: training and tech-
erals in Italy, Greece and Turkey; markets
nical assistance are fundamental to
where it enjoys a strong reputation. For
enable our customers to work indepen-
the Latin American countries, the strong
dently, fully aware of the strengths of
collaboration in the development of
the technologies installed,” stressed
fully integrated technologies for cherry
Mr Stravato.
processing continues, offering the best
This symbiotic work gives the customer
ICOEL – TOMRA technologies as syner-
the confidence to facilitate the selection
getic solutions.
process and streamline the after-sales
Such a collaboration brings together the know-how of two different and comple-
relationship, which makes a real difference. By sharing the burden of development
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ICOEL
I PROFILE
164 Inside food & drink
and research, both companies can
ICOEL-TOMRA duo to renew the entire line,
specialise and offer both the latest
from feeding to palletising.
software and peripherals.
Changing the geographical area and going to Turkey, ICOEL is strongly involved
Complex production processes
in the citrus and apple market, as well
ICOEL knows that in the world of fruit and
as the cherry market, according to Mr
vegetables, it is misleading to talk about
Stravato: “We have adapted to different
the standardisation of machinery. There
production volumes, moving from the
are simply too many factors involved:
huge production of lemons to more
the geographical location of production,
limited lines for younger companies.”
the type of fruit and the specific quality processed, the target market and its
An ambitious future
requirements, and finally the size of the
Meanwhile, ICOEL's future revolves
plant and the volumes handled.
around the company's continuous
Bringing all these factors together in
innovation, as Mr Stravato pointed out:
a solution for a customer means that ICOEL
“We focus on the development of our
must adjust many parameters, not just
system, studying new technologies
the level of automation of the machines.
that have a positive impact on the
“We work with customers all over the world, with products that are all
performance of our machines. “To meet the challenges of the market,
different,” Mr Stravato explained. “This
we are convinced that we must continue
means that we have to listen to all the
to invest in three important factors: struc-
customer's needs and create a solution
ture, research and human resources. The
that varies in terms of the level of tech-
year 2023 will continue to be marked by
nology, but also in terms of the number
the study and research of new technolog-
of people to be employed and the size
ical solutions to optimise the machines
of the premises.”
already in our catalogue and to develop
Recently there has been a lot of talk
new ones. Increasing the resources
about our cherry trees, both in Italy and
devoted to this phase of the project
abroad, particularly in South America. We
is fundamental to strengthening our
are carrying out many studies to optimise
policy of supporting manufacturers.”
the working process because it is a very
And it is precisely this process of
delicate fruit which needs to be treated
close collaboration with the customer
with great care. Our technologies cover
that Mr Stravato enjoys: “The dynamism
a much wider range of fruits: in Greece,
of this work is extremely stimulating; it
there is a growing presence in the pro-
is gratifying to see the impact of my
cessing of kiwis, and only last year ICOEL
commitment and that of my staff on
completed the installation of a large plant
each project, from the study phase to the
for Protofanousis Fruit, which chose the
personal relationship with the customer.” n Inside food & drink 165