The Yorkshire-based designer and manufacturer of vegetable handling equipment, Haith, has been award a second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
In 2010, the company’s Root Veg Polisher won the award. However, this time, it was Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject that has received the accolade.
The Rota-Tip Up-Eject was first manufactured in 2011, and is now used by many of the UK’s vegetable and potato packers, to transfer produce onto washing, sizing and packing lines. Haith’s managing director, Duane Hill, estimates that as much as 95% of the UK’s supermarket potato suppliers now use the Haith Rota-Tip.
Mr Hill says of the award: “Today’s recognition is excellent news for our team, a reward for their hard work, and a testimony to our customers who involve us in their businesses and trust us to develop solutions to enhance their business. Everyone at Haith is very proud to be recognised by the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for a second time.”
Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject was designed at the request of food packers and processors who experienced oil leaks, high energy use and instability when using traditional hydraulic box tipplers. Haith innovated the design by replacing the hydraulic motors with all-electric drives, which use less power and prevent oil leaks. Haith also developed a new, safer, and more effective rotating system that can handle larger box volumes than older designs.
“The Rota-Tip Up-Eject and the Root Veg Polisher, that received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise 12 years ago, show that Haith’s approach to helping its customers has not changed. We are always looking to find better ways of doing things and providing solutions that are efficient, incredibly well made, priced competitively and backed up by the best customer service we can offer,” concluded Mr Hill.
