KOKAN replaces 60 workers - Obrenovac-based BSK first company in the world to produce harvesters that pick berry fruits using air

(Photo: kokan)

Aside from bragging about the quality of our fruits, we will also be able to boast about a technology for picking them as early as next year, when the BSK company from Obrenovac will kick off the commercial production of KOKAN 500S, a harvester that picks berry fruits using air and replaces 60 human pickers a day.

KOKAN 500S, which is based on a unique, innovative technology involving the use of air for picking fruits, imitates a storm to strike fruit-bearing branches of the plants with air batches traveling at a controlled speed, thus picking only ripe fruits without causing damage to them, and all this in a natural manner involving no physical contact with the plants.

This technology of harvesting berry fruits by means of air has been actively developed since 2002, with its efficiency confirmed in raspberry, blackberry and blueberry harvests on plantations in Arilje, Brus, Duvaniste and Majur (Sabac), Djurdjevo (Vojvodina), as well as abroad, on raspberry plantations in Chile, in the vicinity of Santiago.

The CEO of BSK, Marko Kokanovic, says to eKapija that they are already receiving queries about the possibility of placing an order for these harvesters, adding that the commercialization process will not start until "the project is implemented completely, that is, until all tests in the field and at the workshop are done, so no problem could occur later, in the exploitation phase."

- We plan to dispatch the first shipment as early as next year. At this moment our production capacity is such that we can make about 20 harvesters a year, but we are already in the process of picking a location for a modern production facility that we plan to build within the next two or three years.

In the meantime, BSK is using the capacities of its subcontractors. This Obrenovac-based company has subcontractors in several towns in Serbia. They are all companies engaged in metal processing, design of structures, specific parts, conveyors, etc. BSK`s plan for the following period is to expand the list of collaborators so the capacity for producing KOKAN could be doubled.

Who needs KOKAN?

KOKAN 500S replaces 60 workers a day, and the analysis performed by BSK has shown that manufacturers would increase the surface area of their plantations by minimum 50 percent if they solved the problem of the lack of workforce and harvesting costs.

(Marko Kokanovic receives the Aurea Award)

The CEO of BSK says that their primary target group includes agricultural farms whose plantations cover an area of 2-2.5 hectares and more. This harvester is also suitable for use by fruit processing companies that started their own production and want to provide raw materials for their own needs.

- We believe that they will be the most serious buyers as they have bigger plantations and are more technologically educated, given that they already use new technologies and machines in their production - says our interlocutor.

Interest already expressed by Argentines, Chileans, Croats....

He adds that the aim of the company is to sell minimum 1 harvester in each region, in Serbia for a start, because agricultural manufacturers are conservative consumers accepting novelties only if they are already applied by someone else. Therefore, they are willing to encourage manufacturers to buy a harvester on credit or lease.

Considering that this method of harvesting has no precedent anywhere in the world and that this technology of harvesting by means of air is unique, there are already many people and companies from abroad interested in buying KOKAN.

- We`ve received requests from Chile, Argentina, France, Great Britain, Poland as well as the region (Croatia, Bulgaria...). They recognize the advantages of this technology, the advantages of fruit harvesting involving no physical contact with plants, which is particularly important if these companies operate in the consumer market.

The BSK company, which is a development and production center, has few more innovations in addition to this one.

- We have commercialized some of these innovations, thus securing funds to invest in the development of KOKAN. Our product portfolio also includes industrial vacuum cleaners with a high capacity, which are used for cleaning thermal power stations, primarily those situated in Serbia and the region (Bosnia and Montenegro) – says Kokanovic.

Aside from using their own resources, they financed the development of this harvester with the support of the Innovation Fund.

The innovation, financial potential and social utility of this harvester have also been recognized by eKapija, while this year`s jury for the Aurea Award presented BSK with the Special Award for Innovation last week.

J.Dj.