The Challenge
Simcoe, Ont.-based Meadow Lynn Farms is a mixed farming enterprise that includes cash crop, dairy, CSA market gardens and strawberries. The farm has been family-owned for 73 years. The owners wished to capture a niche market for the thousands of pounds of wasted strawberry seconds (imperfect, under-or over-ripe berries). After designing a larger-scale prototype berry juicer, Meadow Lynn engaged with Niagara College for essential design improvements in order to meet the market demand for its strawberry juice concentrate and related products.
The Result
The research team created an updated design that includes prototype improvements to address water make-up and basket design to deal with hot mash and made refinements to the fruit container to improve overall steaming of the berries while increasing efficiency. As a result of these engineering design improvements, Meadow Lynn is now able to prepare for four times the output (from 100 pails of frozen juice to 400) and hire more staff.
Funding: Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation (SONAMI) – Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Source: Niagara College’s Walker Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre