Optimum nv was founded in July 2017 by Paul Berghmans and Steve Raskin, together with investment company Pentahold - three partners with years of experience in the development, production and sales of optical sorting machines using sophisticated camera and laser technology. Their ambition: to put a better and reliable alternative on the market as quickly as possible.
Some of the world's most successful companies have started in the proverbial garage. However, no matter how strongly such heroic examples appeal to the imagination, in a rapidly growing and changing sector, starting from scratch isn’t the best option. In order to make a flying start, an acquisition candidate was sought.
Coincidence or predestined? At the time, the Dutch Concept Engineers, who specialized in optical sorting systems for the food industry, were looking for fresh capital and also wanted to attract additional experience, management and new technology, such as laser inspection. The rest is history: Optimum acquired Concept Engineers and opened a new office in Hasselt, Belgium under the Optimum Sorting trade name.
Today, the group has 100 employees spread across branches in Eindhoven (NL), Hasselt (BE), Denver (USA), Turlock (USA) and Chiang Mai (TH). Development and production take place in Hasselt and Eindhoven. Optimum Sorting Inc. provides the sales and service for the American continent from Denver and Turlock. Sales and service for EMEA takes place from Belgium and the Netherlands, and is done in collaboration with local partners.
With the Focus, Optimum had the widest optical belt sorter on the market. Over the past three years, this FOCUS product line has systematically evolved and improved. The result is a radical new belt sorter with some unique features for an even more accurate sorting, called the NOVUS.
The VENTUS is a dual-sided, freefall laser sorter, especially developed for sorting nuts and dried fruit. It’s available in different scan widths up to 1800 mm, and its highly stable and reliable lasers are extremely accurate in sorting on the basis of color, shape, structure and biological characteristics. This results in optimal defect detection and an excellent good-to-bad ratio.
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The TRIPLUS is the most complete freefall sorter on the market, ideal for optically sorting whole potatoes (peeled/unpeeled), IQF french fries (Individually Quick Frozen) and a variety of vegetables such as whole carrots or Green beans.
The NEXUS is an optical sorter especially developed to sort products with various optical deficiencies. The NEXUS is mainly used to sort candy and sweets.
As a freefall sorter, the NEXUS is extremely compact. It has fewer moving components than conveyor belt sorters and therefore requires even less maintenance. But above all, during their fall, products may be viewed along two opposite sides, resulting in more accurate sorting.