New collaboration HDG Survey Group with Experience Fruit Quality

HDG Survey Group and Experience Fruit Quality are partnering up to combine their software solutions. Both companies complement each other: HDG Survey Group’s surveys, quality control and training combined with the optimisation of core processes for data-driven decisions by Experience Fruit Quality.

Working together, the software solution QC4U provides the quality controls and EYE on Fruit from Experience Fruit Quality provides the platform to take the right actions in the operation. By integrating these two solutions, companies can now not only capture quality, but also take immediate action to improve quality and increase efficiency. We are delighted to be working together and are very excited for the future.

This unique collaboration brings together not only technologies, but also data and R&D expertise. Together, the companies can look at historical macro-level fruit data from inspections, which can be used to gain new insights to further develop the fruit sector. Experience Fruit Quality's ability to analyse and interpret this data is of particular interest to companies that want to make the right data driven actions.

We are excited to share with you that four of the HDG Survey Group companies (HDG The Fruit Consultants,  Fruitify Experts, HDG Germany and Agri Software) have been found to conform to the standard NEN-EN-ISO 9001:2015. This certificate applies to: Conducting quality checks and surveys in the field of fresh fruit and vegetables and the development and sales of quality control software.

Quality controller Rinus Bergakker from HDG The Fruit Consultants and Ruby van Wijk, KAM coordinator at HDG Survey Group, share more about their roles.  

Rinus says: "ISO 9001 is a quality management system that allows us to continuously check our processes and to improve every year. My role was in the calibration of our measuring instruments. We base our reports on the outcome of these tools, so reliability is key. All our equipment must be spot on, all the time!"

Ruby adds: "We are very proud that we received no notes or majors on our documents. Our goal is to continuously optimize our processes for our clients and our colleagues, to make sure we can provide them with the best end result."

All of our colleagues have worked hard to make this happen, we are very happy with this team effort!

Great news! The HDG Survey Group and the Fruit Tech Campus have entered into a partnership in order to jointly develop an international quality management program.  

The Fruit Tech Campus aims to renew fruit education in the Netherlands and guarantee the position of fruit cultivation. They do so by developing courses and educational programs for the the fresh produce sector where basic knowledge about fruit cultivation meets data and technology.  

Together we will be working on creating the‘Quality Management Academy', where we will be teaching more about the quality of products in different courses. The quality management process, labeling of products and knowledge of cultivation are the basis of our joint academy. We are delighted to have this collaboration set up and we are excited to see what the future brings!

The first trip of the year to South-Africa has been completed. Our colleagues Jeroen and Kai, both quality controllers, had a few good days in the sunny country. The goal of their visit was to meet up with several fruit producers for whom we work. 

Jeroen:
''Our trip started on Thursday. We visited a number of several clients. We viewed the local blueberries and grapes, for example, but we also got guided tours of the packing stations. It's nice to visit our producers, whose produce we check every season in the Netherlands.''

Kai replies:
''We enjoyed the weekend in Cape Town. What a great city, sunny weather and great food. And drinks, not to be forgotten! After the weekend we visited some warehouses. All the appointments we had the last few days were good and informative. We felt very welcome and went home with a satisfied feeling.''

At the end of May, Alexander Veltman (our colleague from Fruitify Experts) and Jarnick Vroeginderweij visited the citrus and avocado region of South Africa. Our journey started with a visit to ZZ2, an avocado farm. The ZZ2 brand is a well-known icon in South Africa and is owned by the Van Zyl family who started their farming activities over a hundred years ago. After the covid period it was time to visit them again. Successfully. We've seen the whole process from planting new trees to harvesting and packing the avocados that are ready to ship.

During the other days of our trip we visited a number of citrus delivery companies: Core, Deona, Fruit One and Letaba. We got a look behind the scenes at all these shipping companies. For example, we visited the orchard where the fruits are picked and we also looked at the packing and sorting process in the warehouse. In short, a successful and inspiring trip.

On 1 August, HDG The Fruit consultants celebrated its 40th anniversary. With founder and owner Otto de Groot - who handed over the daily management to Stijn Verstijnen and Rob Boogmans in 2016 - we look back on and ahead to the company that has experienced substantial growth, with the fixed constant that it has always been active from the Rotterdam Merwehaven area in the field of expertise and quality inspections of fruit and vegetables.

The  HDG team thanks Otto for all his dedication and leadership over the past 40 years. For a complete story regarding the 40 years existence of HDG visit freshplaza.com:
https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9341721/we-have-reached-our-current-market-position-thanks-to-the-combination-of-inspections-and-expertises/

Stijn Verstijnen succesfully finished the course to become a NIVRE Register Expert

With Stijn Verstijnen becoming a NIVRE Register Expert, HDG secures the quality it provides to its customers for today and in the future.

Today we celebrate at HDG that Yvonne Meijer – van Aken is with the company for 12,5 years. 

We are happy that our dear colleague Yvonne is still working with us, already for 12,5 years now. As employee facility she keeps HDG operational in multiple ways. From making lunch to ordering office supplies and supporting administration. We are still very glad that Yvonne is working with us.

HDG the fruit consultants extends its ISO 9001:2015 certification. HDG has been the first survey/quality inspection company in the fruit and vegetable sector in the Netherlands to be ISO 9001:2015 certified. 

The ISO 9001 certification assesses whether an organization meets the requirements of both customers and the organization itself, as well as laws and regulations applicable to the product. The various components of the certification are proper guidelines for establishing and setting up a Quality Management System.

In collaboration with researchers from Wageningen University & Research lead by Dr. Theo van der Lee and Dr. Lydia Meesters, HDG evaluated a prototype of an innovative plant imaging platform that could be implemented in our quality control process, the PathoScreen. 

The PathoScreen is a camera system for imaging plants, fruits or vegetables using chlorophyll fluorescence, multispectral, color and detection of fluorescence related to plant cell damage. It provides a detailed, clear and high-quality image, that allows non-invasive, non-destructive and remote detection in fruits or vegetables.