Food production with minimal use of water

There is a global demand for food safety, food availability and food security. This calls for predictability in food production with minimal use of water, reducing pesticides and a strong reduction of the nutrients required. With regard to the cultivation choices that are made, various trends can be observed. The fastest-growing in this field is the so-called hydroponics market. Within this hydroponics or Controlled-Environment Agriculture (CEA) market, we can distinguish various cultivation methods, for example, Deep Flow Technique (DFT) and Nutrient Film Technique (NFT). Flier Systems has all necessary machinery available for physical seed/plant handling and works with a variety of partners that supply the cultivation systems.

Our solutions:

Gutter Filling and Sowing Line: fills and sows accurately and homogenously in gutters. The airy filling, precision sowing and controlled watering all contribute to healthy root growth and high yields. The line is also capable of processing several gutters at the same time for higher capacity.

Rafts Filling and Sowing Line: fills and sows accurately and homogeneously in rafts. The airy filling, precision sowing and controlled watering all contribute to better root growth and optimal plant density. 

Hydroponics Lettuce Handling Line (DFT): uses the hydroponic cultivation method DFT (Deep Flow Technique) to cultivate lettuce on water in a very efficient way.

Hydroponics Lettuce Handling Line (NFT): uses the hydroponic cultivation method NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) to cultivate lettuce in a very efficient way.

Hydroponic Paperpot Line: one of our most comprehensive solutions for sowing lettuce in paperpots. The dibbler ensures perfectly straight sowing holes, whereby the sowing setup makes it possible to sow trio lettuce. After sowing, the paperpots are transferred to gutters, which are placed in the greenhouse for germination.

Solutions for cultivation in stone wool.

Fruity vegetables (also known as salad) include tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers and courgettes. The most commonly used cultivation medium for these crops is stone wool. As a supplier of mechanization for the processing area, Flier Systems offers a wide range of solutions for the cultivation in stone wool. Solutions are available for the entire process, from seed to deliverable plant, contributing to a uniform crop, lower labour costs, and ensuring that the tedious work is minimised.Flier Systems offers a wide range of solutions for the cultivation in stone wool. 

Our solutions:

Ultimate Rockwool Line: one of the most comprehensive solutions for production in stone wool blocks. This line fully automates the end-to-end process from watering, sowing and stake driving to integration with the block spacing machine. In case the stone wool blocks are grown on containers, this line can be expanded to include our Container Loader.

Rockwool Sowing Line: basic line for sowing in stone wool plugs. The line is suited for various types of seeds and is easy to operate. The homogeneous way of sowing, watering and covering encourages optimal germination.

High Precision Sowing Line: sows all types of seeds with an accuracy of >99.9%. The trays are labelled and can be traced to a specific seed lot. The control function of the detection system makes high precision sowing possible.

Solutions for soil blocks or trays

Field crops are those crops cultivated through open-field farming. This includes for example lettuce and cabbage crops. These crops are mainly cultivated from substrate in soil blocks or trays. In many areas of the world, young plants are greenhouse cultivated before they are transplanted to the open field. Since 1948 (when the first soil blocking machine was developed), Flier Systems has been committed to equip the entire processing area of these nurseries. For this reason, various solutions are available to cultivate field crops in a professional manner. The solutions offered by Flier Systems are focused on uniformity in crops, optimisation of the internal production process, reducing manual labour and minimising tedious operations and hard labour.

Our solutions for field crop automation:

Ultimate Sowing Line: produces uniform seedlings in a very effective method. The line is one of the most complete solutions for growing field crops. Precision sowing at high speed and watering contributes to uniform germination.

Soil Blocking Line PP25: produces the highest quality soil blocks in a very efficient manner. The installation is designed to seamlessly integrate into an existing Unger soil blocking line.

Ultimate Soil Blocking Line: one of our most comprehensive solutions for producing high-quality soil blocks.The Mixer GM2 provides a continuous supply of soil with an optimal moisture balance, which in combination with the Soil Blocking Machine PP24 ensures strong, uniform and porous soil blocks.Furthermore, the automatic exchange of the transfer box makes it possible to quickly change the pot size.The line is very suitable for growing field crops.

Floriculture (also known as ornamental horticulture) concerns the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants. Examples are chrysanthemums, orchids, bedding plants, etc. These crops are propagated from seed, by cuttings or in vitro. Flier Systems offers multiple solutions in this cultivation domain, such as sowing, grading and staking. The solutions offered by Flier Systems are focused on uniformity in crops, optimisation of the internal production process, reducing manual labour and minimising tedious operations and hard labour.

Grading and sorting trees

As the automation and mechanisation specialist for professional nurseries, Flier Systems also offers solutions that are particularly suitable for tree cultivation. In close co-operation with our partner BCC we are very much capable of equipping the young plant growers. In our search for the right solution, we focus on improving uniformity and quality of the crops, optimisation of the internal production process, reducing manual labour and minimising tedious and hard labour.

Our solutions:

SPH Transplanter: a versatile transplanter suitable for transplanting vegetable plants, flowers, trees, breeding crops and crops for medicinal purposes.The compact design and the reliable, industrial components ensure an excellent price/capacity ratio.The proven Aris AI-ready vision technology ensures that the plants are sorted correctly and that data collection is possible.

Sorting and grading of young plants

Succulents are cactus-like crops. These plants are usually grown from vegetative propagation, using cuttings from the mother plant. Flier Systems offers multiple solutions in this cultivation domain, such as the sorting of cuttings and grading of young plants. The solutions offered by Flier Systems focus on uniformity in crops, optimisation of the internal production process, reducing manual labour and minimising tedious operations and hard labour.

Our solutions:

Cactus Grading and Sorting Line: continuously and uniformly grades and sorts cacti and succulents. The cuttings are individually assessed by an Aris vision camera system and sorted into six different classifications plus waste. The cuttings are blown into the tray to prevent damage. This sorting process makes it easier and more efficient to pot the cuttings.

Flier Systems quality at a lower cost and shorter lead time.

We bundled over 90 years of experience, knowledge and expertise into a new concept: ELEMENTS. In ELEMENTS we have selected machines, the so-called building blocks, that contain excellent properties whereby the majority of the market can realize the highest quality young plants. If a system can be completely composed of the defined building blocks, you will receive the Flier Systems quality at an interesting investment and fast delivery time.

We can offer this interesting investment and fast delivery time through a (slightly) different production method: stock production and no (customer-specific) engineering.

Some of the building blocks:

Drum Seeder: sows both pilled and bare seeds accurately and at high speed. The drum's innovative design and the controllable, double vacuum system allows the seeds to be singulated and positioned very well. For several seed varieties, this will eliminate the need for pilling as a requirement for good sowing results. In many cases, this translates into considerable cost savings. The machine also allows for sowing multiple seeds per cell. By sowing the trays across the width, higher capacity is achieved at a lower speed, which is a significant contribution to precision.

Drum Seeder DS11 with moving dibbler: sows both pilled and bare seeds accurately and at high speed. The drum's innovative design and the controllable, double vacuum system allows the seeds to be singulated and positioned very well. For several seed varieties, this will eliminate the need for pilling as a requirement for good sowing results. In many cases, this translates into considerable cost savings. The machine also allows for sowing multiple seeds per cell. By sowing the trays across the width, higher capacity is achieved at a lower speed, which is a significant contribution to precision. The unique moving Dibbler ensures a perfect sowing hole whereby the seed is well-centred and positioned at the right depth.

Vermiculite Covering Unit: in order to promote germination and moisture balance, the sown product should be covered with a covering agent. The Vermiculite Covering Unit is specially designed to spread a very uniform layer of vermiculite as a covering agent. The layer thickness is infinitely adjustable.

Soil Covering Unit:  the main reason for using soil as a covering agent is to shield the seed from light during sprouting. The unique feature of the Soil Covering Unit is its capability to spread a very small and even layer. In addition, the scattering density is fully adjustable, without impacting the homogeneity of the scattering layer.

Tray Filler:  fills trays with soil and produces ultra-homogenous, yet dense porous plugs. As the plants in these plugs germinate evenly, the results are uniform crops. The unique filling principle is tray direction independent, which means that the trays can also be filled in width. In other words; uniform filling = uniform crops = uniform quality = an even better supplier for your customers.

Watering Unit (mist): to promote good germination and uniform cultivation, the uniform watering of trays is important. This can be fully automated with the Watering Unit (mist).

Watering Unit (pipes): to promote uniform germination, homogeneous watering of trays is essential. The water pipes add sufficient water to the plugs to saturate them uniformly. The distance between the water pipes has been chosen in such a way that there is sufficient time to completely saturate the plug. A blowpipe removes the water film before sowing.