1971, Carzalia Valley Produce, home of the Carzalia Sweet onion, has grown from a very small packing shed to one of the most sophisticated operations in the onion world. Constant improvement and updating of the facility and equipment allows us to offer more packaging options than many other shippers. Researching new cooking and demographics trends keep Carzalia Valley at the forefront of industry shifts and consumer preferences.

To continue their efforts to improve the sweet onion image and consumers’ satisfaction Carzalia Valley Produce purchased and installed a Compac sorting system. This shift from mechanical to computerized equipment will insure our customers and the end consumer with the best quality of “Carzalia Sweet” onion.

Compac’s InVision 5000 sorting technology uses cameras and computers with color recognition software to identify color and shape of the onion, grading it accordingly. This sorter will achieve improved sizing accuracy by use of average equatorial diameter measurements. The electronic accuracy results in much finer grading parameters than conventional screen sizers, increasing the accuracy of the onion sizing and bag weights.

Carzalia Valley Produce’s sorter will be the first of its kind in New Mexico and will incorporate a 6-lane high speed sorter with 20 drops, 2100 bags per hour. “Our new sorter will handle the onions as if they were peaches, not bruising or damaging the onion in any way, insuring consistent quality and most important, consumer satisfaction,” Bill Johnson, president of Carzalia Valley Produce. “It will also improve our accuracy in packing weights, providing our customers with a very consistent product.”

The Johnson family is always evaluating and identifying areas in which to improve efficiencies, never forgetting that customer satisfaction is the top priority. At Carzalia Valley Produce, growing the best produce possible is more than just a company goal...it's a family tradition!