Dole Fresh Vegetables is deploying RAIN RFID to track reusable stainless-steel baskets through leafy-greens processing. The baskets move through filling, inspection, washing, sanitization, drying, shaking and transfer points in an environment with dense metal, continuous water exposure and temperatures maintained at 32°F (0°C). During drying, baskets can be shaken at up to 500 RPM.
Dole selected the Xerafy ROSWELL, an ultra-rugged stainless-steel RFID tag engineered for the application’s combined mechanical and environmental load. The project combines the tag with a permanent laser-welded attachment to the basket and read zones designed around each process step.
Some stations need to identify one basket from only a few inches away. Others require several feet of range. Xerafy authorized partner Anantics is integrating the ROSWELL tags with its own five distinct antenna types and IoTtix RFID RTLS platform.
Extending RFID Into the Processing Plant
Dole already had operational experience with RFID, including field-to-plant traceability of leafy-greens bins and RFID-equipped pooled pallets. The stainless-steel basket project extends RFID from product and logistics flows into a piece of process equipment that remains inside a washdown-intensive plant.
The challenge is not simply reading a tag on metal. The RFID tag becomes part of a reusable asset exposed to repeated cleaning, mechanical force and tightly packed production equipment. Durability, attachment and the intended read zone all have to work together.
Why ROSWELL Fits the Basket Lifecycle
ROSWELL uses its stainless-steel exterior as the antenna and protective structure. It is rated IP68/IP69K, qualified to MIL-STD-810G vibration and engineered for repeated temperature cycling, compression and shock.
“The selected tag is the XERAFY Roswell Autoclavable RFID Tag, chosen for stainless steel casing, ensuring hygiene and corrosion resistance.” — Anurag Kulshrestha, President & CEO, Anantics
These characteristics matched the basket lifecycle: continuous water exposure, washing and sanitization, power washing, severe shaking and changing temperatures. The plant requirement also called for the tag surface and mounting area to resist bacterial growth. The stainless-steel construction and welded installation supported the hygiene and corrosion-resistance requirements without relying on an adhesive attachment.
Permanent Attachment Is Part of the RFID Design
Earlier engineering evaluation compared bracketless and bracket-supported welded configurations on the same basket application. The welded bracket version provided a stronger attachment under severe vibration and centrifugal force. The evaluation established that the tag, mounting interface and basket had to be engineered as one configuration against the complete basket lifecycle.
For the current project, ROSWELL uses the stronger bracket-supported, laser-welded configuration. This creates a permanent metal-to-metal attachment suited to repeated vibration, washing and mechanical handling. For assets exposed to severe movement or impact, the mounting method is part of the RFID design, not a secondary installation detail.
Read the Intended Basket, Not Every Basket
Maximum read range was not the goal at every station. At fill, inspection and transition points, the system needed selective reads from only a few inches away. Drying areas and elevator checkpoints required reads from several feet away.
In one tightly packed area, a compact antenna had to identify the nearby basket while filtering out tags located more than four feet away. Anantics designed the infrastructure around these different read zones, using five antenna types and water-resistant enclosures to feed basket-movement data into its secure IoTtix platform.
A Single-Plant Configuration Designed to Scale
Anantics has launched the proof of concept at one Dole plant. The project brings together the ROSWELL tag, permanent welded attachment, station-specific read zones and software integration in one application configuration.
The next step is to use operating insights from this plant to adapt the same configuration across additional Dole facilities. The tag and mounting logic can remain consistent, while antenna placement and read-zone settings are adjusted to each plant layout and workflow.
Evaluate ROSWELL for Ultra-Tough Asset Tracking
For metal assets exposed to washdown, temperature cycling, compression or severe vibration, tag selection has to cover the tag construction, attachment method and exact read zone.
Talk to Xerafy engineers to evaluate ROSWELL for your industrial asset-tracking application.
Xerafy is a pioneer in Industrial RFID, bringing to market several innovations that enable advanced industrial identification and automation capabilities.
In addition to a complete range of field-proven RFID tags available off-the-shelf, Xerafy offers Custom RFID Tags services, covering everything from a personalization service bureau to custom-design engineering capabilities.
