Pecan Sheller
Green Team Section A
Pecan Market
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2nd Largest Domestically Grown Nut Crop in
the United States, $327 million Market
Farm Size Ranges from small family
operations, <1 Acre, to Large Farms, >100
Acres
Small Farms, i.e. from 0 - 4.9 acres, Account
for 16,603 Total Acres, 9,172 Farms (41.0%
Total Farms)
Small Farm Dilemma

Shelling Services demand 4x10,000 lb samples
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Pay Farmer Market Price of ~$1.25/lb; keep ownership of
Pecans
Charge Farmer $0.80-$1.00/lb of Pecan Meat; return
Pecans to Farmers
Small Farms forced to pool together; single contract
with Shelling Services
Small Farms need cheap shelling device in order to
retain Profits
Small Farmer Market
AVERAGE FARM SIZE OF OUR CUSTOMER
 Total Size = 1,320,000 pecans to shell per year
~3 acres
~1000 inshell lbs/acre
~440 inshell pecans/lb
 Profit for Farmer (selling Inshell) = $3,750
 Profit for Farmer (selling Shelled) = $8,550
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Almost $5K more when selling Shelled
Pecan Shelling Device
OUR PECAN SHELLER
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Shells about 14,400 Pecans in an 8 hr Day
~30 nuts/min
Cracks Nut with Force Impact
Shells Pecans using gentle rolling process in order
to keep halves intact
Operation
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Load hopper
Operation
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Nut drops into tube
Operation
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Tube rotates ¼ turn, piston smashes shell
Operation
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Tube rotates ¼ turn, cracked nut drops out
Operation
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Cracked nut falls into sheller hopper
Operation
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Cracked nuts fed onto sheller surface
Operation
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Sheller plate rolls, breaking up remaining shells