1. Pecan Sheller
Green Team Section A

2. Pecan Market
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 acres, Account for 16,603 Total Acres, 9,172 Farms (41.0% Total Farms)

3. Small Farm Dilemma Shelling Services demand 4x10,000 lb samples
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

4. 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
Almost $5K more when selling Shelled

5. Pecan Shelling Device OUR PECAN SHELLER
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

6. Operation
Load hopper

7. Operation
Nut drops into tube

8. Operation
Tube rotates ¼ turn, piston smashes shell

9. Operation
Tube rotates ¼ turn, cracked nut drops out

10. Operation
Cracked nut falls into sheller hopper

11. Operation
Cracked nuts fed onto sheller surface

12. Operation
Sheller plate rolls, breaking up remaining shells