Technology
Product News
Safety glove for pruning system
Infaco, maker of the Electrocoup pruning system, released a redesigned safety glove to wear while using the pruner. The glove is made of cotton interwoven with metal fibers. If the glove touches any part of the Electrocoup F3010 system (including the blades), the device is grounded and the pruner stops instantly. The Electrocoup pruner is powered by a battery pack worn by the operator. Infaco says the battery provides enough power for a full day of pruning, and the trigger-operated pruner can cut through a 2-inch diameter vine or branch. Details: infaco-usa.com.
VitiSeal addresses canker diseases
Safecoat’s new VitiSeal product is a “natural, waterborne co-polymer emulsion with other NOP-approved ingredients” designed to help growers prevent canker diseases that can be caused by Eutypa lata and other fungal pathogens. The company states its product is “not a toxic fungicide, but rather a unique crop-management tool that creates a protective, resistant barrier against the typical point of entry for wood canker diseases” and typically only needs to be applied once per season. The product is available in a 1-gallon concentrate that yields 10 gallons of useful product or a ready-to-use formulation. Details: vitiseal.com.
Formula boosts natural microbes
Bio S.I. Technology’s Bio S.I. Agriculture Formula and Agriculture Select “help reduce crusting, improve root mass and help to release tied up nutrients in the soil.” The firm also claims its products “build humus in shallow soil, which helps hold nutrients and water in the rhizosphere and can improve root vigor, leading to better production.” Details: biositechnology.com.
New concrete tank options
Sonoma Cast Stone unveiled new additions to its line of concrete wine tanks. The “tea cup” is a 200-gallon, open-top tank. Optional features include a round base for greater stability as well as hoist rings on the top rim and a tilt/hoist ring on the side for dumping. Other new tank options are the small, 200-gallon “wine stacks” that are rectangular tanks designed for either fermentation or storage. The stacks have removable lids and can be equipped with optional concrete baffles to provide more concrete-to-wine contact as well as truly baffle wine movement in the event of an earthquake, according to Sonoma Cast Stone. The tanks can be stacked five high to store 1,000 gallons. Details: concretewinetanks.com.
Tight-space barrel handler
Cascade’s wine barrel handler is designed to work in a cave or narrow aisle areas. The unit enables a lift truck driver to grab a barrel from a stack, lower it to the ground or move it to a different location. A 180º swinging fork assembly mounted on a full-width traversing frame allows the driver to pick up a barrel from either the left- or the right-hand side of a narrow aisle. The unit can handle most types and sizes of wine barrels. Also included in the fork cradle are rollers so cellar workers can rotate barrels during barrel fermentation. Details: cascorp.com.
Expanded line of filtration products
Eaton Corp. released an expanded range of filtration systems for winemaking as well as single-source filtration products at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. The company highlighted its Becopad depth filter sheets and Becodisc cartridges for wine filtration. The pads are designed for plate-and-frame filters and can be washed and sterilized repeatedly. The discs “combine the benefits of depth filter sheets with a sterile filtration environment” and provide “optimal protection of the membrane cartridge during the wine-filling process,” according to the manufacturer. Details: eaton.com.
New shrink wrapper by Standard Knapp
The 598 Tritium shrink wrapper is a continuous-motion shrink wrapper equipped with single, double and three-lane configurations. Manufacturer Standard Knapp claims the unit arranges products into compact pack patterns and wraps the configurations in film, thereby eliminating the need for trays and pads. Details: standard-knapp.com.
New monitor by Sensorex
Sensorex’s new CX-3000 transmitter monitors changes in fluids and displays conductivity, resistivity or salinity, along with temperature, for process control in water, food production, wastewater and other applications. According to a statement by Sensorex, a push-button interface enables user programming on-site for desired monitoring with simultaneous temperature monitoring. Conductivity is measured over an extended range of 0uS/cm-200mS/cm for extreme applications. The resistivity measurement range extends from 0-20 M-Ohm/cm; salinity measurements cover 0-70ppt. Details: sensorex.com.
Infaco, maker of the Electrocoup pruning system, released a redesigned safety glove to wear while using the pruner. The glove is made of cotton interwoven with metal fibers. If the glove touches any part of the Electrocoup F3010 system (including the blades), the device is grounded and the pruner stops instantly. The Electrocoup pruner is powered by a battery pack worn by the operator. Infaco says the battery provides enough power for a full day of pruning, and the trigger-operated pruner can cut through a 2-inch diameter vine or branch. Details: infaco-usa.com.
VitiSeal addresses canker diseases
Safecoat’s new VitiSeal product is a “natural, waterborne co-polymer emulsion with other NOP-approved ingredients” designed to help growers prevent canker diseases that can be caused by Eutypa lata and other fungal pathogens. The company states its product is “not a toxic fungicide, but rather a unique crop-management tool that creates a protective, resistant barrier against the typical point of entry for wood canker diseases” and typically only needs to be applied once per season. The product is available in a 1-gallon concentrate that yields 10 gallons of useful product or a ready-to-use formulation. Details: vitiseal.com.
Formula boosts natural microbes
Bio S.I. Technology’s Bio S.I. Agriculture Formula and Agriculture Select “help reduce crusting, improve root mass and help to release tied up nutrients in the soil.” The firm also claims its products “build humus in shallow soil, which helps hold nutrients and water in the rhizosphere and can improve root vigor, leading to better production.” Details: biositechnology.com.
New concrete tank options
Sonoma Cast Stone unveiled new additions to its line of concrete wine tanks. The “tea cup” is a 200-gallon, open-top tank. Optional features include a round base for greater stability as well as hoist rings on the top rim and a tilt/hoist ring on the side for dumping. Other new tank options are the small, 200-gallon “wine stacks” that are rectangular tanks designed for either fermentation or storage. The stacks have removable lids and can be equipped with optional concrete baffles to provide more concrete-to-wine contact as well as truly baffle wine movement in the event of an earthquake, according to Sonoma Cast Stone. The tanks can be stacked five high to store 1,000 gallons. Details: concretewinetanks.com.
Tight-space barrel handler
Cascade’s wine barrel handler is designed to work in a cave or narrow aisle areas. The unit enables a lift truck driver to grab a barrel from a stack, lower it to the ground or move it to a different location. A 180º swinging fork assembly mounted on a full-width traversing frame allows the driver to pick up a barrel from either the left- or the right-hand side of a narrow aisle. The unit can handle most types and sizes of wine barrels. Also included in the fork cradle are rollers so cellar workers can rotate barrels during barrel fermentation. Details: cascorp.com.
Expanded line of filtration products
Eaton Corp. released an expanded range of filtration systems for winemaking as well as single-source filtration products at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. The company highlighted its Becopad depth filter sheets and Becodisc cartridges for wine filtration. The pads are designed for plate-and-frame filters and can be washed and sterilized repeatedly. The discs “combine the benefits of depth filter sheets with a sterile filtration environment” and provide “optimal protection of the membrane cartridge during the wine-filling process,” according to the manufacturer. Details: eaton.com.
New shrink wrapper by Standard Knapp
The 598 Tritium shrink wrapper is a continuous-motion shrink wrapper equipped with single, double and three-lane configurations. Manufacturer Standard Knapp claims the unit arranges products into compact pack patterns and wraps the configurations in film, thereby eliminating the need for trays and pads. Details: standard-knapp.com.
New monitor by Sensorex
Sensorex’s new CX-3000 transmitter monitors changes in fluids and displays conductivity, resistivity or salinity, along with temperature, for process control in water, food production, wastewater and other applications. According to a statement by Sensorex, a push-button interface enables user programming on-site for desired monitoring with simultaneous temperature monitoring. Conductivity is measured over an extended range of 0uS/cm-200mS/cm for extreme applications. The resistivity measurement range extends from 0-20 M-Ohm/cm; salinity measurements cover 0-70ppt. Details: sensorex.com.
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