POWERPLANTS NEWSLETTER
June 2013 Issue
Powerplants Newsletter August issue
From the directors.. Carl van Loon & Simon Gomme
Looking back on two great conferences… Over the last two months we had the opportunity to attend two of the biggest conferences of the Australian horticultural industry: the NGIV and PCA conferences. The NGIV conference attracts a high diversity of stakeholders of the Victorian nursery industry, whereas the biennial PCA conference focuses on the protective cropping industry of Australia as a whole. It is always a great pleasure see some familiar faces and to catch up with people from the industry. It also gives us the chance to gather the Powerplants sales team from all over the country.
At these rare occasions we always organize a sales team meeting, . where we discuss the recent market developments and product developments in order to get everyone up to speed about the additions to the Powerplants portfolio. Additionally, we pay a lot of attention to product training. By doing so, we ensure our sales people can always provide the growers in their region with the solution and technical support they need. Please always feel free to contact our sales team for any questions you might have. Carl & Simon
In this issue
Alastair arrived in Adelaide! The new Roof Cleaner Raspberries in Cravo retractable roof Review PCA conference Employee profile Recipe of the month
Alastair arrived in Adelaide! Alastair feels right at home in South Australia! – page 2.
POWERPLANTS NEWSLETTER | August issue
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Alastair arrived in Adelaide! As mentioned in our previous newsletter, Alastair moved to Adelaide in order to be closer to our growers in Southern and Western Australia. We’re happy to announce Alastair arrived well and has been assisting our growers for around a month now. “After many visits I have decided to make Adelaide my home. Taking on this role is an opportunity for me to develop new skills such as project management, quoting and building close customer relationships. I have always enjoyed the community and people of Virginia. Since arriving all the growers have been very welcoming and with the rapid greenhouse expansion in this area there is never a dull moment. At lunch today I attended the first day of planting at a new glasshouse we worked on.
The customer’s wider family gets together and celebrates with a lunch consisting of beautifully cooked crispy pork (fresh off the spit), Vietnamese noodle cakes and a traditional lettuce and herb salad. Many of the growers here work seven days a week to ensure the best harvest throughout the season.
This is so they can invest more in their glasshouses the following year. There is a real focus on creating a foundation for the next generation.” - Alastair McLean Designer & Control System Engineer
The most effective method for cleaning your roof… In June Powerplants installed the first Roof Cleaner at Fresh Zest Australia. Fresh Zest recognized their production was well down because the roof of the greenhouse was very dirty, blocking the much needed sunlight. Check out the Roof Cleaner in action by scanning the QR!
Or visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=TupVfhbPVpI
Before using the Roof Cleaner it took two workers a month to clean the entire roof, whereas it now takes 12 hours to clean the whole roof. Furthermore, it took less than a week to set the whole system up! Operating the Roof Cleaner takes just one worker, who can comfortably ride along on the Roof Cleaner checking the results as it operates.
But above all, manually cleaning your roof is very risky. The Roof Cleaner takes the risk of accidents totally out of the equation. Please scan the QR code on the bottom left or click on the link to see the Roof Cleaner fully operational at Fresh Zest Australia and to hear what Peter Murphy has to say about it! For enquiries, please contact Daniel Taikato: P: +61 4 0097 2378 E: daniel@powerplants.com.au
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Michigan State University grows raspberries in Cravo retractable roof greenhouse The Michigan State University in the US is now not only growing raspberries in the open field, but also inside the retractable roof X frame greenhouse. The progress of the raspberries is being inspected and directed by Dr Eric Hanson who has been performing trials of raspberries under tunnels for several years. The Cravo international sales team and distributers visited the th raspberry trials on the 12 of June 2013 to experience first-hand the differences in plant development between open field production, production using a rain shelter and using the Cravo X frame greenhouse. Powerplants’ own, Bede Miller, was part of the international sales team: “It was extremely interesting to investigate and compare the crop response between open field production, fixed cover production and retractable roof production.
The Cravo Retractable Roof Production System not only eliminated rain-induced fruit cracking but also reduced the impact of other adverse conditions such as high and low temperatures, wind and hail. Temperature management under the Cravo Retractable Roof Production System allowed not only protection from the spring frosts, but also attributed to more rapid fruit growth and ripening for early market opportunities, as well as a reduction in high temperatures that are detrimental to fruit quality (sugars & . firmness)” Powerplants is the exclusive dealer of the Cravo retractable roofs in Australia. Retractable roofing has the ability to increase yields significantly, by optimizing the growing environment and protecting crops from excessive cold, heat, rain, hail and wind. This allows a grower to modify where they grow and how large a production facility they need to meet their customer demand.
RETRACTABLE ROOF X FRAME
CRAVO TEST CROP
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INSIDE THE POWERPLANTS FACILITY
The MT-400 mixer with a Maximizer controller By moving to our new facility we’ve streamlined our processes in order to ensure our manufacturing is optimized for our customers. The new facility makes our production faster, more economical and with fewer delays. Thereby we guarantee the best solution is produced to the specific requirements of our customers. As a final part of the process we take a lot of care in preparing the finished products for transport, as shown in the picture above. By investing in the packaging of our products we eliminate the risk of products being damaged during transport. We encourage you to come and see products being built by our experienced team.
FAST FACTS
22% - 33% Did you know Queensland accounts for one third of the total vegetable production of Australia and Victoria accounts for 22%?
60% Did you know that Australian farmers export 60% of what they produce?
The PCA conference The program of the biennial PCA conference held at the Pullman Hotel Albert Park consisted of technical lectures, a trade show, farm and market tours as well as social events, specifically organized for the commercial greenhouse industry, as well as hydroponic and aquaponic growers.
But most importantly, all these features and many others can be added to the unit at any time. This means the grower can purchase a standardized product and add features whenever they are required; this is a unique opportunity which provides growers with a high level of flexibility.
For Powerplants this year’s PCA conference was all about introducing the state-of-the-art Nutrimix II, the new Grafting Machine and meeting people from the industry. The Nutrimix II has a wide range of new features such as a lighter but extra rigid and chemical resistant stainless steel frame and a colour touch screen which provides system status and manual override functions as well as aids with troubleshooting diagnostics.
The new Nutrimix II will be available throughout Australia and South East Asia as of November 2013.
The new Nutrimix II also provides the grower with variable speed controlled fill pump and irrigation pump, which maintain constant pressure and save power. Additionally, the built in bypass allows irrigation directly from the fill pump in case of an issue arising in the irrigation pump, focus has been put on providing growers with easy access to pumps and sensors for maintenance and automatic stock tank balancing is available regardless of the connected controller.
The new Grafting Machine was actually operating during the conference which gave the attendees a first-hand experience with the user friendly operating system. The Grafting Machine grafts plants by using the strong rootstock from one species and the scion of the plant the grower wants to grow. To ensure the reliability and quality of the grafted plants it uses flexible clips to support the plants during the growing process. We believe these products are great additions to our product portfolio and that our growers will very much enjoy the benefits.
POWERPLANTS NEWSLETTER | August issue
Employee profile
- Paul Vaughan Sales Representative Victoria
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If you are a grower in Victoria you probably know Paul. However, here is some info you might not know about him.
I have experience in turn-key projects, production automation, new technologies and business return on investment.
“Farming and agriculture have always been a passion of mine considering the family has been involved in primary production for 5 generations in Western Victoria. With history of working overseas and completion of a Business degree from La Trobe University. I moved into the finance sector with direct contact to the agriculture and business sector working with and providing advice to a range of companies and individuals for 10 years. An opportunity was presented to work more directly in the nursery, bedding plants, seedling and forestry sector where I worked the past 5+ years.
To be a part of a continually changing and successful industry is a great opportunity. It is a great privilege to work with industry associations for industry recognition, providing growers with solutions for growth whilst being a part of a successful team at Powerplants. For any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact me.” P: +61 (0) 4 9930 0611 E: paulV@powerplants.com.au
Winter chicken cottage pie Ingredients 4 large potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped 20g butter
Chicken cacciatore base 60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil 1.7kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 4cm pieces
100ml thickened cream
3 red onions, halved, thinly sliced
230g (1 1/2 cups) frozen peas
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley
2 x 700g btls Chunky Pasta Sauce
2 tbs grated parmesan
500ml (2 cups) white wine
Mixed salad leaves, to serve
2 tbs capers, coarsely chopped 1 tbs dried oregano leaves
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200g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
To make chicken cacciatore: Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, onion and garlic, for 10 minutes or until browned. Add the pasta sauce, wine, caper and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add the mushroom and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the mushroom is tender. Transfer half the chicken cacciatore to a bowl and freeze the rest.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Place the potato in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Drain and return to the pan. Add butter and mash until smooth. Add cream and mash until smooth.
Combine chicken cacciatore, peas and parsley in a bowl. Transfer to a 6cmdeep, 20cm (base measurement) pie dish. Spread mashed potato over the chicken mixture. Use a fork to create small peaks in mashed potato. Top with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with salad leaves.
Season with salt and pepper.