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Produce Show Daily Saturday, October 15, 2016 1 2 NEW FACILITY BOOSTS PRODUCTION AT THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES Work is completed on a new 40,000 square foot production facility at Thermal Technologies, a leading manu- facturer of produce ripening rooms. It's the second major plant expansion at Thermal Tech in just under three years, doubling floor space from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet. Located adjacent to its corporate headquarters in suburban Columbia, South Carolina, the new facility brings racking and sheet metal fabrication in- house, removing what at times has been a critical barrier to production. "Until now we contracted much of our sheet metal and racking fabrication to trusted partners," says Jim Lentz, President of Thermal Technologies. "But no matter how dedicated the partnership, the very nature of our workflow has occasionally led to bottlenecks in pro- duction. The new building enables us to bring these two key components in- house, giving us total control over the manufacturing process. This greatly improves our operational workflow and efficiency." Established in 1987 in suburban Philadelphia, Thermal Tech moved to Blythewood, South Carolina in 2002. Its customer list reads like a "who's who" of the most successful retailers in North America, from Ahold and Albertsons to Kroger, Safeway, Sobeys, Wal-Mart and Wegmans, just to name a few. Before Thermal Tech developed and patented its cutting-edge TarpLess ® ripening room design, pressurized ripen- ing rooms used a variety of tarps and airbags to seal off pallets, creating a host of operational and mainte- nance issues. By eliminat- ing the need for tarps while increasing ripening effi- ciency and maximizing per- box profit, the TarpLess ripening room took the industry by storm and has led the way ever since. Today, more than 70 percent of all bananas processed in North America are ripened in Thermal Tech ripening rooms – more than 100 million pounds a day. With rooms for ripening pears, avocados and stone fruit, as well as multi-fruit rooms with temperature ranges that can handle everything from pre-cooling to low-temp storage, the TarpLess ripening room design has become the standard for the industry. The new facility features a five-ton overhead crane for transporting raw materials within the expansive manufac- turing area, as well as two elevated load- ing dock bays and a 42-foot access door to facilitate shipping. It also adds another 10 employees to the Thermal Tech roster. "There are risks and challenges with any major expansion," says Lentz. "Luckily, the timing couldn't have been any better. We received a number of new orders as the facility was being com- pleted, taking us right through the end of the year and well into 2017. Knowing we'll have complete control over the manufacturing process is already point- ing to a solid return on investment. There's no doubt this expansion will play a major role in helping us continue to provide the industry's most cutting-edge ripening room and cold storage solutions in the years ahead." For more information, visit booth #1855, call David Byrne at 803.461.7980 or go to www.gotarpless.com. INNOVATIVE PACKAGING DESIGNS KEEP LACERTA'S CUSTOMERS FRESH An interview with Ali Lotfi, President and Co-Owner of Lacerta Group, Inc. PSD: Tell our readers about Lacerta. AL: We are a family-owned business, started more than 20 years ago. We man- ufacture packaging for a variety of indus- tries, with a focus on food. We have two facilities: one in Massachusetts with design, mold-making and thermoforming capabilities, and one in Mexico with ther- moforming and injection molding capa- bilities. PSD: What would you say makes your business unique? AL: Our ability to get our customers to market much faster than our competitors, with a lower capital investment. Customers are often surprised at how quickly we can get their product to shelves. Customer service is core to our culture. Our flexibility and ease of doing business makes us unique. PSD: Are you introducing any new prod- ucts at the show? AL: Yes. We are showing our new Fresh n' Sealed tamper evident snacking con- tainers at the new product showcase. We've launched multi-compartment snack containers with two, three or four compartments; they're great for having multiple fruits and vegetables or for kids' lunches. We also have to-go cups for par- faits and fresh cut produce. One design has a flat side to accommodate the new labeling laws, as well. PSD: What products do you see as being hottest this year? AL: Grab n' go contain- ers and containers for High Pressure Processing (HPP) applications. Snacking containers are becoming more and more popular with everyone wanting convenience and not following the traditional three meals a day. We have also seen more companies looking to put their products through HPP. PSD: How do you adapt your products to your customers' needs? AL: There's many ways. Sometimes we have a stock container a customer loves, but needs a different capacity or lid. We are able to design a new package to fit the product and our customer's needs. Also, because we work with a wide range of materials, we can provide our customers many options to fit the application and the price point they need. PSD: How do you see your company's future in terms of economy, sales, tech- nology and product evolution? AL: In terms of growth, we are expecting double-digit growth for the next three to five years. We plan to contin- ue investing in technology, with new thermoformers and equipment to maintain our speed to market and flex- ibility. We are going to continue to devel- op packages with contemporary designs that differentiate our customers' products and meet the needs of the market. PSD: Why are your products and servic- es the best value for your customers? AL: Our customers' needs drive all of our designs; we want to enhance their product in delivery and presentation. Also, our customers can depend on us. We go to extremes to get it done for them and will do whatever we can. Visit Lacerta at booth #889. For more information, go to www.lacerta.com, call 508.339.3312 or email sales@lacerta.com. MAGNETIZING SPRAY LIQUIDS PROVES EFFECTIVE FOR CROP PROTECTION By Stef Jenzeh, Vice President Marketing, Magnation Water Technologies Agriculture is increasingly faced with climate change. Not only the impact on crop growing conditions, but also as a contributing cause. Crop protection and its environmental impact is a hot topic. Agribusiness is forward thinking and high-tech solutions are constantly evolving and emerging in the fields, but is this enough to solve the issues at hand? Piet Regnerus, importer of U.S.A.- based Magnation Water Technologies, met with several farmers in the Netherlands interested in lower pesticide use without compromising the yield or quality of their crops. The angle was opti- mizing spraying fluids. With acreage at a premium and high stakes for maximum productivity, a com- mon problem is weeds on Dutch sandy soils. "If we do not perform optimum weed control for a year, we suffer from it for the next 20 years," jokes Berend Jansema, who manages a 180-hectare farm of starch potatoes, sugar beets and cereals grains. Regnerus responds, "Water is more than H2O and the quality of water has a profound effect on what we do with it! Therefore, there is still much to gain in terms of water efficiency and the opti- mization of spraying fluids." "Our industry is under a magnifying glass. We must seriously consider all possible techniques that contribute to more effective and environmentally- friendly crop protection," says Jansema, who ear- marked a field of 20 hectares of sugar beets for a controlled trial. "At a dosage of 120 liters per hectare, I reduced water and chemicals by 20 percent and had a more uniform spray pattern. I can say with con- viction that the weed control during the entirety of this trial has been effective. With a savings of 20 percent on our 50 hectares of sugar beets, I am saving €2,500 in pesticides and cover more hectares." Bote Terpstra runs a 240-hectare farm with seed potatoes as his primary crop. "We cannot afford mistakes because of large export interests. But given the public debate on chemical usage for crop protection, it is our responsibility to give new ideas rigorous consideration." Terpstra installed Magnation on his Agrifac Condor sprayer. The trial was run with five to 15 percent less water and pesticides applied on four hectares. "We regularly walked through the fields to monitor crop health. During growing season, we have a weekly spray application cycle against late blight, aphids and fungi. This growing sea- son had high disease pres- sure due to wet conditions. I could not find any deterioration in the plot where I applied a 15 percent lower dosage of magnetized spraying liquid. This test has made me realize we must continue to look critically at the amount of water and pesticides that we apply. I also save a minimum of €10,000 per year in pesticides. The investment is easily covered within a growing season, and even better, the savings comes back every year!" says Terpstra. Visit Magnation Water Technologies at booth #584. For more information, call 888.820.0363, go to www.rainlikewater.com or email info@rainlikewater.com.