18
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MARCH 2017
• IPMMACHINERY
hopper (standard is 650 litres), and audible alarms should
either the compost or pot supply be interrupted.
Danish firmEllepot reckons users of its Ellepots often create
the holes requiredwith a stick, and in some caseswith a
finger, which compacts thematerial. Reason enough for
the company to develop amachine that can drill up to 32
perfectly-shaped holes at a time.
Called theDriller, and available in bothmanually-operated and
automatic versions, themanual machine on show in Essen
can be used on tray sizes up to 600mm x 400mm, andwith
Ellepots ranging in size from25-80mm. The company supplies
a range of different drill bits from 15-50mm, all of which can be
changed quickly and easily. Aimed at growersworkingwith a
minimum of 500,000plants a year, theDriller has a capacity
of up to 240 trays an hour. As a very rough guide, prices start
from around€12,000 (includes one set of drill bits).
Over 10ha of the Essen fairgroundswere required to
accommodate the 1,600 exhibitors at this year’s edition of
IPM
MACHINERY
Newpottingmachines and transplanters dominated the
machinery news at this year’s edition of IPM. Steven Vale
joined the visitors at the Essen Fairgrounds to track down
some of the highlights.
Plenty of new potting
machines and transplanters
DUTCH firmWPS employed a novel method to draw attention
to its latest automatedplant and camera systems. Taking pride
of place on the standwere three robots designed to highlight
the versatility of the firm’s latest solutions.
Known as SmartStaff, the three includeMister Perfect (plant
scanner), Miss Picky (plant handling) andMrs Packy (range of
functions including sleeving, labelling and stickering). Picking
up plants andmoving them around is quite new for theDutch
company, which reckons it can use robots for everything from
potting through to delivery.
The paint was still drying on the new I3 electro-pneumatic
pottingmachine fromBelgian firmDaRos. The touch-screen
allows operators to easily andquickly change between different
pot sizes, which range from 8-20cm.With the capacity to
handle 500 to 2,500 pots/hour, options include a 1,000-litre
TTA’sTrayscanAppuses tablet technology to
automate thecountingprocessof germinated seed.
SmartStaff on the standofWPSdesigned todraw
attention to theDutchfirm’s latest automatedplant
andcamera systems.
