Vinitech-Sifel, which opens its doors at Bordeaux Exhibition Centre from 2 to 4 December 2014, is looking highly promising on the innovation front. The Vinitech-Sifel Innovation Awards judges announced the winners on Wednesday 3 September – 19 products, processes or technologies chosen from among the 61 entries considered: 1 Special Jury Prize, 3 Gold Awards, 2 Silver Awards, 3 Bronze Awards and 10 Commendations. The keytrend to emerge from the 2014 awards is precision farming which is now a reality in the viticulture & winemaking and fruit & vegetable production sectors. Analysis of the trends:
Precision farming: the dream becomes reality!
Jean-Luc Berger, OIV1 expert and former National Technical Director of the IFV2 and Pierre Gaillard, Director of the Fruits et Légumes d’Aquitaine association, who are joint chairmen of the Innovation Awards Scientific and Technical Committee3, comment on this year’s winners:
“The 19th Innovation Awards are marked by the emergence of precision farming equipment.
• Robotics is gradually becoming a reality, as demonstrated by the tying robot and the automated lift truck presented.
• Considerable progress was noted in tillage tools, such as multifunction chassis which offer an alternative to chemical weed control. They are more efficient in terms of work quality and
speed of execution. Another interesting innovation is a grape harvester with a tight turning circle, offering significant time savings, improved operator safety and the possibility of reducing headland size.
• This year sees noteworthy innovations that will improve the winemaking process and wine quality, including a system to control humidity levels in the winery and a barrel cleaning,
descaling and disinfection system. Other technological innovations designed to optimise the winemaking process include a sensor to control the transfer of liquids in the winery automatically and a grape grading machine.” See full list of prize winners below.
Overview of the 2014 winners
This year’s crop includes three Gold Awards which went to:
AMOS INDUSTRIE for Calibaie, a system that grades the grapes as they come out of the automatic sorting machine. It makes optimum use of the grape harvest by selecting different vinification processes according to grape size.
The system is already fully operational and represents a real innovation which optimises overall wine quality.
PELLENC for the Easy Turn grape harvester steering system which enables the operator to move to the row adjacent to the one just completed without any special manoeuvring; it also offers a significant productivity gain and better visibility. The innovation lies in the mechanical design: absence of tie rods, one reversing inner rear wheel and a 95° turning angle.
SOUSLIKOFF & CIE for its inter-vine tool chassis Guidalex, with automatic row guiding and depth adjustment. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the positioning of the right and left mounted tools is controlled independently and automatically, enabling two half-rows to be worked simultaneously.
Silver Awards:
INOZY for Smart Glass, a device to control the transfer of liquids in the winery
automatically. A remarkable development in precision winemaking.
LEGER SAS for its inter-vine hoeing machine EcosatelY: which uses draft power to rotate a
trihedral ploughshare support mounted off-centre.
Bronze Awards:
Hygromax by BOUYOUD DISTRIBUTION which helps maintain a high humidity level in the
barrel room.
Mini-Sillon inter-vine hoe carrier by EGRETIER JEAN-MICHEL SARL, an articulated tilling tool
support carried behind a tractor, for use in vineyards planted in rows.
iGoEasy by STILL, automated lift truck guidance system for horizontal load transport.
The Special Jury Prize was awarded to DUVIGNEAU ET FILS for its mini-digger with pile driver,
designed for trellis installation in the vineyard. The system is completely automated with GPS
guidance to an accuracy of one centimetre. It enables an operator to work alone and greatly
reduces the strenuousness of the task. This ground-breaking innovation represents a major
development in precision farming, a cost-effective solution which also improves working
conditions for dangerous tasks which put strain on the operator. By launching the Special Jury
Prize in 2012, Vinitech-Sifel shows its support for innovation, with a prize of €5,000 going to the
winning company.
Vinitech-Sifel Innovation Awards 2014 winners
Special Jury Prize
Category: Vines, Orchards & Vegetable Farming DUVIGNEAU ET FILS Mini-digger with pile driver
33350 Civrac-sur-Dordogne – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected]
Gold Awards
Category: Wine
AMOS INDUSTRIE
CALIBAIE grape grader21203 Beaune – Bourgogne / E-mail: [email protected]
Category: Vines, Orchards & Vegetable Farming
PELLENC EASY TURN
steering system for grape harvesting machine
84122 Pertuis – Languedoc-Roussillon/ E-mail: [email protected]
Category: Fruit & Vegetables
SOUSLIKOFF & CIE
Inter-vine tool chassis with automatic row guide and controlled depth adjustment
33340 Saint-Yzans-de-Médoc – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected]
Silver Awards
Category: Wine
INOZY
SMART GLASS: Device for controlling the transfer of liquids in the winery automatically
34196 Montpellier – Languedoc-Roussillon / E-mail: [email protected]
Category: Vines, Orchards & Vegetable Farming
LEGER SAS
EcosatelYt inter-vine hoeing machine
47290 Cancon – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected] Page 4 of 5
Bronze Awards
Category: Wine
BOUYOUD DISTRIBUTION
Hygromax
19100 Brive-la-Gaillarde – Limousin / E-mail: [email protected]
STILL
IgoEasy by STILL
77716 Marne-La-Vallée / Ile-de-France / E-mail: [email protected]
Category: Vines, Orchards & Vegetable Farming
EGRETIER JEAN MICHEL SARL
Mini-Sillon inter-vine hoe carrier
11100 Narbonne – Languedoc-Roussillon / E-mail: [email protected]
Commendations
Category: Wine
BUCHER VASLIN SA
Bucher Inertys: red wine application
49290 Chalonnes-sur-Loire – Pays de la Loire / E-mail: [email protected]
DGC VINS SARL
Superheated water barrel cleaning and sterilising process
33330 Saint-Etienne-de-Liesse – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected]
FOURAGE-CTI
Multifunction smart pump
44690 La Haye-Fouassière – Pays de la Loire / E-mail: [email protected]
HERTI JSC
Vinstar Smart: screw-cap closure
69400 Villefranche-sur-Saône – Rhône-Alpes / E-mail: [email protected]
LAMOUROUX SAS
BARILAV: Rotary barrel washer
33540 Gornac – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected]
PROCESS 2 WINE
Process2Wine: Web and mobile wine production management application
33000 Bordeaux – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected] 5 of 5
VICARD TONNELLERIES SAS
Barriques ECO3: Vicard eco-responsible barrel
16102 Cognac – Poitou-Charentes / E-mail: [email protected]
VINEA SAS
Ceramic toasting of wood for wine maturation
17500 Saint-Germain-de-Lusignan – Poitou-Charente / E-mail: [email protected]
WINES & TOOLS
D30F Wine Line: winemaking input dosing pump
33000 Bordeaux – Aquitaine / E-mail: [email protected]
Category: Vines, Orchards & Vegetable Farming
PELLENC
EASY SAFE WASH system for grape harvesters
84122 Pertuis – Languedoc-Roussillon / E-mail: [email protected]
Details of the winners
are now on the exhibition website www.vinitech-sifel.com
