Salton invests in mechanized harvesting of grapes and reduces production costs

The final value of r $ 1.2 million, the Salton brought the first automotive Harvester Brazil-which moves without the need for a tractor-for his Gaucho wine with the greatest potential for expansion, in Santana do Livramento. The equipment makes the job that would need 22 people, in a region where labor is scarce.
"In the process of production of wine, the harvest is to step in if has more spending because of manpower and nowadays we have trouble finding workers. This was the solution we found to increase productivity, "explains the Salton agronomist, Maurice Copat.
The engine specialist at reaps machine by a vibrating system which causes the grain to fall to a mat and are transported to the top of the machine. It is in this step that is made a selection between good and bad fruit, i.e. only the best quality grapes to the wine preparation.
"It's a way to lower the cost of shipping and the transport of an unnecessary weight that includes plastic boxes, bark, seeds and waste", points out the President of the winery, Daniel Salton.
"Other harvesters are pulled by a tractor, drag calls," says Copat in relation to a process that still has a greater impact on the plant.
On the ability to work, it is estimated that the harvest one hectare per hour, time that would require 22 people for the same result. Thus, for plantations that operate eight hours a day, are harvested eight hectares.
The manual harvest is removed the whole bunch, there is no distinction between good and bad beans, which will be separated only in the following step and should generate by-products. "The rural worker can also forget to harvest all the curls and generate some kind of loss to the production. With mechanization, the grains that remain are not used in the crop and soil will be incorporated at the time of pruning, "he adds.
Production unit
Santana do Livramento unit is responsible for receiving the grapes themselves, which, for this crop are around a million pounds and the grapes of the suppliers of the border region.
From the beginning, this unit has received investments of r $ 22 million, between vineyard, infrastructure and equipment. The project is a wager of Salton in the potential of the region of Rio Grande do Sul Campaign, considered the "Brazilian California" and ripe for elaboration of wines and sparkling wines.
"This is the production unit with the highest expandability of areas, so it was chosen to receive the investment in mechanized harvesting. We have 120 acres and can reach the 450, which for a vineyard represents a lot, when it comes to a craft culture, with handling thorough ", completes the agronomist.