peatlands 1 taitto.indd - International Peat Society

Premier Tech Systems: Bringing
Automation to the Peat Industry
David Levesque gives an
overview of the history of
Premier Tech and what
products and services it can
today provide to the Peat
Industry.
Looking back to 1989, the equipment
adventure of Premier Tech Systems
started when Bernard Bélanger, President
& CEO of Premier Horticulture
Ltd. (PHL), decided that the only way
to lead the peat moss business would
be to automate its operations as much
as possible.
At the time, market suppliers could
not offer full automation and did not
believe it could be done. That’s when
Premier Tech Systems was born as the
engineering entity of Premier Horticulture,
with a small team of engineers
determined to make it happen. Now,
the team includes more than 450
people, among them, some 35 who
work full time for Research, Development
and Innovation. The success of
this company is based mainly on the
importance of RD&I and its constant
search for customer satisfaction.
Equipment innovations for
the peat industry
To maintain its leading position in
manufacturing processing and packaging
equipment for the peat industry,
Premier Tech Systems markets innovation
products that will give its customers
a competitive edge.
First, there’s the 2-Head Vacuum
Harvester, which is pulled by a tractor
for optimum peat moss harvesting.
With a tank capacity of 1,100 ft 3 (30.8
m 3 ) and a working capacity of 7.5
acres/hr. (3.03 ha/hr.), this harvester
can be productive in a very short time.
Besides being an effective harvester,
even under unstable weather conditions,
this unit’s aluminium construction
means minimal pressure is exerted
on the ground. Because of its light
weight, it requires less pulling power,
Premier Tech Headquarter in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec.
which ultimately results in better fuel
consumption.
Another innovation from Premier
Tech Systems is the new EA-450
Vertical Form, Fill and Seal Baler that
makes its own bags from a roll of fl at
polyethylene fi lm, resulting in reductions
in packaging material and direct
labour costs. This fully automated system
packages compressible products,
such as peat moss, at a density ratio of
up to 2.5:1 and produces watertight,
square-cornered bales
of 25 to 300 litres. It is safe
and designed to operate cleanly,
smoothly and with minimum
noise. It uses a proven electronic-impulse
sealing technology
and is equipped with a
volumetric belt feeder that has
a levelling device for accurate
dosing.
Lastly, there is the new and
innovative EM-2000 Semi-Bulk
Baler, a semi-automatic system
specially designed to produce
very large sized peat moss bales
(up to 300 ft3 /8.5 m3 ). Rather
than stretch wrapping the
product, this new machine uses
pre-made plastic bags, which
produce a better looking bale.
The bales produced also provide
more protection for the
Text and photos: David Levesque
bagged material during transport and
storage, and the print on the bags is a
good marketing tool.
Customer satisfaction
The customers of Premier Tech Systems
can count on 22 fi eld service
representatives in North America and
Europe, 6 modem/remote service
technicians, and 8 spare parts special-
EM-2000 Semi-Bulk Baler.
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