Sustainable Green Team, Ltd., a leading provider of environmentally beneficial solutions, today announces that it has acquired a custom potting soil production system manufactured by Mitchell Ellis Products, Inc. to diversify its product offering. The acquisition took place during the week that the Company signed the LOI to acquire Day Dreamer Productions, LLC. to offer in-house video production and marketing content to accounts while providing optimal brand exposure.
Mitchell Ellis Products Inc. was founded in 1977 and has provided machinery for potting soil, nursery, and greenhouse markets for over 44 years. The primary production line consists of an Automated Inline Continuous Soil Blending System. There are four main bulk receiving hoppers that will accurately dispense the major ingredients such as peat moss, composted pine bark, perlite, vermiculite, etc. into a primary conveyor. Two minor ingredient hoppers will also dispense a variety of customizable fertilizer compositions onto the conveyor.
The system is designed to have a nominal production rate of 120 cubic yards per hour. Additional support equipment can be easily integrated that will greatly expand the throughput capacity and the ability to blend additional custom ingredients.
The production line will allow full control over the Company’s blending processes, thereby ensuring the proper ingredient formulations with superior precision and speed. Specific formulations will be pre-programmed and can be produced with the push of a button via the automated touchscreen controls and custom software.
In addition to the primary continuous production line, there is also a Batch Blending System. This will allow SGTM to easily produce custom soil and substrate formulations for its internal research and development programs along with custom batches for growers and retail clients.
The batch mixer was designed to be a high production machine for mixing nearly all types of soil. For example, it can mix a specific batch in 2-4 minutes, discharging in 90 seconds – faster than a spiral mixer and more compact than SGTM’s full-sized continuous soil mix systems. It will also provide SGTM with extreme flexibility as it has a rear door for hand loading bag materials or peat moss bales. With the back door closed SGTM can use its front-end loaders to fill the machine with bulk materials.
“This will not only increase our speed and efficiency, but the integration of this system allows us to significantly increase our product offering within our soils division. The newly acquired soils production system will enable us, with greater confidence, to meet the needs of our customers who’ve asked to purchase a wider variety of products from us outside of mulch,” added Tony Raynor, CEO of Sustainable Green Team.
The production system also includes a Coir Processing Component that can be integrated into either blending system, or as a standalone unit. This will break compressed coir bricks, bales or slabs apart. Some refer to this product as coconut coir, coir pith, or coco peat. Many growers have recognized that coir can be used as an amendment or even as a whole growing media. Coir has been around for some time, but it has been problematic to break apart without damage to the fibers. Sustainable Green Team’s process is gentle and simply rubs the coir apart in a dry state, providing the ultimate product condition for soil blending or direct bagging.
The final soil production components all relate to the Company’s bagging operations. It consists of an Integrated Bagger with a four cubic-yard surge hopper featuring foot controls and timer mechanisms for ease of operation and consistent filling ability. Since customers’ bagging needs may vary, soil chutes are custom-made to fill each requirement. Extra bagging capabilities exist with a Twin Fill Bulk Bag (Supersack) Station for larger capacities and a dual-head, small-product bagging line for small container requirements.
Upon its arrival at one SGTM’s Florida facility, the equipment will be assembled, commissioned and calibrated per the manufacturer’s specifications. While this system allows SGTM the ability to immediately begin production of premium potting soil and substrates, the Company is actively moving forward with the design and engineering of additional, large-scale, soil blending operations.