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24 WINES&VINES September 2018 PRODUCT NEWS Depalletizer for canning lines SKA Fabricating released the Half Pint de-palletizer for mobile can- ning operations or facilities with space restrictions. The Half Pint can depalletize half pallets of alu- minum cans at rates of 10 cases per minute to 60 cpm. Designed for low-clearance areas, the device does not need to be installed and can be moved where needed. skafabricating.com Empty bottle grinder Expleco developed a GLSand device that grinds empty glass bottles into sand to reduce the volume of waste in areas where recycling is not convenient or an option. Empty bottles are inserted into the GLSand, which employs "precision cut hammers" to reduce waste volume by 90% while turn- ing bottles into a fine sand or grit in seconds. expleco.com Water-powered weed abatement ITek Wine is now distributing the Acqua Knife weed abatement cul- tivator produced by the Italian firm Caffini. The company touts the Acqua Knife as an organic alterna- tive to herbicide sprays. The machine employs high-pressure water jets to till the soil and pul- verize weeds. Developed six years ago, it has proved popular with organic growers in Europe, according to iTek. The Acqua Knife has its own water tank mounted on a trailer and employs a piston pump powered by a tractor PTO to deliver 15,000 PSI jets of water that can penetrate the soil to a depth of 2 inches. itekwine.com Barrel cradles for seismic stability Wilhelmsen Industries unveiled its newly designed barrel cradles to support barrel stacks and provide Product News Latest offerings and announcements Remote helicopter for vineyard applications Yamaha announced that its FAZER remote-operated helicopter earned an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration to be used for agricultural spraying. According to the supplier, the FAZER is Yamaha's latest unmanned helicopter to receive FAA approval in the United States. The FAZER features a 50% increase in payload capacity, improved control with a re- designed transmitter, cleaner exhaust emissions and quieter opera- tion because of a fuel-injected, four-stroke engine. An older model, the RMAX, has already been used for fungicide applications on wine grapes. "We have found the Yamaha RMAX aerial applications to be a novel, efficient and effective approach to controlling fungal pathogens in some of our most challenging vineyard blocks," said Caleb Mosley, senior viticulturalist for Michael Wolf Vineyard Ser- vices, in a statement released by Yamaha. yamahamotorsports.com