Spraying smarter to grow better
In a competitive and dynamic landscape such as viticulture, the ability to effectively trial, evaluate and embed innovations can provide a distinct advantage.
The company has recently changed its name: from June 1 it was renamed BA Pumps & Sprayers, under the same ownership and business model.
Bertolini Australasia was formed in 1989 by Mark, Penny and Guy Rendle, with Richard Skeates, when they secured the rights to sell Bertolini pumps in New Zealand from Iddromeccanica Bertolini SpA of Italy.
They went on to develop a range of equipment using the large range of agricultural and industrial pumps available to them, and developed a wide range of sprayers and pressure cleaning equipment.
Today the range includes sprayers, pressure cleaners and fertiliser spreaders, and the company is the sole distributor of Iddromeccanica Bertolini pumps, Collard vineyard equipment, Boisselet under-vine equipment and TeeJet agricultural products.
If customers can’t find what they need, the in-house design and engineering team can custom build gear to order.
Custom-built sprayers are popular with rural spraying contractors, especially those built for truck or Toyota Landcruiser; an extensive array of options includes 1000L or larger tanks, hydraulic spray booms with wing lift, GPS, ABSC autorate controllers and airbag suspension.
The business has remained loyal in using as many New Zealand suppliers as possible, rather than outsourcing manufacturing and quality control overseas; most products are certified as NZ-made.
Growth prompted a move in 2017 to a new, purpose-built facility 5km from Cambridge; staff numbers grew and production capacity expanded.
