Major Waikerie almond producer Jubilee Almonds turned to Adelaide’s SAGE Automation when it wanted to upgrade its pump house as part of an expansion drive into world export markets – and is delighted with the results.

Jubilee’s CEO Brendan Sidhu says the project involved eliminating the diesel booster pump and increasing irrigation from 60 to 650 litres/second.

“We worked with SAGE to explain our problem and they provided just the solution we wanted”, Brendan said.

Jubilee almonds prides itself on producing a premium crop on a sustainable basis and is part of a rapidly expanding Australian almond industry, producing 1500 tonnes of kernels annually toward a national total of 45,500 tonnes.

“We’re part of one of the fastest growing horticulture industries in the country and irrigation is vital to our success. Previously our flow rate was 60 to 100 litres/second, then it jumped straight to 280, then 550 and finally 600”, Brendan said.

“With the new system from SAGE, we have the flexibility to pump anywhere from 60 to 650 litres/second. This is very important as we expand our operation to take account of booming world demand for premium almonds”.

Highly respected WIA member SAGE Automation specialises in the delivery of industrial automation and control services. The company has 10 offices in Australia and a significant presence in Pune, India, with a 250-strong workforce delivering solutions in the defence, infrastructure, manufacturing, resources and utilities sectors.

Senior Project Manager Ryan Tregilgas says the assignment for Jubilee Almonds involved a complete re-fit out of the existing pump house including:

• 4 x new 315kW potted turbine irrigation pumps
• 1 x 150k irrigation pump
• Dual vacuum pump priming system
• Jacking pump for maintaining of pressure and supply of domestic water.

“We’ve done a lot of similar work in the Riverland recently and it’s just one example of our diverse industry experience and technical excellence, helping clients to achieve control, enhanced efficiency and improve the value and productivity of their business”, Ryan said.

He said some of the benefits which SAGE had delivered included:

• Increased flexibility with selectable duty of the pumps and overall design of the control system
• High reliability with system interlocking and overall smart design of the control system
• Robust power design enabled us to maximize the available power and increase water capacity
• Maximum energy efficiency with the VSD’s, higher power factor, and harmonic mitigation included
• Fast generator changeover point for emergency situations
• Remote monitoring via mobile devices enables them to keep an eye on the system wherever they are
• Alarm paging alerts to critical issues real time.

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