Canadian hopper-bottom bin maker Meridian Manufacturing Group plans to expand its product offering in 2012 to include aeration systems.
Meridian’s AirMax system, announced Wednesday at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina, is billed as a “flexible” system designed for retrofit installation in farmers’ existing hopper bins.
The system will be available to farmers in January, the company said.
Aeration systems are used to manage condensation and moisture migration and reduce insect populations and the rate of mould development in stored grain.
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The AirMax system, the company said, is based on a “sectional vertical design (that) offers the best opportunity for natural air drying — by helping move air as high as possible in the grain.”
Meridian said its system also “fits a wide range of hopper-bottom bins, working with high-flow applications such as pulse crops.”
“What sets Meridian AirMax apart is that the new system allows farmers to enhance their existing grain storage, protecting their investment in the bin,” marketing manager Sid Lockhart said in a release.
Meridian, which builds its smooth-wall welded bins at Camrose and Lethbridge, Alta., Winkler, Man. and Storm Lake, Iowa, is part of Winnipeg-based WGI Westman Group, whose members also include steel building manufacturer Behlen Industries and grain auger maker Sakundiak Equipment.
Sakundiak, which recently completed a $12 million, 80,000-square foot expansion of its Regina manufacturing plant, is also at Farm Progress to launch its SwingMax Pro auger line.
