Terrazza is actively tapping into new markets. This Belgian specialist in cleaning and weed removal solutions is supporting that with ingenious new products that can be found at GrootGroenPlus in Zundert. Two standout products at the booth are the Geotex Omni Pro and the brand-new Nursery Eco Cleaner. These solutions address the need for user-friendly, sustainable, and ecological cleaning methods for growers. Director Dany Mestdag proudly explains the ins and outs.

Source: Emiel te Walvaart

The most remarkable highlight is the introduction of the Nursery Eco Cleaner. This is a machine for cleaning and removing moss, dirt, and weeds from all kinds of cultivation tables, whether they are covered with woven or non-woven anti-root cloth, and from pathways, walkways, and work areas. The Nursery Eco Cleaner is equipped with an electric motor powered by batteries. "It’s a very handy device, without cables or connection to anything. It’s lightweight, weighing only 2.7 kg."

Cleaning cultivation tables

The Nursery Eco Cleaner was initially designed for cleaning cultivation and growing tables in nurseries and garden centres. "There are two types of tables: one with a waffle structure and the other with a smooth surface on which Geotex cloth is placed. In garden centres, these tables often hold pots with plants for display; in nurseries, they’re used for growing crops. These tables are in a warm and humid environment, which causes moss, algae, and similar growths. The surface becomes heavily soiled and needs to be cleaned when there are no pots on them. This is often a daunting task: in many companies, the tables, sometimes 15 to 20 meters long, are taken outside to be cleaned with a pressure washer. You could clean them indoors by hand, but that’s not a popular option. There really wasn’t any good tool for this," says Dany Mestdag. Terrazza believes they’ve found a solution with their patented brush system. "The unique feature of the brushes on our devices is that they can clean complex structures. When the brush rotates, it also cleans the structure or joint, as the dirt inside is loosened. If the surface is slightly moistened, a sort of mud is created that can easily be rinsed off with a hose. This way, we can clean waffle structures easily without using a lot of force. If there’s Geotex cloth on the surface, you can switch the brush to one that’s suitable for cleaning root cloth."

Well-balanced weight

The Nursery Eco Cleaner can be equipped with standard CAS batteries, with options of 18V DV, 5.2 Ah (Li-ion), and 18V DC -10.0 Ah (LiHD). A Terrazza ASC 55 battery charger can also be supplied. Mestdag: "You could use batteries from well-known brands’ cordless drills for our cleaner. They are quite affordable and offer up to an hour of usage. The batteries are located at the back of the device, but they can be rotated. This way, they act as a counterbalance for the brush. If you hold the machine in the middle, you have equal weight in the front and back. By rotating the batteries 180 degrees either lengthwise or widthwise, the weight distribution is better balanced for certain applications, such as working vertically or upwards." The electric motor allows for a lower rotation speed of the brush. "For example, it can rotate as slowly as 65 revolutions per minute and up to a maximum of 250 revolutions per minute. When working on rough surfaces, you can reduce the rotation speed so external forces affect the machine less. With six different speed settings, the device can be used on various surfaces and different levels of dirtiness. It’s simple and comfortable to use."

Chemical-free challenge

The device can also be used to clean other surfaces, such as floors, walls, and even algae-covered glass. For this, an extra Velcro plate is supplied with the Nursery Eco Cleaner. Different cleaning pads can be attached to this plate for additional cleaning applications, such as for glass, plastic, and metal. Terrazza is currently adding a type of sponge to this, but more Velcro solutions will be introduced in the future. For many growers, it’s challenging to clean without using chemical additives. "I’m not saying our device can do everything, but it can be multifunctional. If you use the Nursery Eco Cleaner efficiently, anyone can work with it. It’s more fun than scrubbing everything by hand, but the most important thing is that the specific brushes solve problems you wouldn’t be able to fix otherwise. Many growers who cultivate plants in controlled lab environments need an ecological cleaning method." Mestdag adds that the Nursery Eco Cleaner is now widely available.

New Omni Pro version of Geotex

The Geotex Pro for cleaning ground and root cloth has already proven itself. The latest news is that the Geotex has been expanded with an Omni Pro version. This version can clean both ground cloth and concrete and asphalt surfaces at nurseries and garden centres. "There was demand from the market to expand the use of the Geotex. We adjusted our offering accordingly. The Geotex Pro can now be used as a general cleaning device at nurseries in the form of the Omni Pro. Whether it’s ground cloth, concrete, asphalt, or any other type of surface, we’ve added extra brushes that users can install themselves. This allows them to convert the device from ground cloth cleaning to hard surface cleaning." The brushes for the Omni Pro are made of different materials than those for textile. "For ground cloth, we use brush material with carbon embedded in the synthetic fibre to clean algae and moss. For concrete and asphalt, we use purely metal brushes." Mestdag notes that demand from the market, including the international market, has increased. "We’re now also represented in the US and Canada. We participated in Cultivate, a trade fair similar to IPM, in Ohio. There are more hard surfaces at nurseries there. It became clear that there was a need for the Geotex Pro to be used on surfaces other than ground cloth. We’ve met that need. After several trade fair participations, we noticed interest in the Omni Pro version here as well."