The Irrigation Association announced the winners of the 2013 New Product Contest during the general session at the Irrigation Show and Education Conference on Nov. 4-8 in Austin, Texas.
“With 50 entries, this was the largest contest we’ve had since its inception,” said Warren Thoma, 2013 – 2014 IA president. “This number says great things about the status of innovation in our industry.”
The contest highlights innovative products introduced to market in the last year in three categories: agriculture, landscape/golf and specialty. Each entry was judged on innovative and/or “changed for the better” qualities, increased water efficiency, ease of use, cost benefits, time savings and design quality.
Judges named a winner and two honorable mentions in each category:
Agriculture
Winner: Waterman Industries, FlowMetrix System
Honorable Mention: Lindsay Corporation, NFTrax
Honorable Mention: Jain Irrigation Inc., Turbo Tape PC
Landscape/Golf
Winner: The Toro Company, Toro EVOLUTION Series Controller
Honorable Mention: Hydro-Rain, HRC990 Battery-Powered Controller and Moisture
Sensor Plug-In
Honorable Mention: Rain Bird Corporation, ESP – SMTE
Specialty
Winner: Hydro-Rain, Irrigation Audit App and Hydro-Rain Sprinkler Catch Cups
Honorable Mention: Illumicare Group Limited, Woody
Honorable Mention: RainHarvest Systems, RainMaster 5100 Pro Rainwater Harvesting System