The Irrigation Association celebrated the innovative products and technologies that are shaping the future of water management in announcing the winners of the 2023 New Prod-uct Contest. This annual competition showcases the newest premier products in the irriga-tion industry, underscoring the commitment of industry leaders to sustainable water use and improved irrigation efficiency.
Forty-five new products and technologies were entered in three categories: agriculture irrigation, landscape irrigation and landscape lighting.
Agriculture irrigation category
Among companies with annual revenue less than $20 million, the winner is the FertiWise Fertigation System by WiseConn Engineering Inc. The FertiWise high-precision fertigation system offers a precise dosage of fertilizer and acid to crops, obtaining savings in inputs, time and labor.
In the category of companies with annual revenue equal to or greater than $20 million, the winner is the Toro Transpira by The Toro Company. The Toro Transpira directly measures a plant’s water consumption, providing simple, specific and actionable information to support irrigation decisions.
Landscape irrigation category
In the category of companies with annual revenue less than $20 million, the winner is the SPVLF Low Flow Commercial Plastic Valve by Superior. Designed for use as a master or zone valve, the SPVLF is a low flow, high performance irrigation and landscape valve with no minimum flow requirement, which opens and closes regardless of system flow rate and has reliable low flow operation.
Among companies with annual revenue equal to or greater than $20 million, the winner is the FG100 Flow Sensor by Rain Bird Corporation. Designed for residential and light commercial applications, the Rain Bird FG100 Flow Sensor reads high and low flow rates reliably and accurately with flexibility in installation locations.
Landscape lighting category
The landscape lighting winner is the Kichler Smart Control Transformer by Kichler Lighting. With the ability to control lights from anywhere, this 300-watt low-voltage smart control transformer offers the flexibility to design and schedule up to three separate lighting zones, allowing customers to customize and control the areas they want to illuminate.
“The 2023 New Product Contest winners showcase the irrigation industry’s commitment to product innovation and emerging technological trends,” said IA CEO Natasha Rankin, MBA, CEO. “These products not only bring groundbreaking solutions to market, they also represent the driving force behind growth and sustainability of the irrigation industry.”
Products were evaluated based on innovation, design quality, increased water/resource-use efficiency, ease of use and product life expectancy. Official judging was conducted live on the exhibit floor on Nov. 29 during the 2023 Irrigation Show and Education Week in San Antonio. Winners were announced Nov. 30 during the IA General Session.
Visit irrigationshow.org for more details about the contest and to see all the products entered. Contact IA business development (businessdevelopment@irrigation.org, 703.817.6098) for information about entering a product in the 2024 New Product Contest.
