Currently our harvesting fleet consists of nine machines.
– Two Side Elevator harvesters (Gregoire 152) configured for live fruit discharge into attendant 5 tonne gondolas. These units are very efficient as they allow the harvester to continue harvesting whilst full gondolas are away filling waiting bulk truck & trailers.
– Eight Twin Bin harvesters (Gregoire & Pellenc) configured with on board storage bins with a 2.5<>3 tonne capacity. These “twin bin” machines are particularly suited in vineyards where steeper terrain prohibits the use of gondolas in the row. These are replaced with a 10 tonne gondola which remains in the headland. Four of these harvesters have de-stemming capabilties – one Gregoire G8, two Gregoire GL8 and one Pellenc 890 each with the latest de-stemming technology.
Given the seasonal nature of our business, our 50+ staff are employed for the vintage, with many being sourced from within the local viticulture industry. Many staff return year in year out, giving us the high level of skills and experience required.
Our machine operators work 12 hour rosters allowing for 24 hour/7 days a week coverage. Our vintage office is also manned 24/7 providing valuable support to both our team and our clients.
In 2010, Valley Harvesting engaged software developers to create our own in-house scheduling & reporting system. This coupled with near real time GPS tracking technology fitted to every harvester, ensures we maintain a “live” harvesting schedule. This is very important given the many variables being managed to ensure each harvest is undertaken on time with maximum efficiency.
Our harvesting services extend to organising the logistics of transporting fruit from the vineyard to the winery along with liaison with winery recieval staff to ensure the desired flow rates are achieved.
