Plastic Irrigation Valve Covers Stopped Theft Problem

Plastic Irrigation Valve Covers Stopped Theft Problem IRRIGATION Acessories Mark Lucas grows 80 acres of Thompson seedless grapes using flood irrigation near Fresno Calif Last spring he faced an expensive problem “I was checking my irrigation system over to get ready for the upcoming season when I noticed that all the brass covers on my orchard valves had been stolen most likely during the winter Orchard valves are used at the end of each row and have large covers that when loosened lift up and allow the water to escape from the pipe below and move down the rows “The covers are made of brass and thieves steal them for their resale value The theft of brass valve covers has become a big problem on farms in this area during the last few years ” Lucas has 400 rows of grapes on his farm so he needed 400 valve covers to get his irrigation system working again “I called the irrigation valve manufacturers and they quoted $36 apiece for the valve covers plus tax That meant replacements would have cost me close to $16 000 with no guarantee the theft wouldn’t happen again I didn’t think I could sleep at night if I paid that much money for covers that could be stolen at any time ” He went to a plastic injection manufacturing company and they suggested using fiberglass-reinforced plastic valve covers for durability and strength “After a few days of thinking it over I decided to manufacture my own plastic covers They would have no resale value to the thieves and they would cost a lot less than ones made from brass ” he says He had molds made from an original brass valve cover “I thought I would make 1 000 valves and sell the extra ones to cover the cost of the molds After all the components arrived my kids and I assembled them in my garage I contacted a few local farmers and sold the extra covers in less than 2 months People kept contacting me to supply them with more of the covers so I started manufacturing the two most popular sizes – 3 1/2 and 4-in dia – and sold them through a company that I formed called AVALCO ” Lucas says the fiberglass-reinforced plastic valve covers are designed to replace Clover Sunshine and Red Top-style orchard flood irrigation valve covers They fit directly with no modifications onto orchard frames manufactured by Fresno Valve and Waterman Industries The 3 1/2-in valve covers sell for $13 apiece plus S&H; 4-in covers for $14 apiece plus S&H Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mark Lucas AVALCO 2029 Verdugo Blvd No 710 Montrose Calif 91020 ph 310 676-3057; Avalco4@aol com; www farmvalves com

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