Jim Foster, owner of Vermont Natural Ag Products in Middlebury, has been composting yard waste, manures, sawdust and food waste for several years. Jim started out by windrowing, and turning the windrows with a front-end loader.
He soon saw the need for a purpose-built machine to increase production. He looked around, and purchased a used turner in 2002. It was a definite improvement over previous turning methods, but within a couple of years the business outgrew its capabilities, and Jim needed a higher-capacity turner to keep up with the growing demand for his products. At this point, Jim knew that his business deserved the best. So instead of just looking online and reading brochures, Jim studied the various turners on the market and travelled in the US and even to Europe to visit manufacturers. He came away convinced that Komptech Topturn X53 was the most cost-effective turner for his operation, based on its capacity, features, built quality, and user-friendliness. Jim isn’t the only industry professional to reach this conclusion – the Topturn X53 has won the prestigious American Design Award, and is generally considered to be the most user-friendly compost turner on the market today. At Vermont Natural Ag Products, some of the features they appreciate are the fully air-conditioned cab with filtered air supply, powerful 330 hp Caterpillar engine, and the 4500 cubic yard per hour turning capacity. Vermont Natural Ag Products is confident that the Topturn can help them triple production while drastically lowering turning costs. The company can certainly make good use of the increased production capacity – it is a regional leader in soils, composts, and growing mixes. Its “Moo” line of certified organic composts enjoys an excellent reputation throughout the Northeast. Vermont Natural Ag sold 1000,000 cu. yards of Moo products such as MooDoo in 2007, and the expanding market for organic food products means a very bright outlook for selling even more in 2008.
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Jim Foster with the Topturn X53
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