The Irrigation Association (IA) declared the winners of the 2013 New Product Contest during the general session at the Irrigation Show & Education Conference, Nov. 4–8 in Austin, Texas.
“With 50 entries, this was the largest contest we’ve had since its inception,” said IA President Warren Thoma. “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. Judges named a winner and two honorable mentions in each category. Entries was judged on innovative and/or “changed for the better” qualities, increased water efficiency, ease of use, cost benefits, time savings and design quality.
Those recognized in the landscape/golf category included:
- The Toro Co., Toro EVOLUTION Series Controller (winner);
- Hydro-Rain, HRC990 Battery-Powered Controller and Moisture Sensor Plug-In (honorable mention); and
- Rain Bird Corp., ESP – SMTE (honorable mention).
Awardees in the specialty category were:
- Hydro-Rain, Irrigation Audit App and Hydro-Rain Sprinkler Catch Cups (winner);
- Illumicare Group Limited, Woody (honorable mention); and
- RainHarvest Systems, RainMaster 5100 Pro Rainwater Harvesting System (honorable mention).
Updated: 11/22/13.
