P&L Specialties, your high-performance crushpad equipment manufacturer is NOW SCHEDULING Pre-Harvest Service Appointments for the summer. Ensure a smooth harvest by having your crush equipment inspected, tightened, lubed and ready to run.  

Contact Rudy today at 707-890-8371 to get ’er done.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Then a call for prevention is worth a steady harvest and a sound night’s sleep.

Revolution Equipment Sales is open for business. The new company specializes in the purchase, servicing and resale of high-quality used winery and brewery production equipment. According to Revolution Equipment Sales President Ed Barr, “Wineries and breweries were telling us they needed a reliable partner to help them with their high-quality production equipment that no longer fit their operation. They wanted to recoup any value in the equipment so they could invest it elsewhere. Since I was also being asked if I knew of sources for reliable used equipment, it dawned on me there was a business opportunity and knew I could help.”

Each piece of equipment purchased by Revolution Equipment Sales is thoroughly checked out for any operational issues. Then it is serviced and refurbished to assure reliable performance. Barr adds, “Our business model is similar to certified pre-owned car sales. People want to buy quality used equipment and they want assurances it will perform. We make sure the performance is there and go a step further by backing everything with a warranty. We also offer equipment maintenance programs for anything we sell. We have contractor licenses for California, Oregon and Washington so we handle installations or removals.”

Revolution Equipment Sales has launched a full-feature website to support sellers and buyers. Sellers can submit details and photos of equipment they want to dispose of and buyers can see existing inventory. Buyers can also put in a “help me find” request for a particular piece of equipment. This fall, Revolution Equipment Sales plans to add an auction function that will allow buyers to bid and reserve a piece of equipment online to streamline transactions even more.

More information is available at the Revolution Equipment Sales website – www.revoquip.com or by calling 707-573-3154.

Our sister company, Revolution Equipment Sales, is throwing back prices on this complete sorting line featuring our MOG Sorter and Berry Sorting Table! Here is the complete list of equipment:

Sorting Table with Receiving Hopper - B000461

• Variable Speed Controls
• Forward/Reverse
• 240 voltage, 3 phase
• Mobile Frame

Diemme Kappa 15 Destemmer - B000462

• 240 Voltage, 3 phase
• Stainless Steel Cage
• Year: 2002
• Process Rate: 8-13 Ton X Hour

P&L Specialties Le Trieur MOG Sorter

• Includes a stainless steel perforated collection basket for MOG waste and stainless-steel pan with tri-clamp drain for juice collection.
• Frame legs are height-adjustable.
• Unit to include variable speed control operated with remote pendant controller. 

P&L Specialties Berry Sorting Table - B000464

• Post-Destemmer Sorting Table 24" W x 12' L
• Frame to be all stainless steel tubing, angle and sheet.
• Drive to be internal drum pulley with VFD controls. 

Contact Halley@pnlspecialties.com or call 707-890-8370

P&L Specialties’ LTâ„¢ (Le Trieurâ„¢) is mounted underneath or downstream from the destemmer, this machine's innovative design allows unripe "shot" berries, stem jacks, raisins and Material-Other-than-Grape (MOG) to pass through a wedge-wire screen.

LT'sâ„¢ gentle shaking motion then allows the whole, ripe berries to easily pass onward. This technology dramatically reduces the labor required for post-destemmer sorting. As featured in a recent Wine Business Monthly New Products section, “The LTâ„¢ means a giant leap forward in the quality of must going to your fermenters!”

Manufactured entirely of stainless steel, and equipped with a VFD for complete range of speed control. The LTâ„¢ is very easy to operate, clean and allows juice to be captured. The LTâ„¢ can be designed to fit into your existing line or, of course, will integrate easily into a new P&L Specialties’ processing line.

NEW! –

-Hi-Impact Nema 4X and UL listed enclosure provides better protection of the electronic controls.

-Remote control pendant with ‘on/off’, speed ‘up’ and speed ‘down’ buttons on 25’ tether.

-Optional parallel screens available in 3/16” , 5/16th”, 7/16th” gaps. Allows you to sort specifically to your fruit variety and/or condition. We have had repeated success sorting in a broad range from .25 ton/hour to 4 tons/hour. Results vary with condition of fruit, degree of separation/sorting needed and production speed you require.

In production in California, Washington and Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Canada this season we saw dramatic reduction of shot berries, petioles, leaf, unripe green seeds and insects. P&L Specialties is seeking patent protection for this proprietary design.

P&L Specialties’ president Ed Barr was honored at the North Bay Business Journal’s 2014 Top Manufacturing Awards for Community Giving.  Not as a business motive, but as a human being, Ed Barr’s altruistic focus has set an example for others.

Since 2002 he has served on the Workforce Investment Board, twice as chair, with a goal of using federal funds to train and retrain dislocated youth and adults. Ed recalls, “Initially I got involved with WIB because we needed welders for our stainless steel work and realized that helping people is what I really wanted to do.”

Ed Barr serves on the advisory committee with the Sonoma County Youth Probation Camp on vocational programs in woodworking and welding making benches, fire pits, barbecues for the public and culinary use. His role has been to help source tools, equipment and other resources for the camp. Mr. Barr also serves on the Petaluma Peoples Services Board that acquired the Bounty Farm in Petaluma providing food for Meals on Wheels, the food bank and local restaurants.

In 2006, he started giving free guitar lessons to high school and junior college students who could not pay for instruction. “All I ask is that they show up on time and practice as they expand their understanding of music. Now we have a Battle of the Students among those who play in a band together with a used drum set and PA system. Mr. Barr has been fortunate to have great mentors, especially his dad who guided him in the business.

Empowering young people and being passionate about vocational training is what drives him.  “No one gets anywhere without someone helping them,” Barr said. “I genuinely like people, think the best of everyone and maintain a positive outlook. I believe if you give someone a fine reputation to live up to, they will.”

Dustin Holbrook, an 8-year employee of P&L Specialties stands at a computer screen, tracking the preprogrammed path of what is essentially a liquid blade made of water and garnet that cuts through a sheet of metal as if it were wood.

Blasting at 50,000 pounds of force per square inch, and with extreme precision, the abrasive water jet cut out door frames for a local designer and builder.

Holbrook, who only six years ago was working on P&L’s production line, had to learn quite a bit of computer-aided design to operate the machine, which is primarily used to cut metal sheets and pieces the Santa Rosa company uses to make its crush pad equipment for wineries.

Back then, Holbrook was using a saw and tape measure rather than a $300,000 computerized water jet. But even with high-tech machining, Holbrook maintains a human touch.

“I can tell how it’s running by listening to the machine,” he said as the jet nozzle, submerged in a large basin of water, hummed across the sheet of metal.

The barrel washing, grape conveyors, sorting tables and grape hoppers P&L has been making for decades are not what you would consider the sort of high-tech equipment associated with places like Silicon Valley. But the processes used to fabricate and assemble them are anything but low-tech.

Whether it’s making wine grape hoppers or producing anti-reflection coatings for a cancer doctor’s super-high resolution imaging display, those who make things in Sonoma County say a fertile business landscape that bridges high-tech and manufacturing is crucial.

As a result, county economic development officials and industry leaders are exploring the creation of a manufacturing alliance or business cluster that would bring together local manufacturers to help identify common needs and exchange ideas. Potentially staffed by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, the alliance would assist local companies in addressing the manufacturing industry’s biggest challenges: continuing to implement advanced technology which is key in all manufacturing being the most critical thread tying together all the hurdles.

To that end, among the most common obstacles are employment recruitment and retention, internal training and retraining in order to adopt new technology in manufacturing processes. Equally important is the need to address the local housing crisis that pushed rents and home prices for workers and potential hires to levels comparable with other Bay Area communities and thus has made Sonoma County less appealing.

“Manufacturing and technology are key to our future — they foster innovation, economic diversification and provide good jobs with benefits,” said Ben Stone, executive director of the economic development board.

Stone said the idea of forming a manufacturing alliance came out of focus groups with manufacturing representatives that were convened as part of the five-year economic development plan called Strategic Sonoma.

Ed Barr, president of P&L Specialties, has a background in aviation manufacturing, acquired P&L Specialties in 1999 and has since bought related companies TomBeard Company and Revolution Equipment Sales.

Barr said when he joined the local Workforce Investment Board 16 years ago to help improve vocational and secondary education related to manufacturing, he did not anticipate the cost of housing reaching a pricing level on par with East Bay and South Bay communities. That makes it a lot more difficult to attract outside workers who may be looking for more affordable housing than they might find in Oakland, San Jose or San Francisco, he said.

Educating and training Sonoma County residents like Holbrook with existing ties to the local community could lead to a more stable workforce.

“They have reason to be here,” Barr said. “I would focus on enhancing our educational opportunities, whether vocational, at (Santa Rosa Junior College) or postsecondary at Sonoma State. See what we can do to grow our own workforce.”

Holbrook, a native of Santa Rosa, said he’s thankful for the opportunity Barr gave him to train to operate the water jet cutter. He’s become proficient in the machine’s proprietary OMAX computer-aided design software, which can easily convert other computer designs, including AutoCAD and Solidworks.

“It was a little intimidating at first, to tell you the truth. I didn’t even know what a water jet was,” said Holbrook, who now has no trouble visualizing and executing cuts as narrow as four-thousandths of an inch.

The total number of manufacturing jobs in Sonoma County, nearly 25,000 positions as of November 2018, make up only 11.7 percent of the county’s total workforce of a little more than 211,000 people, according to federal labor statistics compiled by Moody’s Analytics.

That share of the total county workforce has declined significantly from a high of 16.7 percent in December 2000. High-tech manufacturing, excluding high-tech services, plunged from more than 10,300 jobs in December 2000 to about 4,200 in November 2018. The job losses are primarily a result of local medical device and electronics testing companies shedding thousands of jobs in the past two decades.

Meanwhile, during that same period the total number of local food and beverage manufacturing jobs went from 8,800 to 14,100 positions. The food and beverage manufacturing sector now comprises nearly 57 percent of all local manufacturing jobs, compared with only 28 percent at the turn of the century.

Last year, for the first time, more than $1 billion of computer- related equipment was exported from Sonoma County, “a remarkable achievement for a semirural county like Sonoma,” Stone said.

“As they export products, they bring new money into the county,” he said. “This new money translates into a better standard of living and opportunity for local residents.”

A key factor in growing the local manufacturing industry, especially the high-tech sector, is cultivating manufacturing and engineering offerings at local colleges and universities, said Farid Farahmand, chair of the Sonoma State engineering department. Farahmand said the SSU engineering department remains small compared with other Bay Area universities.

Sonoma State’s engineering program only offers undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering. The school has about 150 undergraduates and 20 graduate students in engineering.

Compare that to San Jose State University, which has engineering undergraduate and graduate programs in aerospace engineering; aviation technology; biomedical engineering; chemical and materials engineering; civil and environmental engineering; civil engineering; computer engineering; electrical engineering; industrial and systems engineering; and mechanical engineering.

At San Jose State, there were 7,171 students enrolled in the school’s Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering last fall. The school’s industrial technology program, which includes concentrations in manufacturing systems and computer electronics and network systems management, now has 349 students enrolled. No wonder the university’s tagline is “Powering Silicon Valley.”

Local companies often find themselves competing for the same pool of local employees unless they recruit from outside the county.

Farahmand said large manufacturers in Sonoma County are struggling to attract and retain talented employees from other states. Many of these people have no ties to the local community and some often use a Sonoma County technology job as a stepping stone to their next job elsewhere in the Bay Area.

“They come here for two years, then they leave,” he said, adding that county residents educated locally are more likely to stay here. “If an institution can locally train, these students tend to stay.”

Farahmand said Sonoma State is well-positioned to collaborate with the county’s manufacturing alliance to help grow the college’s engineering programs. Stone said Sonoma State’s engineering program, started 20 years ago, was the product of manufacturers and tech firms persuading the school to start a program.

“Now this new (manufacturing) alliance can build on this and work with SSU and SRJC (Santa Rosa Junior College) to enhance and diversify courses to meet emerging needs,” Stone said.

Tom Chambers, vice president of operations for Mac Thin Films, a Santa Rosa optical coating company, said local manufacturers are crucial to the economy, whether they are involved in optical coating, cannabis, medical devices, fabricators or the wine industry. He said although product lines vary greatly, all producers would benefit from coming together and focusing on the common issues.

The county is planning to convene a luncheon this month with local manufacturers to further explore the formation of the alliance.

Chambers, a former Healdsburg mayor and city councilman, said there have been efforts in the past to bolster manufacturing through the formation of industry groups. He said he’s eager to see what new angle or approach the proposed alliance might take.

“Having a unified group that reaches broadly across the county will hopefully provide support for large, small and startup businesses and provide advocacy for manufacturers,” Chambers said.

Article published in the Press Democrat here. 

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.

P&L Specialties has crush equipment in stock, ready for immediate delivery!

While there’s no way to be sure about the weather, you can still count on 

P&L Specialties to provide:

• Crush equipment in stock NOW.

• Guaranteed delivery dates.

• Financing available (for purchases by July 2015).

Don’t wait to scramble in the heat of the Summer, get prepared now and stay cool!

Contact our Representative for Details

Check out our sister company's "Steel" of the week featuring our equipment!

P&L Specialties Bin Dumper

Features:

• Remote foot pedal switch.
• More resistant to water; provides better protection of electric contacts.
• Hi-Impact Nema 4X and UL listed enclosure provides better protection of the electronic controls.
• 240 Voltage, 3 phase
• (We can re-wire to 480 voltage if needed!)
• 1-year warranty
• Year: 2008

$10,000.00 OBO

P&L Specialties Pump Over Carts

The P&L Specialties Pump Over Cart provides the ultimate in value. It’s the details that make all the differences! You can buy other carts for the same price, but why? Check out the differences – our carts feature fully welded internal seams to ensure sanitary conditions. 

Contact Halley@pnlspecialties.com or call 707-890-8370

Sign up for the "Steel" of the week!

Healdsburg landscape designer and contractor Jake Moss, who mastered the wizardry of creating overnight landscapes on the DIY Network and HGTV, has won the top honor at this weekend’s SF ...  CLICK HERE to read the full story

We finally got our Facebook Page going...  and look forward to being an Education Resource for the Industry.
Please check it out either by Searching "P&L Specialties"  or by going there directly: www.Facebook.com/PL-Specialties-444854569026167

Let Halley (Marketing) know what you think or if you have suggestions on what you would like to see. Email me at Halley@Pnlspecialties.com

Our state of the art waterjet machine makes it possible to produce very accurate parts with minimal setup time and the ability to cut almost any material up to 6 inches thick. Our OMAX 60120 has the ability to directly import any DXF, PDF or CAD file with no need to redraw it. Parts can also be scanned-in using the machine itself, allowing prototypes and limited runs on a short deadline, easy to achieve. 

PRECISION. Waterjet cutting is a precise, quick, clean procedure that produces parts with no added stress or heat, and with the little to no burrs that typically require further processing. Our waterjet machine produces a .08mm jet of water and garnet. Waterjet cut parts can be closely nested together with minimal wasted material.

CUTTING EDGE FINISH. As we have a long history in the welding and fabrication industry, we are able to see the requirements for cutting edge finish and can assign a faster or rougher cut to an edge that may be getting welded later. We have found this can dramatically cut the cost of your parts. We can also offer machining, press break and welding services to your parts

HIGH QUALITY. P&L Specialties is a growing company that has kept its Small Company Care for our clients. We remain dedicated, providing the highest quality and the most cost-effective solutions to your needs, while maintaining the fastest turn around possible. Professional graphic design services available.

Find more on Facebook: P&L Specialties Waterjet

Contact Halley for more information

(707) 890-8370

halley@pnlspecialties.com

SANTA ROSA, CA Local Manufacturing Leaders have recently re-certified for a Third Time as Sonoma County Green Businesses since the program became available. 

P&L Specialties, custom manufacturers of precision grape processing equipment and Tom Beard Company, recognized innovator of water-saving barrel washing systems are proud to maintain a public commitment to our local county, employees and What's Right.

A stringent process is involved for the certification.  Activities to improve internal systems such as paper use and printing, disposal and recycling programs, water flow and use, upgrade of all lighting sources in offices and shops,  and employee rush-hour transportation solutions, are a few to maintain. The process and the entire companies’ involvement communicate our commitment to doing the right thing, the first time.

To learn how to certifiy your business, visit www.sonoma-county.org/sonomagreen. For more information on P&L Specialties and Tom Beard Companies innovative processes and energy saving solutions, visit their respective websites: www.pnlspecialties.com and www.tombeard.com.

Harvest is underway! Find yourself needing press membranes and parts? We've got them! 

We are selling press membranes and parts (for most models) through our sister company Revolution Equpiment Sales. Our prices are extremely competitive and offer fast delivery! 

Contact Halley for a quote! 

(707) 890-8370

halley@pnlspecialties.com

We have supplied the wine industry with high quality, handcrafted membranes to fit all major manufacturers, models and sizes of pneumatic presses. 

Our membranes are constructed of highly resistant materials offering supperior durability and flexibility, featuring specially formulated material bound to a proprietary woven fiber matrix.

Utilizing high frequency welded seams and design reinforcements, our membranes have earned an outstanding reputation for strength, fit and economics for our customers. 

Our membranes have a slick surfce on the product side, with no welding reliefs and no stitches, providing exceptional ease of sanitation and a perfect seal.

NEW YEAR can mean 
NEW SPACE in your warehouse 

ECONOFIEDS is Changing and inviting you to

List Your Equipment for FREE!

To help launch this ‘CLASSIFIEDS for the Winemaker’, you are invited to LIST YOUR winery EQUIPMENT FOR FREE and be sent to over 3100 wineries.

EMAIL your 20-word listing to ECONOFIEDS@Gmail.com

NEW at UNIFIED : MAVRIK !!

Visit us at booth C3 to see updated technology that will help clean your wine’s delicate flavor, aroma and color.

We look forward to showing you!

COME SEE US!!

UNIFIED WINE & GRAPE SYMPOSIUM

W & Th, January 24 – 25, 2024
Sacramento : Safe Credit Union Convention Center

Check out this Party: ï»¿
P&L Specialties – Booth #C3 
You gotta see our pole!

Tom Beard Company 
– Booth #1406

Revolution Equipment Sales 
 – Booth #1404

Just DAYS away! Make sure to stop by BOOTH C3 - we’ll have the Pole to decorate and express your emotions - and ORDERS to take putting you top of the list.

Still time for a free pass from us - simply comment here and we’ll set you up. SEE YOU THERE!

NEXT WEEK: Thurs, March 13

use code WIVI25VIP for FREE Trade show PASS

WIVI CENTRAL COAST Booth 505

It's been a heck of a season and we hope it's been just as good for you.

We appreciate being your Equipment Resource and hope to see you at these upcoming TRADE SHOWS:

• 2/5/24 - Santa Rosa, CA - WINEXPO booth: 305 (free pass: code PLS305)
• 1/29-30/25 - Sacramento, CA - UNIFIED SYMPOSIUM
  • P&L booth: C3 TBC booth: 1406 REVO booth: 1410
• 2/3-4/25 - Portland, OR - OR Wine Symposium booth: 345
• 2/11-12/25 - Kennewick, WA - WINEVIT booth: 507
• 3/13/25 - Paso Robles, CA - WIVI Central Coast booth: 505

[Santa Rosa, CA    March 13, 2024] – P&L Specialties and Mavrik North America are pleased to announce a strategic agreement that enables P&L to fabricate and service Mavrik's widely praised specialty filtration technologies. This partnership will empower P&L Specialties to manufacture and train on Mavrik North America's distinctive designs for wine filtration equipment.

This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both companies, combining Mavrik North America's innovative technology with P&L Specialties' proven expertise in manufacturing and servicing high-quality equipment. The agreement allows P&L Specialties exclusive rights to produce, distribute and maintain Mavrik North America's specialized wine filtration equipment, ensuring broader access and enhanced service capabilities for customers.

Mavrik NA Reverse Osmosis and Ultrafiltration Systems are a crucial element of production as they ensure the stability and quality of your product. Popular with winemakers for removing volatile acids and ethyl acetate, smoke taint, brett and dekkera, pyrazines, sulfides, and alcohol as well as legally concentrating wine; the Mavrik Units will continue to perform these functions selectively without collateral damage to the wine.

"We are thrilled to join forces with P&L Specialties," said Bob Kreisher, President at Mavrik North America. "This collaboration enables us to leverage their manufacturing excellence and service proficiency to expand the reach of our innovative wine filtration solutions. Together, we are committed to delivering unparalleled quality and support to our customers."

Under this agreement, P&L Specialties has undergone rigorous training to uphold Mavrik North America's stringent standards in manufacturing and support. This ensures that customers can trust in the same level of quality and reliability they have come to expect from Mavrik North America's products.

"We are excited about the opportunity to work with Mavrik," commented Ed Barr, President of P&L Specialties. "Their unique designs for wine filtration equipment are at the forefront of industry innovation, and we are confident that our manufacturing capabilities and commitment to service excellence will contribute to continued success."

The collaboration promises to bring enhanced efficiency and effectiveness to wineries and beverage producers, providing them access to state-of-the-art wine filtration solutions with the backing of P&L Specialties' extensive support network.

###

For further information on Mavrik North America's wine filtration equipment and the partnership with P&L Specialties, contact grapecraft@gmail.com for a customized solution and quote for your wine’s particular needs.

About Mavrik North America:
Mavrik North America is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the wine filtration equipment industry since 2007. Committed to excellence, Mavrik North America's unique designs enhance the quality and efficiency of wine production processes.

About P&L Specialties:
P&L Specialties is a reputable manufacturing and service provider with a focus on delivering high-quality equipment solutions. With a commitment to customer satisfaction, P&L Specialties brings decades of experience to the partnership, ensuring top-notch manufacturing and service for Mavrik North America's wine filtration equipment.

What is better than After-Halloween Candy? A Post-Halloween GRAPE PRESS FOR SALE!

This M.A.S. Mythos 34HL has pressing capacities of 1.87 tons of Whole Cluster and 11.5 tons of Red Fermented grapes. Designed for low-pressure high-yield results, this press has a full-length press juice pan with a 185-gallon capacity. To make room for new inventory we must sell this press now and deliver in February. Special pricing terms apply.

Delivery FOB Santa Rosa on February 14, 2024.
Contact sales@pnlspecialties.com with interest and questions. 707-975-5356.

Price: $72,300.

We are looking forward to SEEING YOU at these upcoming TRADE SHOWS: