SALTUS™ Reference installations

Reference installations

The use of Saltus Poles in South African vineyards has been steadily growing over the last 5 years. The initial testing started in 2012 with vineyards at 15 ton/hectare planted in sur echalas (“on the stakes”) at a single vine per stake. Below are listed some of the later and more recent developments displaying the different trellis system designs in a variety of regions throughout South Africa.

Sur Echalas – One vine per stake

In 2014, 1,000 initial test poles were planted in the Franschhoek region near Stellenbosch. After the initial test block, an additional 133,000 poles have been installed on the same farm. This vineyard produced 30 tons per hectare (12 tons per acre) during the 2018 harvest season. With the excellent performance and benefits of the product, the farm now exclusively uses Saltus Poles.

Ballerina or Smart Dyson

Since 2015 in the Paarl region near Stellenbosch several test blocks of vineyards were developed totaling 3,000 poles. These vineyards have now yielded up to 40 tons per hectare (16 tons per acre) during the 2018 harvest season. As shown in these pictures, the vineyards utilize a conventional ballerina or smart dyson trellis design. Wire are either guided through holes drilled in the vine stakes, or by attaching special wire guides to the poles.

Geneva Double Curtain (Y-trellis)

Vineyard test blocks in the Western Cape and Somerset West was established in 2015 and totals 2,000 poles carrying a total of 30 – 40 tons per hectare (12 – 16 tons per acre) of table grapes. This installation utilized pre-assembled and collapsible Y-trellis arms resulting in lower cost transportation and ease of installation. The new light weight modular design allows for addition of longer poles to existing infrastructure for shade nets or plastic sheeting.

Based on the experience with the test block, an additional 160 hectares (65 acres) is expected to be developed over the next 2 years. Additional interest in the Mpumulanga area in South Africa has also recently emerged.

Irrigation poles

The most recent installation is a 3,650 pole installation of 38mm diameter and 2.1m length in Swellendam, Western Cape, South Africa. This was installed in September 2017. The design for the 32mm diameter irrigation pole has also been completed and will soon be installed in Franschhoek.

Utility & telecom poles

In 2017 we also completed a successful installation for a leading fibre optic cable supplier in South Africa. We have designed standard 6m, 7.5m, 9m and 11m pole lengths to replace standard size wooden utility or telecom poles. As example, the 9m pole weighs only 50kg and will deflect only 5% of its length when subjected to maximum design loads. We have heavy and light duty pole specifications depending on application.