DECCO Post-Harvest is pleased to announce the acquisition of IngeAgro, SA (Chile) and its Ultra-Low Volume Electrostatic Application Technology FULLCOVER®.

IngeAgro's patented FULLCOVER electrostatic technology is widely used throughout Latin America with 400 units already operating in blueberry, table grape and avocado packers. Under a previous distribution agreement, DECCO also expanded the FULLCOVER technology to other market segments, including citrus, melons, tomatoes, and tropical fruits such as papaya and bananas.

Tomas Yakasovic, who founded IngeAgro in 2013, will continue as CEO, leading the further innovation of this and other cutting-edge application technologies. Tomas, an electrical engineer by training and ten years as a family vineyard manager, knows first-hand the challenges faced by agro-industries that lead to the development and patenting of FULLCOVER technology and YT Wine, a precision SO2 dosing system for grapes and came.

Augusto Mengelle, DECCO General Manager for Latin America pointed out that “the acquisition of IngeAgro will allow us to bring FULLCOVER 'dry application' technology plus our full line of products to many other high value markets that cannot receive any postharvest aqueous treatment . Furthermore, FULLCOVER technology has already been adopted for use as an electrostatic backpack application of disinfectant products in cold rooms and for field aerosols ”.

DECCO, together with IngeAgro, is already developing the next generation of electrostatic application technology for use in traditional packaging lines for citrus, apples, pears, stone fruits, pineapples, bananas, melons and many others. The introduction of electrostatic applications of phytosanitary products is an example of DECCO's commitment to sustainability, contributing to the reduction of food loss and waste along the value chain from the field to the kitchen.

IngeAgro's technologies potentially open up an even wider market for electrostatic field application to agricultural and horticultural crops of various phytosanitary products that is already being explored by DECCO's parent company, UPL. This acquisition adds a new window of opportunity for UPL to expand its postharvest footprint and beyond, further developing the OpenAg concept of borderless innovation.