The device was crafted by a team of engineers of the DOST-Metal Research and Development Center (MIRDC) composed of Rey Rifareal, chief of MIRDC’s Industry Assistance Division; Amado Jabrica and Entereso Cruz.
The Project was undertaken in collaboration with the Coco Coir Industry Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CCIAPI) under DOST’s SET-UP. CCIAPI, headed by Bai Yasmin Sinsuat, provided the equipment’s base model and concept design.
The machine was one of those exhibited at the Casablanca Hotel during the celebration of NSTW in this capital city of Albay.
Completed this year, the twining machine can produce good quality coco coir products at a rate comparable to the imported commercial units being used by the local industry, said Rifareal when interviewed by this writer and Agriculture editor/write Zac Sarian.
The machine produces two to three kilograms per hour of two ply ropes of 4-5 millimeter diameter. When woven, the twined coir can be used as doormats, wall carpets, plant containers, sandbags for riverbanks to prevent soil erosion, and decorative items. It can also be used to cover unsightly and degraded earth surfaces, rehabilitate deserts, enhance greens in golf courses, and beatify landscapes.
Rifareal said the machine is ready for commercialization. In fact, some companies have expressed interest in procuring it.
"With the coco coir processing equipment, the coconut industry will definitely satisfy the growing demands for coco coir products and the country is expected to be transformed into a major source of coco-based products in Asia," MIRDC, headed by Director Rolando Viloria, averred. – Rudy A. Fernandez