Noted wine industry veteran and Lodi Mayor to help develop sustainable new technology
Dateline: March 10, 2016 Walnut Creek, CA USA – Today Mark Chandler of Chandler & Company based in Lodi, CA and AgroThermal Systems CEO Marty Fischer of Walnut Creek, CA jointly announced their strategic partnership to bring ThermacultureTM to the Lodi/Delta agricultural community. Thermaculture is an innovative, patented technology that uses heat on agricultural crops to improve fruit qualities, assure good fruit set, increase harvest yields, reduce pesticide use and control rain damage. According to Chandler, “Thermaculture can be used as an alternative to, or in conjunction with conventional agriculture, resulting in better yields and fewer environmental impacts, allowing growers to be more profitable and better stewards of the land at the same time.” Mark and his wife, Jan of Mokelumne Valley Partners, plan to use the technology on their 180-acre vineyard and to offer treatment services to other growers.
Chandler is no newcomer to the wine industry with over 30 years experience in winemaking, marketing and general management. He served as Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission for 20 years from its inception in 1991 through 2011. During his tenure the number of wineries in Lodi increased tenfold from 8 to nearly 100. He helped grow the Lodi region to over 100,000 acres of premium wine grapes, while ushering in the era of sustainability. Since establishing Chandler & Company in 2012 he has served as a consultant to many wineries and associations ranging from California to Washington, DC and Canada. Chandler has demonstrated political leadership, having been elected Mayor of Lodi for 2016 this past December.
2910 Camino Diablo • Suite 215C • Walnut Creek, CA • 94597 • (415) PIK-AGRO
In making the announcement, Fischer states, “Mark is an amazing guy with both regional and international accolades. Respected for his ability to pioneer new ideas and make positive changes to the industry, we are honored he decided to help us not only develop Thermaculture in the Lodi region, but in other areas of marketing as well. It is clear Mark gets the broader implications of this developing agricultural methodology and will play an important role as we move forward with wine grapes and other high value crops.”
Philip Goodband, noted Master of Wine, who has been working with AgroThermal in evaluating wine sensory characteristics of Thermaculture treated wines versus wines from control blocks, introduced Chandler to AgroThermal. According to Goodband, “I’ve known Mark for years and it was clear that he and AgroThermal shared a similar vision for the wine industry and the need for sustainable growing techniques as well as the importance of wine quality to its continued growth and success. Between Mark and Marty they share over 70 years of experience in the agricultural marketing business. I expect major and rapid innovation from their combined efforts.”
AgroThermal Systems (www.agrothermalsystems.com) is based in Walnut Creek
California and is a dba of Lazo TPC Global, Inc. a California Corporation. AgroThermal pioneered the use of Thermaculture as a means to increase yields, reduce pesticide needs, manage crop damage from inclement weather events and improve crop qualities. The company holds patents on Thermal Pest Control and has patents pending on Thermal Plant Treatment and Genomic Expression for agricultural crops.
