VIETWATER 2019 was for UGT a very good opportunity to assess the Vietnamese market and to get to know the players in this field.  The event presented latest technologies on the one hand by domestic and also by foreign international exhibitors. So, we got a good picture concerning the development of water sector and related environmental monitoring sector in Vietnam. VIETWATER HO CHI MINH 2019 – was the Leading International event in this field in Vietnam.
 

There are big challenges to be resolved caused by growing industrialization and high growth of population in big cities. So, the Vietnamese government launched a big investment program and counts on cooperation of Vietnamese partners with foreign partners.
Over 400 exhibitors on 10,000sqm exhibition space together with 15 international group pavilions were present at the Vietwater.
Beside the German Pavilion there were country pavilions from Australia, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, German, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
UGT made use of the good business environment given by the booth organized under the brand „Made in Germany“supported by German Ministry BMWE.

With an active invitation policy and marketing efforts UGT organized in advance during the preparation of the exhibition already the success at the booth.
Already on the arrival day UGT had a first meeting at the office of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. The Delegate and head of the Chamber, Mr. Walde gave valuable information on market conditions and customer contacts.

 
An impressive opening ceremony was the kickoff of the exhibition.

 
 
Altogether more than 50 valuable contacts at the booth
As worldwide there are hardly very special commercial exhibitions for Monitoring equipment in soil science, for UGT at this exhibition it was valuable that Vietwater 2019 was held in conjunction with Waste & Environment Technology Vietnam 2019 (WETV). A target of Vietnam is: „moving towards greening journey in Vietnam “, that gives impetus on the further cooperation between UGT, German universities, medium sized companies and Vietnamese universities. So UGT was especially glad on the visit of Prof. Bui Xuan Nam, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Long and PhD Nguyen Anh Tuan from the Hanoi university of Mining and Geology to discuss a joint project concerning a joint German Vietnamese project concerning environmentally aware and sustainable mining of copper resources in Vietnam The leading University partner in Germany is TUBA Freiberg. UGT is proud to be a partner in this project.

Commercially activity and science cooperation
Very promising talks had UGT with the scientific team around Prof. Junghoon Lee from South Korea from the school of Mechanical & Aerospace Eng. about joint activities and developments.

Many contacts with trading companies in Vietnam help UGT to define the adequate partner for the future work.

Already on Saturday the 9th of November UGT discussed a new tender concerning our RTG lysimeters in Vietnam.
We say goodbye and say thank you to our very good hosts thank for the cooperation with our wonderful assistants at the booth from the university of Ho Chi Minh city Ms.  Ngoc Tran Thi Thanh.

We are impressed by the lively and busting city and wish to the thousands of Vietnamese people on their bikes in the city always safe and good journey!
 

UGT looks forward to the further work with Vietnam.
 
 
 

What is the function of a weighable lysimeter?

Lysimeters determine the water balance under natural or controlled conditions. So they are an important tool for water-balance studies in agriculture, forestry and other environmental settings. One can quantify the actual evaporation from a bare soil or actual evapotranspiration from a soil covered by vegetation. They monitor the movement, the storage and the degradation of contaminants in the soil, the soil water and soil gas. By the help of lysimeters it is possible to monitor the correlation between the soil, environmental influences and plant parameters such as root growth or harvest.

In the last 20 years it was UGT who set new mile stones with the new container stations of PE material, Patent-Nr.: 19907463.1-52. These stations were a big step forward in technology. We developed a scientific tool that is  advantageous because the PE is  more dense than concrete on the one hand, the stations  are removable, easier to install than concrete, one needs no building allowance and they are sustainable because one can do different experiments at different places and always use the same container station.

More than 300 big projects have been realized in the last 20 years.

Highlights in the UGT project line were for instance the biggest European lysimeter facility at the Zurich-Reckenholz location with altogether 72 monolithically excavated lysimeters. This station was built in order to do research concerning nitrate leaching to groundwater.

In France, in Homécourt there is a very fruitful cooperation with UGT with 24 weighable lysimeters being used in research at the GISFI. GISFI is a leading player in the field of phytoremediation. The cooperation has been continued over the last years with new lysimeters and new installation in the field of modern new sensors and the implementation of new add ons.

In 2014 in the margin of the world soil science congress in South Korea Jeju it was UGT who could hand over the biggest Asian lysimeter station in Jeonju Korea with altogether 92 lysimeters. There the scientists are predominantly in the research of rice plants.

It was in 2018 when UGT installed in the margin of the International project CLIENT II, within a   BMBF Joint Project with partners like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover – LUH,

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg- MLU, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH – UFZ, Amazonen-Werke H. Dreyer GmbH & Co. KG – Amazone and partners from Kazachstan that the first weighable lysimeter was installed there in order to do research in the field of land management and water flux processes. Also the first year-round-operation is planned by using a special snow-cutter.

The university of Mexiko bought in 2019 3 twofold lysimeter stations and UGT combined the installation with a workshop and introduced the various working scenarios.

China is a very good international market for us, and we are proud to have installed with our partners different projects among them the lysimeter station in Shixia. Just now in October we will install 3x 2-fold lysimeter stations in Nanjing.

Many exciting projects have been done in Germany in our home market – please see our references at our website.

New developments of UGT are the RTG lysimeter to be combined if the customer wants it with a Eco-lab of UGT

With the exciting scientific Ecounit where we had the chance to work with the scientists of IDIV we had for the first time the chance to combine our knowledge in the field of lysimeters with new scientific apparatus in the atmosphere and create a new equipment that enables research concerning climate change in the field of fauna and flora that means  plants as well as for instance insects.

It is the scientists of our partners and customers in the universities in Germany and abroad as well as the experienced staff of UGT in project planning, service, production, installation and sales and marketing that enable these wonderful projects. We are proud to announce that we can now count among our team members our new colleague Mr. Stefan Engelhardt who joined the team in September 2019 as senior consultant – lysimeter and ecotrons.

Stefan Engelhardt studied geography, chemistry and soil science at the University of Göttingen. He started his career in an office for landscape architecture. After that he worked for the University of Bayreuth. His field of working were studies of ecosystem functions and climate change effects. For that purpose he set up a network of monitoring stations in Europe and South America. Before he came to UGT he was working already for 10 years as an international expert for lysimeter systems and monitoring solutions all over the world. Based on this broad background of his large experience and outstanding expertise Stefan Engelhardt can provide best consultancy and support for science, research and applied studies. Stefan has gained a lot of experience and was part of the TERENO team and participated with his work within   TERENO lysimeter-network in Germany which observes and investigates in the field of soil processes and plant diversity. We look forward to the joint work and welcome Stefan very warm in our team.

UGT is finalist of the most coveted economic award in Germany

“Sustainable management” – was the motto of this year’s competition * German SMEs are a guarantor of stability and trust * The companies awarded the “Grand Prix of Medium-Sized Enterprises” perform outstandingly for society. A total of 5,399 small and medium-sized companies as well as banks and municipalities were nominated for the competition in 2019. No other economic competition in Germany achieves such a large and now already a quarter of a century lasting resonance as the one offered by the Oskar Patzelt Foundation since 1994. The award as “finalist” goes to the UGT GmbH.

For 25 years, UGT GmbH has been developing and exporting innovative and tailor-made environmental measuring instruments to more than 54 countries as a medium-sized company. UGT has currently applied for 17 patents and utility models for special measuring and diagnostic technology. UGT is the global market leader in the development and manufacture of weighable lysimeters.

The award as “finalist” goes to the UGT GmbH

On 31 August 2019, a delegation of UGT GmbH from the departments of management, research and development, production, sales and marketing waited eagerly for the decision of the board members of the Oskar Patzelt Foundation. With more than 400 entrepreneurs and numerous invited guests we experienced the gala of the Oskar Patzelt Foundation as part of the 25th competition for the “Grand Prix of Medium-Sized Enterprises 2019” in Dresden’s Hotel Maritim. This year, 11 companies from the 4 competition regions (Brandenburg-Berlin, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) were awarded with the prize. We could celebrate the award as a “finalist” and had an unforgettable evening in Dresden.

A great thank you to the nominators

In order to be able to take part in the award, an application is not possible, you have to nominated by a third party. This year, UGT GmbH was nominated by Berliner Sparkasse, Landesbank Berlin AG, IHK Ostbrandenburg, Pro Tempre GmbH and the Berlin and Brandenburg Service Agency of the Oskar Patzelt Foundation. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks.

UGT GmbH fulfils the numerous competition criteria

The UGT GmbH was evaluated not only according to purely economic criteria, but also in its entirety and in its role in society. The five competition criteria: overall development of the company, creation/securing of jobs and trainee positions, modernisation and innovation, commitment to the region, service and customer proximity, marketing and its approx. 50 sub-criteria also cover concepts such as corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

We are very pleased to have been awarded this prize. We see it as a thank-you to all our colleagues who contribute through their daily work to UGT proving to be a trustworthy, respected partner for our customers and partners, a real finalist again and again”.

Take the opportunity and check the outstanding measurement tools at the booth of UGT/Picarro at the annual meeting of the German Soil science Society. Meet our team in entrance hall of the University Bern.

All visitors of our booth get special discount on our:

• Ready-To-Go lysimeters

• FullRange Tensiometer

• ku-pF 4.2 SP

• UMP-2 BT+

• Picarro analyzers

Take the opportunity to meet Peter Swinkels from Picarro at our booth

Ready-To-Go lysimeters

Our series of Ready-To-Go lysimeter which consists of highly sophisticated smaller and medium sized lysimeter stations for soil columns are offered with a diameter of 300, 500 or 800 mm and we provide lengths of 300, 600 or 900 mm. Like our big UGT container stations with 1m² or 2m² also the smaller RTGs are weighable and collect the seepage water to allow direct evapotranspiration measurements. The RTGs are suitable for both disturbed (filled by hand) and undisturbed soil monoliths.

Full Range Tensiometer 2.0

Measurements up to the permanent wilting point pF 4.2

With the Full Range Tensiometer 2.0, UGT GmbH offers a further development of the maintenance-free, innovative polymer-filled tensiometer with integrated temperature measurement. The new polymer composition enables an even shorter reaction time. A pressure range of 1000 kPa is reached in a few minutes.

ku-pF 4.2

The new ku-pF 4.2 SP determines the soil water retention curve (pF-curve) and the hydraulic conductivity curve of soil samples according to the evaporation method. It measures the soil water tension up to the permanent wilting point (pF=4.2) by combining the precision of waterand
polymer-filled tensiometers with the latest RFID technology, which allows non-contact and continuous measurements in soil cores up to a volume of 3 liter in a single place measuring station.
The complete ranges of the pF and hydraulic conductivity curves provide information on how much soil water is actually available for plants and trees, especially among modified climate conditions. All measured values are continuously logged by the device and can be read out with an external computer.

UMP-2 BT+ combined soil moisture, temperature and electrical conductivity probe

wireless and robust

The UMP-2 BT+ sensor is the wireless version of the UMP-2 sensor. The sensor has an internal logger for data collection and storage and thus enables independent operation without disturbing cables or external loggers. Data gaps due to defective cables e.g. caused by animals belong to the past. Site disturbance in particular preferential flow paths are reduced to a minimum. Logged and live data is transmitted via Bluetooth LE (low energy). The UMP-2 BT+ can be completely buried for a vertical or horizontal installation.

Picarro analyzers

Analyzers

We are looking forward to meet you at our booth!

Measurements up to the permanent wilting point pF 4.2

With the Full Range Tensiometer 2.0, UGT GmbH offers a further development of the maintenance-free, innovative polymer-filled tensiometer with integrated temperature measurement. The new polymer composition and improved ceramic enables an even shorter reaction time with increased maesuring accuracy.

Measurements beyond borders.

Tensiometers are widely used instruments for a detailed investigation of the water balance of an ecosystem. Conventional water filled tensiometers are able to measure up to approx. – 90kPa. This limited measuring range greatly limits research and monitoring tasks, especially in areas with dry soils, which will increase in the context of climate change. The worldwide new and patented Full Range Tensiometer 2.0 is a polymer tensiometer which covers the entire pressure head range relevant for plants up to 1500 kPa (pF 4.2). It is perfectly adapted to the requirements of also dry soils. Saline locations, such as in arid areas, are no problem due to the direct pressure measurement and correct calibration.

Ready for use in the field and in the laboratory.

Both large lysimeter stations and complex measuring sites as well as small lysimeters: Ready-to-go lysimeters, laboratory lysimeters and the EcoLab can be equipped with this high-resolution and extended polymer-filled tensiometer measuring technology and thus extend the measuring range. The new ku-pF 4.2 SP combines the precision of water- and polymer-filled tensiometers. By combining the latest RFID and polymer tensiometer technology, we enable non-contact, direct and undisturbed measurements up to the permanent wilting point pF 4.2 in soil cores for the determination of complete pF – and hydraulic conductivity curves.

Maintenance-free in long-term measurements even under extreme conditions.

Climate researchers predict an increase in extreme weather events, i.e. the shift from very dry to humid soils will increase. The Full Range Tensiometer 2.0 continues the measurement automatically after drying out as soon as the soil moisture increases again. No refilling is necessary anymore. The Full Range Tensiometer 2.0 is robust in its construction, maintenance-free and designed for long-term use. Due to the integrated temperature sensor you have everything at a glance. A further advantage is the low energy consumption (20 mA current in measuring mode). This makes the Full Range Tensiometer 2.0 particularly suitable for locations where regular maintenance and a reliable power supply are not guaranteed.

Advantages

• extended measuring range up to the wilting point
• direct pressure measurement
• maintenance-free
• low power consumption

Lysimeter experiments determines PFC load in groundwater

The patented Lysimeter sampling technique was successfully used for a large science project in Germany.

Undisturbed soil monoliths were sampled by specially trained technicians from UGT GmbH with a high degree of precision and without the use of heavy duty equipment using the unique sampling technology developed and patented by UGT.

The research project with institutes from Bavaria (state office for environment LfU) and Baden Würtemberg would like to investigate the long-term effects of poly- and perflourized chemicals (PFC) on our groundwater. A total of 4 soil monoliths were extracted from a grain field and transported to the research institute. There the lysimeters are exposed to real weather conditions for 3 years and the leachate is continuously examined for contamination. By sampling the leachate after the soil passage of 2 m, a possible shift of substances with the percolating rainwater can be detected.

ADVANTAGES OF UGT EXCAVATION TECHNOLOGIES

• operation with light and movable excavation tools
• enables the use in rough terrain
•  rise of the productivity
• Increases the quality of the monolith
•  save money
• detection of obstacles, e.g. stones, inclusions or other under the use of online observation
• Xray and computer tomography examinations of the soil columns extracted using this technology have shown that no cracks or structural changes occur within the monoliths using this method.
• well visible soil profiles
• minimal damage of the surrounding area by using the excavation tools
• No need to dig out the area around the vessel

Our series of Ready-To-Go lysimeter which consists of highly sophisticated smaller and medium sized lysimeter stations for soil columns are offered with a diameter of 300, 500 or 800 mm and we provide lengths of 300, 600 or 900 mm. Like our big UGT container stations with 1m² or 2m² also the smaller RTGs are weighable and collect the seepage water to allow direct evapotranspiration measurements. The RTGs are suitable for both disturbed (filled by hand) and undisturbed soil monoliths.

The compact lysimeter station consists of stainless steel lysimeter vessel, a weighing system, a seepage tank with a tipping bucket, and a data logger.

Additionally, a weather station and a wide range of soil hydrological sensors, as well as a controlled bottom boundary condition can be added to get a complete measurement site. Combining the data logger with the SVADSS online data service provides a quick and easy access to the data via the internet.

What makes our system outstanding?

• Most advantageous for you is that now all RTG -lysimeters have stainless steel vessels.

This enables you to use an undisturbed monolith using our special excavation equipment BASIC or the patented UGT extended excavation technology (requires UGT technicians). But also hand filling is an option! You can even change from one experiment to the other!

• The RTGs are equipped with our patented full-range tensiometers

Patent number: DE 102016108531 A12017.01.12

Especially for regions with a dry climate this gives you the advantage of being able to get results until pf 4.2 which means it works until 15bar which is the wilting point of the plants. Moreover this highly sophisticated sensor gives you a unique feature or selling point.

RTGs are good value for money – not expensive

• They have a handy size and can be handled without large machinery
• Installation can be realized  by the user and shipping is less expensive than a big station

COMBINE your FIELD LAB (RTG) with your indoor LAB device UGT-EcoLab

In combination with the RTG lysimeter especially if you choose a lysimeter with a diameter of 500 we offer you herewith  also our UGT EcoLab which is to be used in the laboratory but you can – if you need this for your scientific experiment –  use a monolith that you had first used outside in the RTG-lysimeter. You can work in the lab alternating with undisturbed or disturbed soil.

The standard EcoLab 500 consist of:

1. Lysimeter part with soil and sensors

2. Atmosphere habitat part (suitable for experiments on water flows and solute transports or gas fluxes as well as experiments concerning fauna and flora)

3. technical part on top with different light options

There is a lot of opportunity to choose your special version.

We look forward to your further questions and remarks and are with pleasure ready to further discuss this topic. Inform us about your future project and we are more than happy to choose with you and give advice for the most suitable version of your RTG or EcoLab.

Contact us:

www.ugt-online.de

www.ugt-onlineblog.com

www.linkedin.com/company/ugt-gmbh

www.youtube.com/user/UGTgermany

www.twitter.com/ugt_gmbh

info@ugt-online.de