In 1946, Dr James Marshall of the Summerland Research station (near Penticton, BC) began to look for a better method to apply the new spray materials being developed.
He could see the need for some automatic distribution of these spray chemicals, which would be faster than using a handgun and less labor intensive.
Dr Marshall tested a steam sprayer made by Besler Corporation in California that summer, but found it only worked under favorable conditions. Dr Marshall designed an experimental low volume sprayer, which he had Frank Owen, a technician at the Canadian army machine shops at Suffield Alberta build during the winter of 1946. That spring he delivered the Rube Goldberg “ a truly incredible contraption”. It was a mass of gears, motors, belts, blowers, pumps and valves protruding insanely above the four air wheels on which it sat” according to one observer.
Fortunately, it worked as intended and produced either a steam mist or a hydraulic pressure spray mist which would be propelled into the trees at about one hundred miles per hour by the air stream of a large fan. By varying the temperature of the steam, thus changing the size of the droplets produced, Dr Marshall was able to determine the optimum droplet size for concentrated spray application. The next step was to adjust the hydraulic system by changing the pump pressure and the size of swirl-plates and nozzles to give that droplet size, so spraying could be accomplished without the cumbersome inconvenience of generating steam.
This design information gained was released to potential manufacturers and the first commercial low volume automatic concentrate sprayer; the “Turbomist” was produced in 1949 by Pacific Pipe and Flume. This prototype eventually evolved into the modern day Turbomist produced by Slimline Manufacturing Ltd.
| 1949 | The company that manufactured the first commercial low volume concentrate sprayer, known ever since as the “Turbomist” in 1949 was Pacific Pipe and Flume located in Summerland, BC, |
| 1950 | Both turbine equipped and squirrel cage fans were used in the 1950’s to accommodate horsepower availability |
| 1968 | They patented the turbine and fan system still in use today. First used the Myers Ic/295 centrifugal pump |
| 1970 | Peter Yeomans took over the operation and moved it to Penticton from Summerland and renamed it Okanagan Turbo sprayers |
| 1974 |
Bill and Bob Bleasdale purchased the business Began using a gearbox rather than the belt drive system Began Turbomist tank saddle system still in use today Began to roll the edges and pull the outlets to add strength to the tanks, a process still in use today. |
| Sometime shortly after 1974 grape towers, under vine blowers and leaf blowers were designed and originally built in California as additions to the turbine machines. | |
| 1979 | Bleasdale Ford Tractor Sales Ltd, with four principles, Bill and Bob Bleasdale, Vern Johnson and Terry Waudby took ownership of Okanagan Turbo sprayers. In 1979 six models were being built A Penticton newspaper in 1979 reported that Okanagan Turbo Sprayers built tanks for Casabello wines in Penticton (Casabello later became Vincor and now is part of Constellation Wines) in addition to the tanks for the two cottage wineries in the area. By 2009 the number of wineries in this area has grown to over 180 all thru out the Okanagan valley. |
| 1987 | Bill Bleasdale bought out his partners and then took the company public and invested heavily in electrostatic spraying, unfortunately this concept turned out to be the downfall of the company and the public company went bankrupt in 1990 during a downturn in the economy |
| 1988 | The Udor RO160 pump became the standardized Turbomist diaphragm pump and is still currently the standard diaphragm pump sold on 80% of the units today |
| 1991 | Slimline Manufacturing Ltd, with Kim Blagborne as president purchased the patents and Turbomist name from the receiver and started to rebuild the company from the ground up |
| 1992 | Offset reduction drive introduced (protects pumps from over revving the pto) 3-valve bypass system instituted, both concepts still in use today at Slimline . |
| 1994 | High density towers were first introduced (now called low drift towers)
First generation of Turbomist evaporators were introduced at Mascot mine. |
| 1996 | An extended dealer network was reestablished including California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Major expansion added the tank shop with 4 crane ways to handle building wine tanks up to 30 feet in height |
| 2008 | Water jet cutting table added to improve efficiency and cut costs.
Second floor office expansion complete, with expansion below of the production facilities |