“Customers are enthusiastic about
the benefit of being able to rotate
the plant on the casters to trim,
spray, and care for their plants.”
“Customers are enthusiastic about
the benefit of being able to rotate the
plant on the casters to trim, spray, and
care for their plants,” Gary says. “Some
of our customers are disabled and can’t
reach or lift as well as they used to,
so being able to turn the plant is
a huge advantage.”
The screens on both P SCROG setups are also easily adjusted. Growers
can raise or lower each by 12 inches,
helping to force horizontal growth and
to provide support for swelling buds. As
mentioned above, the screens are made
from polycarbonate—a tough, flexible
material used in bullet-proof glass.
“The flexural strength of this plastic is
13,500 PSI,” Margo says. “You should
see the look on people’s faces when we
flex the screen, they wince, expecting a
snap; then they say ‘Wow!’”
In addition to the screens being
strong, they are reusable, have a UV
inhibitor, are non-porous, and are foodgrade. They provide a clean, almost
clinical look in the growroom, and are
washable. They can also withstand
temperatures far greater than you’d
ever experience in the growroom. When
they finally do wear out, the screens are
100 per cent recyclable.
To be sure they were bringing a viable
product to the masses, the Mermelsteins
knew they had to research the market.
They had prototypes made in September
2014 and toured hydroponics shops in
Phoenix and Denver to gather input from
potential customers. As they hoped, the
response was incredibly positive. At that
point, they were ready to go for it. After
incorporating the company in June 2015,
they produced CAD drawings, filed a
patent for their design, and invested in
the tooling needed to make plastic injection molded parts. It took nine months of
engineering, but it was worth the effort
when the first SCROGGER products
were sold in January 2016.
“Since we launched the P SCROG,
the most common comments we hear
are things like, ‘Brilliant,’ or ‘I see
how it works, no need to explain,’ or
‘I could really use something like
that that,’” shares Gary. Similarly,
Margo says they have not had a
single customer complaint about
the quality or assembly of their
products. “Our main components to
the P SCROG—the screens, base,
and junction caps—are molded right
here in the USA,” she says. “The
system is very well-constructed
with high-quality materials.”
Recently, the company expanded
its lineup to include the P SCROG
4x4. This set-up is designed for
growers with large, multiple
plants using 4x4 or 4x8 trays
and tables. These frames can be
daisy-chained together for large
commercial applications.
In addition to its solid product line,
great customer service has been one
of the company’s strengths, with seven
days a week support just a phone call or
email away. “We are always happy to
talk to shop owners and growers about
the P SCROG,” says Gary.
Today, SCROGGER sells both on the
web and in about a dozen hydroponics
stores across the US, but they expect that
number to grow rapidly. The company
also works with a distributor in Canada
and has its products in Australia. “We
are adding more hydroponics stores
every month,” says Margo.
While the Mermelsteins believe the
hydroponics market is very different
from their prior business experience,
they feel the opportunities the industry
presents are excellent, and they believe
SCROGGER will play an important role
in providing convenience and simplicity
to growers everywhere.
Maximum Yield USA | December 2016
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