bpi.visqueen horticultural products to announce major developments at Fruit Focus 2010

As the nation’s fruit industry gears up for Fruit Focus 2010, bpi.visqueen horticultural products has announced its plans for the leading one day technical event. At the show (which takes place on the 21st July at the East Malling Research Centre in Kent), the UK’s only remaining large-scale manufacturer of horticultural films will not only showcase its wide range of technically advanced products but update the industry on a number of new and exciting developments from within its business. In particular, visitors to bpi.visqueen’s stand (stand 236) will able to learn more about progress with an on-going £5 million investment project at the manufacturer’s Ardeer site. Due to complete later this year, this 12 month project will see the construction of two new extrusion halls and the addition of a new, state-of-the-art, 5-layer wide film line. This line - possibly the only one of its kind in the world - will allow the manufacturer to offer products such as polytunnel films and greenhouse films with an unsurpassed number of performance characteristics. Aside from offering an update on work at Ardeer, bpi.visqueen will also be talking to visitors about its latest product research and development efforts. This includes the sponsorship of two PhD researchers. The first, Eslam Elfadly, is coming to the end of a three year project at Lancaster University investigating the effects of differing UV environments on the crop yield and quality of peppers, whilst the second, Wael Semida - a researcher at Reading and Fayoum University - is researching next generation summer heat control film technology and new winter thermic films. The findings of both researchers will be used by bpi.visqueen to inform new product development and to help maintain its technological lead in the international marketplace. In addition, through its close working relationship with Lancaster University, bpi.visqueen is one of only two industrial partners contributing to a recently launched and landmark EU COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) project. Due to last for four years and bringing together 36 internationally renowned research groups from 17 EU and non EU countries, the project aims to develop an integrated vision on the regulatory role of UV light in crop growth and development in a changing climate. It is also expected to help bpi.visqueen further enhance its market leading knowledge of spectrally modifying smart films. Finally, the manufacturer intends using Fruit Focus 2010 to talk about a number of new developments on both the customer service and green fronts. This includes the recent relaunch of its website (www.bpivisqueenhort.com), which now boasts a number of additional value adding tools and resources such as in-depth product guides and the findings of numerous research projects. The business also continues to work closely with its sister division bpi.recycled products to help growers operate in a greener way. As the largest reprocessor of waste polythene in Europe, bpi.recycled products can recycle over 70,000 tonnes of material each year – including scrap from unwanted polytunnels and crop covers. As bpi.recycled products is currently on a drive to help more growers, members of its team will also be on the bpi.visqueen stand. Speaking of bpi.visqueen’s plans for Fruit Focus 2010, Andy Barber, Sales Manager from the business, said: “2010 is a particularly big year for bpi.visqueen with the launch of new production technology, new products and new research findings all on the horizon. With this in mind, we’re genuinely looking forward to this year’s Fruit Focus and to updating people on a number of important, exciting and majorly beneficial developments.” - ENDS - IMAGES: Ardeer new line.jpg

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