In this interview we speak to Valentin Bureau, technical sales representative at BV Dis – a France-based developer of professional solutions for the European horticulture market, including ARaymond’s biodegradable 21S greenhouse clips and Flextruss supports - to find out more about the growing demand for biodegradable solutions in the greenhouse sector.
Why was the decision made to start selling biodegradable fasteners instead of plastic?
“We have been selling ARaymond’s biodegradable products since 2020 although we started trialling the products with our clients in late 2017, beginning of 2018. The initial demand came at the request of our customers who were looking to simplify their production process whilst reaching their environmental goals with biodegradable and compostable products.
As a reseller, we also take our commitment to the environment very seriously and saw this trend towards biodegradability as an excellent opportunity to improve the environmental impact of the products we sell. As a distributer we sell various biodegradable and green friendly products, including the ARaymond range so we are already aware of the efficiency of biodegradable items for the agricultural sector and were pleased with the feedback we received from our customers.”
You mentioned that you are seeing a trend towards biodegradability, why do you think more and more growers are turning to biodegradable products?
“We are definitely seeing more and more growers turn to biodegradable products and I think there are multiple reasons for this. Firstly, growers are looking to simplify their workload. By using biodegradable products, they can compost all their greenhouse waste together without having to spend time sorting and removing plastic clips and supports at the end of a growth cycle.
Secondly, biodegradabl
e products are now widely available and are becoming more cost competitive which allows buyers to purchase alternatives to plastic without spending more. And thirdly of course, growers and producers are thinking more about their impact on the environment and looking for products which can be reused during multiple production cycles.
I believe that biodegradable products such as the ARaymond clips are the future of the horticultural market. Although theinitial investment might be slightly more expensive, growers and producers are increasingly turning to reusable or recyclable greenhouse clips to lower their overall costs and to enable them to save time and money during the production cycle.”
What are the advantages of the ARaymond products?
“Without a doubt, the excellent quality of the products and service is the biggest advantage of working with ARaymond. We have been selling the 21S clips for over five years now and the biodegradable model is every bit
as reliable and as efficient as the original plastic clips.
Our clients are very pleased with the ergonomic design of the biodegradable clip which is not only easy to use but also promotes better productivity whilst helping growers manage greenhouse diseases. It’s the same story with the Flextruss supports, the quality of the biodegradable model is excellent, more than equivalent to the polypropylene version and we have had some fantastic feedback from our customers who are very happy with the Flextruss’ flexibility and its resistance when used during multiple growth cycles.”
Becca is the latest member to join our team and is eager to get stuck into the world of fasteners. She brings an enthusiastic and fresh outlook on what we do editorially and will be leading our social media activity – including sourcing material, editing articles and posting online.
