London - 17/09/09

VEGEPOLYS to bloom with French expertise at Hortifair

VEGEPOLYS, the French high-tech cluster focused on horticulture, will take part in the Hortifair trade show, which will be held in Amsterdam from 13 to 16 October 2009. The VEGEPOLYS booth will feature two innovative companies: HELIOTROPE, which makes living walls of plants, and ACCROPLANT, which will present its plant frames. The VEGEPOLYS booth will be located in Hall 3, Stand 0405. On 14 October, a reception will take place on the booth at 11:30am.

VEGEPOLYS, which is located in the Loire Valley (in western France), is a high-tech cluster with an international focus. Its members include innovative companies as well as research institutions and training centres working in the field of horticulture, including ornamental plants, fruit and vegetables, seeds, medicinal and aromatic plants, and viticulture. The cluster has been designated a world-class competitiveness cluster by the French Government.

The companies on the VEGEPOLYS booth will introduce their latest innovative and high-tech products during Hortifair, to be held in Amsterdam in October 2009. The VEGEPOLYS booth will be located in Hall 3, Stand 0405. On 14 October, a reception will take place on the booth at 11:30am.

HELIOTROPE, a designer and manufacturer of living walls made from plants, offers a patented process for creating luxuriant, scalable living walls that improve air quality. The company’s innovative vertical greening solution is able to duplicate optimal plant growth conditions. The system is shipped as a kit that includes natural substrate combined with a reliable, automated irrigation circuit.

For further information, please go to: www.heliotrope-europe.com

At Hortifair, ACCROPLANT will present a simplified alternative way to exhibit plants – a new generation of technically advanced frames with excellent staying power. ACCROPLANT frames consist of a 15-litre substrate reserve in which roots can develop, with a 1.5-litre water supply. This gives the frame full autonomy thanks to felt material which helps water rise through a process of capillarity. Any excess watering sinks back into the water reserve through gravity. Water may be removed via an integrated draining system.

For further information, please go to: www.accroplant.com

About VEGEPOLYS

The Loire Valley has long been renowned for its pedo-climatic conditions (i.e. the region’s specific combination of soil and climate), which are ideal for growing plants. Many horticultural companies are based in the area, making the region the leading French supplier of potted plants (such as hortensias), ground-cover plants, nursery seedlings, bulbs (dahlias, for instance), shrubs in containers, and flower and vegetable seeds. It is also one of the leading producers of rosebushes grown in the open air and of greenhouse vegetables (such as cucumbers and tomatoes).

Members of the VEGEPOLYS cluster include acknowledged scientific experts with cutting-edge expertise, who work for leading R&D institutions such as the French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), AgroCampus Ouest (the Institute for agricultural sciences, agri-foods, horticulture and landscaping), and the University of Angers.

VEGEPOLYS also includes European Union agencies such as the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), which is based in Angers. CVPO registers plant varieties in the EU catalogue.

Regional development policies put in place by the local authorities of the Loire Valley have helped to foster a favourable environment for the development of horticultural companies. Measures taken include a land-use charter, the establishment of dedicated zones, as well as improved logistics and water management. Regional development policies also facilitate the establishment of new French and international entrants thanks to VEGEPOLYS’s partners: the Ouest Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire economic development agencies.

VEGEPOLYS will take part in the Hortifair trade show at the RAI Exhibition Centre in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) from 13 to 16 October 2009. The VEGEPOLYS booth will be located in Hall 3, Stand 0405.

The Loire Valley is also due to host several leading trade fairs and symposiums in the sector, including the Salon du Végétal (trade fair for plant professionals) in February 2010 in Angers, and SIVAL (trade fair for equipment and techniques in agriculture and horticulture) in January 2010.

VEGEPOLYS will be organising international meetings between business leaders in the plant sector during the Plant International Meeting, which will take place from 12 to 13 January 2010.

For further information, please go to: www.vegepolys.eu

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Kate AMBLER – Press Officer

UBIFRANCE Press Office in London

Telephone: 0207-024-3640

Email: kate.ambler@ubifrance.fr

Web site: www.ftpb.co.uk

UBIFRANCE UK #3322