Well Pict European Tunnels Moving Forward: New Production Site

By: Aurel Voiculesco
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:25:06
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Well Pict European Tunnels Moving Forward: New production site. Well-Pict European Tunnels is setting up a new production facility based in southern Portugal. Engineered Farming Solutions (EFS), who supplies WET out of South Africa, has been instrumental in organising the unit in southern Europe. WET’s Kevin Holroyd believes the move was an inevitable step; “this new site will allow us to keep up with changing global trends in the price of raw material, as well as better serve the UK and European markets from a strategic point of view”.

In order to maintain a high level of control, WET has employed Anthony Cox, a member of the original team behind EFS. Cox has been taken on as the general manger of WET and is relocating from South Africa to Portugal. Cox has been travelling between the southern and northern hemisphere regularly over the last few months to ensure that everything is set for production. The bespoke equipment has been made in South Africa (based on EFS designs) to comply with all European safety standards. Cox is confident that the facility should start production early February 2005. UK Agents: WET has chosen to align itself with key companies in the agricultural sector to assist in the promotion and sales of WET products. Significant relationships have been forged with Richard Brown from Ledbury-based Hortech Solutions and Ron Stevenson from Spalding-based Dejex Supplies. Both companies are well established and respected in the industry and they, like WET, have confidence in the products they have to offer. Holroyd is looking forward to long-standing associations with both companies. WET South Africa: With the production unit in Portugal better suited to supply the European market, WET SA will be focusing all its attentions on the African market.

With the huge developments in the soft fruit industry, there is a large demand for quality crop protection; the new varieties being introduced into the market by the Well-Pict European Marketing Trust require tunnel protection. The other fruit producers in South Africa (suppliers of cherries, raspberries etc) are also becoming more aware of the benefits of tunnelled production. Angela van Vuuren has been appointed in a marketing and PR role for WET SA and she is confident the company will gain large market share in what it believes is still a hugely untapped market. Peter Windsor heads up the South African sales team and will continue to be heavily involved in new designs and products for both the African and European markets.

New product development will continue to be carried out by the UK and South African businesses; the team in Portugal will join them in creating innovative solutions to the everyday problems faced by growers. Overall, Holroyd and Cox are very happy with the alterations to WET and they believe the new structure will allow them to bring a superior quality product at the most competitive prices to their customers across the globe.

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