Each year the society offers an opportunity for six people new to the industry to attend the IPPS conference free of charge. This year 10 candidates where offered this chance to hear from industry experts and visit leading horticultural businesses.
They looked at Dutch hort tech and heard from companies including:
Modiform on pots,
Steenks and Erfgoed on growth floors and cleaning,
Philips on LED lightning,
Scott Langlois on building blocks in nurseries,
Arno Engels of Hortipoint,
Horticoop on water cleaning,
Bent Jensen on IPM in Denmark,
Deliflor Chrysanthemum, Delphy on precision agriculture and drones,
Isogroepmachinebouw,
Koppert on biological systems,
Dr. H.J. Van Telgen on light and what plants can do with it,
Hans de Ruiter on how leaves absorb active ingredients,
Mardenkro on anti-reflection coatings,
Theo Straathof on Micothon electrostatic.
The 10 candidates were from across Europe including the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark:
- Kate Benallick - Propagator at RHS Wisley,
- Teun Boomaerts - Student - University of applied science, horticulture & business management in Netherlands,
- Amelia Broome - Grower at Bransford Webbs,
- Johnny Hereijgers - Student at University of applied science, horticulture and arable farming in Netherlands,
- Chris King - Management Trainee at Wyevale Nurseries,
- Tom McLachlan - Grower at Cheviot Trees,
- Heather Munro - Nursery Manager at Growforth,
- Charle Tonneau - Student at Gunnar Christensens Plantskole, Denmark,
- William Wilce - Team Leader at Bransford Webbs,
- Jasper Schermer- Extensive internships within horticulture
Munro said: "I loved it. Fabulous. [i] learned so much and met so many friendly people and know for a fact that it will help my career."
King said: "It was an excellent opportunity to meet people involved in the cutting edge of the industry."
Schermer said: "It was very fun and I will keep in contact with people I've met and I've learnt a lot.
Each candidate is interviewed for an exchange program to the Southern region of North America. Jasper Schermer has been selected as the six packer of the year to attend the Southern region’s conference in October 2018.
The IPPS European region will hold its conference next year on 10 – 14 October in Breda, Netherlands.
