15
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • APRIL 2018
FILMS •
produced for ornamental growers, it wasdesigned to keep
crops cool in the summer but still have high light levels.
Itsmicrofine aluminiumdiffusermeans the temperature is
reducedby 25% inbright sunlight compared to clear film.
The thermicpropertieswithin the filmmeans temperature
differences canbemoderated throughout the year. “This
type of advanced filmmeans that the long-wave infrared
light is reflectedback into the tunnel-so thismeans that
the heat is kept inside in thewinter aswell as it being
cooler in the summer,” saysMr Lane.
Butmoving forward, how advancedwill horticultural films
become? “We areworking hard to raise thequality of
every product weproduce andour future researchwill be
focusedon the continueddevelopment of self-cleaning
propertieswithin films,” he adds.
Over the last few years ourmanufacturers have invested
12millionEuros indeveloping 7 layered film andwe
don’t intendon stopping there,” Les Lane, Director at XL
Horticulture, tells TheCommercial Greenhouse
Growermagazine.
“This type of advanced film
means that the long-wave
infrared light is reflected back
into the tunnel-so thismeans
that the heat is kept inside in
thewinter aswell as it being
cooler in the summer”
Developing ‘smart films’ has alsobeen apriority for BPI
whichproduce theVisqueen range of horticultural films.
The company says: “In recent years horticultural films
have advanced considerably and nowoffer a host of
quantifiablebenefits in terms of lightmanagement that
creates optimumgrowing environments. For almost two
decades Visqueenhas championed thedevelopment of
SMART films throughongoing research sponsorship at
theUK’s leadingplant science universities. The resultant
project outcomes havedelivered apioneeringVisqueen
range that includes temperature control films; films that
manage a crop’s response to red and far red light and
films that activelymanageUV light transmission.”
Visqueen has, inparallel, continued to invest in
itsmanufacturing infrastructure to ensure that the
characteristics of itsSMART film range are optimised
for thebenefit of growers. Havingbeen an industry
leader with 5Layer horticulture films adecade ago,
Visqueen has taken another innovative leap forward
with 7Layer Technology films following a significant £4
million investment in itsUKmanufacturing infrastructure.
Visqueen 7Layer Technology filmsmaximise individual
performance characteristics such asUV transparency,
temperature control and anti-fogproperties by enabling
theprecisionplacement of highperformancepolymers
and additiveswithin the overall film structure.
AndyBarber, UKSalesManager at VisqueenHorticultural
Films, tells TheCommercial GreenhouseGrower: “The
trend towardsmorepermanent polythene covered
structuresmeans that growers aredemandingmore from
SteriLight SuperThermic on aDPlant polytunnel
(XLHorticulture).
Proven products tomaximise
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For the full story andmore, go to:
solufeed.com
Barnham,West SussexPO220BT
01243 554090
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