IPM Essen Show Preview - New Look For Top Trade Fair
IPM Essen Show Preview - New Look For Top Trade Fair
15 December 2017, by Gavin McEwan,
Venue modernization will mean better display space for exhibitors at Europe's largest trade fair for the horticulture industry, says Gavin McEwan.
IPM Essen: Denmark will be in the limelight with umbrella trade body Floradania bringing almost 100 exhibitors to the event
Show Details IPM Essen
When 23-26 January
Where Messe Essen, Norbertstraße 2, 45131 Essen, Germany
Website http://www.messe-essen.de/
Tel +49 (0) 201 3101 430
Regular visitors to IPM Essen, Europe’s largest horticulture trade fair, will notice a few changes when the event opens its doors later this month. Modernisation of the event site has brought in a new Glass Foyer East, while Fair Hall 9 is being replaced by a new space that organizers describe as "flooded with light" and will be partially open for the show.
National pavilions will again be a major feature and, after a major French push at the show last year, the 2018 show will put Denmark in the limelight, with umbrella trade body Floradania bringing almost 100 exhibitors to the temporary Hall 14 and the foyer of the Grugahalle.
With around 1,600 exhibitors in all from nearly 50 nations, the show can be a little daunting to the uninitiated. With nearly 60,000 visitors expected this year, they would be well advised to plan their trip in advance.
A measure of the industry’s cutting edge can be gained from the Innovation Showcase, which brings together new products and services at the show. From these, winners of the Indega IPM Innovation Award will be selected across the categories of greenhouses and equipment; equipment for heating, irrigation, fertilization and plant protection; store construction and equipment; machines and tools for horticultural production; and fertilizer, peat substrates, and growing media.
With indoor farming making rapid advances around the world, this area is expected to throw up a range of technical innovations. Finnish LED lighting specialist Valoya plans to launch a new range of heavy-duty grow lights, the BX-Series. As well as being resistant to dust and humidity, these can withstand water submersion, chemical sterilization and even dropping. The units also expel hot air and moisture, preventing condensation and overheating,
and enabling them to function at temperatures of up to 40°C.
German manufacturer BLV will present a new LED multilayer system for the cultivation of seedlings and cuttings as well as for herbs for the food and pharmaceutical industries. It is available in two different spectra — red 2.1, which delivers maximum PAR radiation, and white 1.2, with a colour temperature close to daylight, which makes for easier monitoring of plants for colour and for signs of pests, disease or malnutrition.
LEDs: a range of technical innovations
Showcasing Novelties
Similarly, and despite the unseasonal time of year, the "Novelties" show in Hall 1A will for the 10th year running showcase a wide range of new flower and plant varieties from international breeders, with winners from among them being chosen in the categories of flowering and green houseplants, spring-flowering plants, bedding and balcony plants, cut flowers, perennial plants, woody plants and container plants.
Among entrants in the bedding and balcony category are likely to be several new releases from MNP (formerly Moerheim New Plant) — the Mandavilla Sundaville Mimi Red, a new white addition to the long-standing Pericallis Senetti series and three new colours in its Grandaisy Argyranthemum range — Gold, Ruby Red and Pink Tourmaline — combining bright colours with a more compact habit and shorter flower stems.
Fellow Dutch breeder Varinova will present Merita, a new grower-friendly F1 Cyclamen series with a compact uniform habit, firm flower stems and fine marbled foliage. Initially available in Shine Red and Shine Deep Rose, more colours will be added over the coming years.
Green Living Wall System: an uncomplicated vertical planter that is easy to install
International Award
Alongside this, the International Association of Horticultural Producers will host its own International Grower of the Year Awards, recognizing best practice in horticultural production around the world, across the categories of finished plants and trees, young plants and cut flowers and bulbs.
This year also sees the introduction of two new awards — a Sustainability Award, recognizing best practice and innovation in improving sustainability, and an Inspiring Business Award, for businesses employing fewer than 10 staff that demonstrate unique qualities and innovation. These awards will be presented at 6 pm on Tuesday 23 January.
As usual, there will be healthy numbers of UK exhibitors, most under the overseas promotion scheme run by the Commercial Horticultural Association. "We have a bigger group than usual going out with more companies trying to book than we have space left," says the association’s chair, Pat Flynn.
For all the uncertainty brought by the seemingly interminable Brexit negotiations, the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU has had one clear, immediate and apparently lasting consequence in the weakening of the pound — making British products and services more appealing to overseas customers. However, uncertainty remains over Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU.
On whether this adds up to a favorable time for UK suppliers to seek overseas markets, Flynn says: "The current exchange rate is opening up new opportunities and the grower community have always had challenges to contend with."
She adds: "As an association, we are making sure the politicians keep horticulture at the forefront of their minds. We do have some excellent advocates in people such as Andrea McIntyre MEP."
Shop Window
For horticultural suppliers, there is no bigger international shop window than IPM, says Tyne Moulds sales and marketing manager James Sword. "It’s an opportunity to be the face of the business. We are there to be a calling point for all our European and worldwide customers. With exchange rates, sometimes they win, sometimes we do. Right now, it’s good for us."
The company will use this month’s event to launch a vertical planter system that he says is "an uncomplicated way to do a green wall that’s easy to install". Mounted on a steel mesh or wooden slats, the Green Living Wall System can hold pots or can be planted up directly.
Interest from the home market has "exploded" since its UK launch at Glee in September, adds Sword. "People like the fact that there is only one irrigation pipe, which makes it far more economical," he points out. "It’s already in use here in Newcastle in retirement homes, hospital courtyards — we’ve had some great feedback."
Also returning to IPM, INDO Lighting of Southampton will be telling growers about trials and product development over the past year using its INDO Element direct-drive grow light range. Enabling simple, one-for-one LED replacement for any high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting without rewiring or ongoing maintenance, and with a working life of more than 100,000 hours, this has already won a Queen’s Award for Innovation.
Managing director Tom Baynham says: "We’re keen to work with customers in the EU and hope to continue building strong links with all our European partners. LED technology is developing at pace, with increasing opportunities for substantial change in horticulture lighting and growing practices."
Fellow UK lighting manufacturer Plessey will present its recent findings on combining LEDs with conventional HPS lighting. Trials with a Dutch Kalanchoe pot plant grower have shown a substantial increase in yield, quality, and maturity of cuttings, while at a Dutch tomato nursery the combination has shown a 9.4% yield boost and a slight increase in individual tomato weight.
INDO Element: direct-drive grow light - image: INDO Lighting
Growing International Trade: FitzGerald Nurseries
FitzGerald Nurseries in Ireland has a long-standing commitment to growing its international business,
and this month marks its 12th time exhibiting at IPM Essen. During this time it has gone from young plants in three countries to selling in 27.
Now the company is split into two divisions, covering food and ornamentals, and this year sees the food business growing internationally via its sister company Beotanics and Portuguese joint venture company Nativaland, which together are developing commercial-scale sweet potato growing in Northern Europe though novel genetics and the application of nursery horticultural skills to this broad-acre crop.
The venture has engaged with consumers, farmers and media through its Beotanics social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the ornamental side will exhibit its MyPlant patio and garden plant collection, along with its EverColor range of plants for year-round colour.