It is with great sadness that the Richel Group announces the passing of its founding father. Pierre Richel passed away on Wednesday 23 January 2019, aged 92, after what he himself described as a fulfilling, colourful career.
Standing among those visionaries who are always ahead of their time, Pierre Richel recognised the need to develop covered crop-growing solutions as early as 1964, and anticipated the shift.
He was one of the first to implement an innovative process based on steel and plastic, with the clear aim of providing the conditions for early production. His first greenhouse was created.
As an untiring innovator, from 1978 onwards he filed numerous patents both in France and internationally, including double inflated film, the gutter-beam and also roll-up side vents, which remain important features of many greenhouses even today.
From the 1980s, the business entered a period of exponential growth, combined with the ever-present need to pursue product innovation, driven by the enthusiasm of Christian Richel, CEO of the Group, and Jean-Marc Richel, Sales Director, the two eldest sons of the founder.
The two men continued their father's work and helped the business to become one of the leaders on the international greenhouse market.
Today, four of his grandchildren have taken up the torch and are shaping the future with determination. They remain committed to upholding the work and values of their grandfather who laid the foundations of their present-day success.