Last year Metazet further developed its innovation Second Skin. It involves a specially developed plastic top layer that completely covers the cultivation gutter, minimizing the adhesion of algae and fertilizer and simplifying the cleaning of gutters. The innovation can be used in both renovation and new construction.
At the end of the first real year of practice, they are glad that interest is "greater than predicted". Project manager Roy van Meel: "There appears to be a need for a solution that allows to continue growing on existing gutters but with new hygiene conditions."
Second Skin at De Bruijn Tomatoes
Neat and white
Several large orders have already been processed. Last spring, 84 kilometers of gutters for rose cultivation, 17 kilometers for cucumber cultivation, as well as 28 and 23 kilometers for tomato cultivation. "The growers who are now placing large orders are the innovators in the market. They see opportunities and seize them. Their gutters seem to be new when we are finished. They are neat and white again, exuding hygiene." And then there are plenty of growers who get to know the gutter innovation on a smaller scale. This involves a certain number of gutters per farm, in a trial area.
Less labor
Those who innovate, and learn, and that also applies to Second Skin. "We see opportunities to install the gutters with less of our customers' labor forces. We are now mainly learning how to reduce the amount of labor."
For the renovation job at Porta Nova, those labor savings were already well evident. Fewer people were needed for steel gutters, Luke van Adrichem explained at the time. "Normally you need a man at every two columns. That means about 15 men per cap. On this project, we were able to do so with three men. The weight of plastic is lower and the fact that we can use the existing gutter as a guide also helps enormously."
Before (left) and after (right) the installation of Second Skin at tomato grower Varekamp De Zeeuw
Customized solutions
The Dutch innovation can be applied to proprietary FormFlex gutters, but also to other manufacturers' gutters. The first project at scale has already been carried out here, at a cucumber grower in Germany. Roy: "We can also apply Second Skin to gutters that are not ours. For this, of course, we need more engineering because we are not familiar with that gutter."
In any case, they are still testing with various sizes to be able to provide customized solutions. "This requires a bit more attention and testing so that we can validate whether we have the right fit."
Trial section at Helderman Paprika. 10 gutters of 140 meters in length in various designs to test which designs are suitable for pepper cultivation.
International
The first international project with Second Skin has now been completed. Because of the innovative nature of the product, the first choice was to work close to home. For example, at Porta Nova last spring. But now that the momentum and the experience are there, growth is possible. Also with new construction. "We have not yet realized a new building, but it is definitely coming."
For more information:
Metazet B.V.
De Lierseweg 6
2291 PD Wateringen, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (174) 22 58 22
[email protected]
www.metazet.com