Barrault, a family-owned company based for nearly three generations in Possonnière near Angers, grows more than 10 million plants each year, on a twenty-hectare site which includes 10 hectares of greenhouses and tunnels. Its plants are sold throughout France, mainly in garden centres and mass retail outlets but also by wholesalers, florists and horticulturists. The family company is one of France’s biggest specialists in perennials and aromatic plants, which account for around 70% of its turnover. It also grows bedding plants, green plants and flowering plants.
Sébastien Feneau
Besides its reputation for its plants and its services tailored to a professional customer base that demands high quality products, the company is also renowned for its environmentally responsible practices and has been awarded a number of labels and certifications, including Plante bleue and Fleurs de France. Barrault also boasts high-performance robotic equipped work areas and invests each year in continually improving its production equipment. The ultra-modern company also seeks out the most effective products to protect its young plants, in particular, from the sun.
To reduce light and temperature in its covered areas, Barrault decided to whitewash 3 hectares of greenhouses and tunnels, “mainly to protect the most fragile plants,” as Head of Production, Sébastien Feneau, explains. In May of each year, the company uses Eclipse F2 paint to create effective shade throughout the summer. “What makes this product so attractive is that it will last for around two months, at the sunniest time of year. As the rain washes it away over time, it then gradually lets in light as autumn arrives. Which makes it absolutely ideal for our needs,” Says Sébastien Feneau.
Because of this, the company doesn’t need to employ people to wash the greenhouses and tunnels, as Eclipse F2 disappears on its own over the weeks, “saving us a huge amount of time,” says Sébastien Feneau. He describes Eclipse F2 as “a product that is easy to apply; we’ve been using it for more than twenty years and it’s absolutely ideal for our plant-growing methods”.
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