26 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | June 2010

ProductionGruppo Padana, a

leading producer of young plants with

its headquarters in Paese, Italy

has found in the Ellegaard potting

machine the most efficient way to

reduce costs while producing premium

quality plants grown in their own tailor-

made substrate.

by Ron van der Ploeg

prides itself on always being one step ahead of the competition when it comes to innovation. “For exam-ple, Gruppo Padana developed its own Star Tray for the production and transportation of seed-grown and vegetative young plants. It’s a new type of plastic tray with cone-shaped cells and grooves at the four corners which provides enhanced root growth. That’s because the tray prevents the formation of massive ‘root nests’, making transplant-ing much easier and guaranteeing quicker growth afterwards.”

argonium from cuttings rank among the company’s bestsellers in ornamentals, as well as a large assortment of bedding plants for winter production. Products are sold on the local market while sales on export markets are becoming increasingly important. Foreign cli-ents are growers in Eastern Europe countries such as Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania but also in Western European countries such as Germany, Belgium France, Spain and Portugal have discovered Gruppo Padana’s premium quality and competitive prices.

InnovationAccording to production manager Claudio Vazzola, the company

As a pioneer in develop-ing horti technology and ground-breaking logistic

solutions, Gruppo Padana was the first company to introduce its own Star Tray with cone shaped cells allowing enhanced root growth. Currently, the news is that the company has a European first in producing young plants in a 60 mm Jumbo Ellepot, a pot of biodegradable paper. Plants grown in Jumbo Ellepots feature the same vigourous shapes as plants grown in the traditional 8 and 10 cm pots. Both crop time and the number of transplantings can be reduced sig-nificantly Gruppo Padana, named after the Po Valley which is called Val Padana or Pianura Padana in Italian, is a family business in the true sense of the word. In the 1950s Albino Gazzola began building a dynasty in the young plants indus-try, specializing in vegetables and ornamentals. . In 1989 the two brothers Giorgio and Paolo Gazzola took over their father’s company which they have subsequently expanded with the help of their own sons.Today, the firm continues to offer a wide array of young vegetable plants and bedding plants and further expansion is still high on their agenda. Rabensteiner, the Austrian hothouse builder recently completed a 2 ha greenhouse facil-ity, bringing the company’s total greenhouse area to 12 ha, good for an annual output of 250 million young plants. Cyclamen from seed and Pel-

Gruppo Padana opts for Ellegaard technology

June 2010 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 27

“We bought the machines with the aim of achieving more fl ex-ibility in the choice of rooting medium. With pre-fi nished plugs you’re always limited to one type of substrate whereas using your own Ellegaard machine you can easily change the substrate. We can change the substrate at our premises every 100 to 200 trays. It happens that we change substrate two to three times a day. As for the used paper used in the Ellepot we opted for EP, made of cellulose fi bres with some polyester for >>>

of Gruppo Padana’s wide assort-ment of 2,500 diff erent species and their particular needs.”

Ellegaard NGL versus Multifl exEllegaard have provided the Italian young plant producer with two NGL machines and one Multifl ex.Th e high volume NGL has a high capacity per hour of up to 36,000 pots with a diameter of 35 mm, while the Multifl ex produces 4,000 pots with a diameter of 25 mm per hour.

Strong, healthy and above all well-rooted young plants are fundamen-tal to Gruppo Padana’s fl ourishing business and this explains the company’s choice for Ellegaard, a leading Danish manufacturer of potting machines and paper pots. “Gruppo Padana’s choice for Ellegaard was well-considered. Th e exceptional level of user satisfac-tion among industry peers who work with the Ellegaard potting machines, was a key factor in our choice for Ellegaard technology.Ellegaard has a deep understanding

28 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | June 2010

Production

Gruppo Padana is one of Europe’s first young plant suppliers with large-scale production of the Elle-pot Jumbo. “We started growing Geranium, Surfinia, Calibrachoa and Portulaca cuttings in the new 60 mm Ellegaard Jumbo pot a year ago and so far the results are beyond expectations. Last year with 1 million last year Ellegaard Jumbo pots we reached a production level which was far above the planned figure and in this range we expect

Gruppo Padana has set its sights on lowering production costs, while still guaranteeing a daily fresh qual-ity product. The automated potting process encompasses an important reduction in labour costs. In the past we needed around eight people in our potting department while today only one operator is needed for each machine.“

Ellepot Jumbo PotThe news at the moment is that

reinforcement. The paper is envi-ronmentally friendly and is suitable for almost all crops. Moreover, EP paper has a open structure, facilita-ting root penetration and therefore the growth of new young roots.”

Adequate returnThe acquisition of three Ellegaard machines has provided an adequate return on the estimated €400,000 investment as Vazzola explains, “By choosing Ellegaard solutions,

June 2010 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 29

notice Gruppo Padana at trade shows as we are situated right in the heart of Italy’s famous Prosecco region. We make a point of provid-ing typical Italian hospitality and we toast each and every order, large or small.” |||

further growth. Th anks to the Ellegaard Jumbo pots we can off er our customers a product that not only looks like, but also has roots of a 10 cm pot.”An Ellegaard Multifl ex machine produces up to 4,000 Ellegaard Jumbo pots per hour with the pots placed in Gruppo Padana’s patented Star Tray according to the desired pattern.“We are convinced that the Elle-gaard Jumbo pots will increasingly replace the 8 and 10 cm pots cur-rently used in professional nurseries. Cuttings grown in Jumbo pots are larger and more well rooted than cuttings in a 35 mm pot allowing the grower to reduce his crop time and heating costs. A lower heating bill is signifi cant for the grower, es-pecially in diffi cult times economi-cally and during harsh winters like this year’s. Furthermore, the Ellepot Jumbo means no plastic waste, no root damage and no growth disrup-tion when transplanting the paper pots into the garden.”

OptimismWhen talking about market op-portunities, Vazzola refers to the Italian domestic market as a stable outlet with a distinct preference for large fl owered geraniums, pansies and petunia in vivid colours. “It was a slow start at the beginning of March, but now demand seems to be really solid. As production manager, one of my concerns is if we’re on schedule or not, and so far we are.” Vazzola says Gruppo Padana has good expectations for export sales, even though most markets are quiet new to the company. “Crisis? Well, let’s say that we feel the eff ects of the economic crisis less than the building or car industry, for exam-ple. Sales in young vegetable plants are booming so it’s looking pretty good. I’m pleased with the way things are going.”Optimism also reigned at Gruppo Padana’s stand at this year’s IPM in Germany. It was jam-packed with people as usual. “People always