Florentaise

Notre philosophie

florentaise — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 10:22:09 +0000

Our philosophy florentaise 11 January 2019

A FAMILY ENTERPRISE

Florentaise is now run by the third generation of the Chupin family, who created the SME in 1973. It is this deep-rooted and family-based entrepreneurial spirit that provides our teams with a sense of togetherness and solidarity to this day.

REWARDING

Choosing to work at Florentaise also means choosing to work for a company that respects the environment and values its employees.

As an international company operation across multiple locations, we are constantly evolving to make progress and widen our scope of action. Fully aware that our employees and their expertise are our greatest resource, we have ensured that their well-being is a key feature of our strategy. We want each and every one of our employees to have a sense of fulfilment in their work and to feel valued and listened to.

INNOVATIVE

For over 20 years, our company has been recognized as an innovative SME that is committed to sustainable development. We strive to create and market products that are ever more effective and environmentally friendly. Innovation is the essence of everyone to have an input. Those joining our teams soon realize that we make it a point of honour to stand out from our competitors through our innovative ideas, which we hope will revolutionize the plant world.

"Five years ago, 40% of what we are doing today did not even exist. Let's just try to think what that 40% of our business - that we haven't even imagined yet - might look like 5 years from now !

RESPONSIBLE

Our adventure began following a ban on sand extraction in the Loire river, which led us to discover peat and to launch our activity producing growing media. However, we have to anticipate for the future. Peat is not a renewable raw materials, so we decided to take the lead and find locally-available and renewable susbtitutes. As a truly responsible company we do not simply think about the "product". We also take the environment into consideration. This is why, for the past 20 years, Florentaise has been implementing practical solutions every year to reduce its impact on and protect our planet.

Nos matières premières

florentaise — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 11:13:44 +0000

Raw materials florentaise 20 April 2018

UNE GAMME ECOLABEL COMPLÈTE POUR LES PROFESSIONNELS !

florentaise — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 15:03:42 +0000

A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF ECOLABEL PRODUCTS FOR PROFESSIONALS! florentaise 14 March 2018

The Terre & Nature Pro range of Ecolabel soil mixes is the first comprehensive Ecolabel range for professionals in the horticulture and landscaping industries.
This unique range is made using locally-sourced and renewable raw materials that are the fruit of many years of research carried out by Florentaise, and which equal conventional soil mixes in terms of growing performance. While plant producers, local authorities and landscapers need products that allow them to work efficiently, we have also come to realise the importance of minimising the impact that these activities have on the environment. That is why our company is constantly innovating to find the perfect balance between product performance and environmental preservation.
By using renewable raw materials in this range of Ecolabel soil mixes, we are helping to protect the planet’s resources. The carbon footprint of our products is half that of conventional, 100% peat substrates!
Not only are they renewable, but our raw materials are also an integral part of the circular economy. Our wood fibre and bark are recovered from sawmill waste (woodchip for Hortifibre® and bark for Turbofibre®).
Finally, the Ecolabel certification guarantees an environmentally-friendly and peat-free soil mix.

In a nutshell, it is an effective range that is guaranteed to be free of peat to help preserve our planet’s wetlands!

TOUJOURS PLUS D’HORTIFIBRE® AU ROYAUME UNI!

florentaise — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:55:10 +0000

HORTIFIBRE® PRODUCTION ON THE RISE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM! florentaise 14 March 2018

It all started back in 2005 when Florentaise installed three BIVIS machines to defibre woodchip to make Hortifibre® at the site of its partner company, Westland, in Northern Ireland. That was just the tip of the iceberg!

In June 2017, in response to the ever-rising demand for its iconic raw material, Florentaise installed a further three BIVIS machines at Ellesmere Port near Liverpool. Over 900,000 m3 of wood fibre are now manufactured in the United Kingdom.

An SME turned multinational

With these 3 new machines, Florentaise has strengthened its worldwide presence yet a little further. In addition to its 9 sites in France, Florentaise now has 6 other manufacturing plants throughout the world (India, China, USA, Estonia, United Kingdom and Ireland)! Thanks to this global network, Florentaise expects its export volume to overtake its production on French soil by 2018!

Investing for innovation and business continuity

Every year, in addition to its investment in R&D (€750,000 per year for the last 5 years), Florentaise invests an average of €2.5 million per year in its manufacturing sites.

The company has devoted over €5 million to this installation, for an expected annual production of 450,000 m3 of Hortifibre®.

Hortifibre®: a quick recap.

Hortifibre® is a patented wood fibre manufactured from PEFC-certified softwood woodchip. It is 100% renewable and has the lowest carbon footprint of all of the uncompressed raw materials used in soil mixes.

This wood fibre is obtained via a high-temperature (120°C) thermo-mechanical process that includes elimination of the liquid produced to ensure fibres that are safe to use, of consistent quality and long lasting.

When added to a soil mix, HORTIFIBRE® improves aeration and provides plants with a readily available supply of water. It appreciably reduces the need to use peat and makes for a lighter substrate, allowing transport and filling costs to be significantly reduced.

FLORENTAISE À L'ASSAUT DE L'AMÉRIQUE !

florentaise — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:21:45 +0000

FLORENTAISE TAKES ON AMERICA! florentaise 14 March 2018

At the beginning of December 2016, Florentaise took its first steps into the stateside market with its takeover of the company “Garden Innovation”. This company, which was created in 2003, has become a market leader in easy-to-use garden products in the USA. Its pre-seeding technique led to the development of its ready-to-germinate seed mats. This acquisition will allow Florentaise to expand its range of urban gardening products.

For further information, please visit the Garden I nnovation

UNE NOUVELLE GAMME HORTIBIO® !

florentaise — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 12:34:28 +0000

A NEW HORTIBIO® RANGE florentaise 14 March 2018

To overcome the problems associated with peat extraction and to ensure continuous availability of our products, Florentaise has expanded its Hortibio® range, thanks to its new manufacturing plant in the Baltic. It is a new range of products made from peat and Hortifibre®, intended for all substrate manufacturers as well as professionals that prefer to make their own blends. Florentaise has put all of its expertise into the development of this range, which allows us to replace the conventionally used peat fractions (7/15, 15/30, 20/40, etc.).

It will be available throughout the whole of Europe, as well as in China and the USA.

Hortibio® mixes are made from peat and Hortifibre, the most widely-used wood fibre in world. This tried-and-tested material has been recognised for over 15 years. Soil mixes containing Hortifibre® are well-aerated, provide plants with a readily available supply of water and allow the substrate to be more easily rewetted. Its structure also prevents mixes from becoming waterlogged.

The main advantage of Hortibio® is that it is lighter than peat, allowing transport costs to be optimised!

If you are interested in these mixes, our technical team will be happy to advise you and find the right soil mix for your requirements!

LA FERME VERTICALE JARD’IN SE PARE DE SES PLUS BELLES LED

florentaise — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 11:13:21 +0000

THE JARD’IN VERTICAL FARM SHINES IN THE LED SPOTLIGHT florentaise 14 March 2018

Our company has been investing in urban agriculture for the last 2 years, and one of the solutions we have developed is the JARD'IN farm. Vertical farm production is not intended to replace conventional market gardening but rather to supplement it in geographical areas and megacities located far from the nearest fertile farmland.

With our vertical farm, the company will prove that growing lettuce in the heart of the city is more economically viable and more environmentally friendly than importing it several hundreds or thousands of miles.

With a height of 10 metres and with 10 levels, this pilot facility has a growing surface of 144 m², yet requires only 43 m² of ground space! The farm is capable of producing around 15,000 plants per year.

The strength of this concept lies in its modular system, which can be adapted to any industrial building and to all types of environment. It requires no natural light and no pesticides, because it is a closed system and we re-use over 90% of the water.

This concept is no longer in the design phase, and has now become a reality.

We can now proudly confirm that our JARD'IN farm is the first ever of its kind on French soil!

Économique

florentaise — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:42:55 +0000

Economy florentaise 05 March 2018

FLORENTAISE is committed to continuous improvement and to developing professionalism at all levels within the company, be it at production level, via batch control and certification (six ISO 9001 factories) or in supply management, by setting up a more centralised purchasing process.

We have also implemented further measures to promote continuous improvement.

In 2017, we sent out a satisfaction survey to our main customers and prospects within the sector. The feedback we received was very encouraging and highlighted our strengths:
- Reliability and conscientiousness
- Adaptability, availability and responsiveness
- Innovation and environmental protection

This strategy allows us to maintain an excellent on-time delivery—of over 95%—and to increase profitability.

Even if there is still room for improvement, this nevertheless shows that good customer relations are our main asset!

Each year, we invite our customers to come and visit one of our production sites and participate in our ecoinnovation process. These encounters provide the opportunity for privileged exchange with these customers and help us to gain a better understanding of their needs and expectations so that we may move forward together in harmony.

Sociétal

florentaise — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:40:03 +0000

Societal responsability florentaise 05 March 2018

We are actively committed to improving the local economy through our work with outside partners. Following 13 years of involvement with the CJD (centre for young business leaders), FLORENTAISE joined IDEA in 2009 and the Dirigeant Responsable de l’Ouest association in 2010. The aim of these associations is to encourage companies to implement the principles of responsible management.

Florentaise is also a member of the French quality association MFQ’s internal cross-audit club. Conducting cross-audits with companies from different sectors but with similar problems offers companies a fresh perspective on their activity and helps to improve performance.

In 2016, for the launch of our ready-to-use JARD’IN pots, we entrusted the assembly of the products to various sheltered workshops in the department of Loire-Atlantique.

Finally, every year Florentaise participates in various regional and national events by donating soil mixes and mulches to help with urban revegetation projects and to raise awareness about the importance of vegetation. Our recent partnerships are shown below.

Social

florentaise — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:37:11 +0000

Social responsability florentaise 05 March 2018

As a further component of our CSR policy, we strive to optimise safety and the working conditions of our personnel, improve their range of skills and encourage promotion within the company.

In 2014, we considered introducing a “well-being score” to evaluate job satisfaction among our staff at Florentaise and Terreaux Armoricains, and carried out a survey to this end. We received a great deal of feedback, with a response rate of 88% and an average score of 6.8/10, compared to 6.8/10 in 2014. Despite a generally positive result, the particular interest of this survey proved to be in highlighting the main expectations to be met in order to improve on this social satisfaction score. In 2015, the first measures were implemented to remedy the various problems. Examples include :

Launch of the project to revise our salary policy
Investment in the production tool in France, with annual investment plan and annual communication of this plan to employees
Investment in work tools to improve their ergonomics and the well-being of employees (+ hiring of an ergonomics apprentice)
Distribution of the general organization chart
Implementation of co-option
Launch of the study for the renovation of changing rooms and common areas in our factories
Continue the actions of team cohesion, the moments of exchanges and sharing within the factories and between them