Hutchinson has always been proud to offer excellent technical expertise, the latest technology as well as top-class advice to their specialist fruit growers. Strengthening their Southeast Horticultural team even further, a high calibre fruit agronomist, Rob Saunders, has joined this team and will be looking after top fruit, bush fruit, hop and vine growers.
Rob Saunders comes to Hutchinsons with over 27 years of experience in the UK fruit sector. Having graduated from Seale-Hayne, he started his career as an Assistant Manager on a top fruit and hop farm in Kent. He has spent the past 20 years as a fruit agronomist, most recently providing technical support for the Ribena blackcurrant growers for LucozadeRibenaSuntory (formerly GlaxoSmithKline).
Hutchinsons’ Horticulture Director, Mike Hutchinson says “Rob comes to us with a great deal of expertise and experience and he will be an impressive addition to our already effective horticultural team. As a company we offer our fruit growers the best service and the best advice across the whole crop, not just crop protection but cultural, biological and nutritional solutions. I am confident that Rob will do just this and we welcome him into the team!”
“Advising fruit growers is a highly specialist role and we want the best agronomists working for us, so that our clients have access to the latest, most relevant and most valuable advice which enables them to grow high yielding, high quality and profitable crops,” says Mike.
“With the adoption of more productive varieties and the developments in growing systems, as well as the ever changing legislative environment in which growers operate, the need for excellent, accurate and reliable agronomic support has never been greater,” says Rob Saunders.
“I am particularly looking forward to working with growers across a range of horticultural crops, always with the objective of finding cost effective solutions that will result in crops with higher yields and the right quality attributes. I am delighted to be joining Hutchinsons, as they are a well-respected business with a focus on agronomy. It’s also a very exciting time, with all the new technology they are able to offer fruit growers”, says Rob.
Hutchinsons are not just investing in people – further evidence of Hutchinson’s commitment to Kent growers can be seen in the construction of their new depot on the outskirts of Bridge near Canterbury. The flagship store and offices will open in the Autumn.