As the UK market emerges from the pandemic, growers everywhere will be assessing the combined
impact that Covid and Brexit have had on their customer base. A changing marketplace is naturally ripe
for those willing to innovate and one place to start is the use of flexible and natural Controlled
Atmosphere (CA) modules
FRENCH firm Janny MT has been supplying its CA modules to growers around the world since 2009. More
than 100,000 of its modules are currently being used by customers across 35 countries, including the UK.
Export Development Manager Céline Kuentz can therefore point to a proven track record for her
company’s products, but she also believes that changing market conditions in the UK are making Janny
MT relevant to an even wider group of clients. “Growers around the UK are looking for ways to maximise
the value of their crop by meeting the exacting requirements of a customer base that’s evolving with the
post-Covid and post-Brexit British consumer,” she says. “We feel a big evolution is happening in the
grower marketplace. People definitely want more local product in England and growers are starting to
adapt to the new, shorter channels of distribution that are opening up to them,” Céline adds.
To do this, growers can add more flexibility into their storage regimes, specifically by becoming more
independent and storing more product themselves. “Many small or medium sized growers do not have
the volume to justify a large investment in their own CA storage room, but they have their own cold
store,” she explains.
Covid has made travelling to the UK much trickier of course, and Janny MT has therefore appointed a
distributor – Dejex in Spalding. “We always want to be close to the grower,” says Céline. “We know how
important it is to be able to visit growers, give them the right advice and to support them through this
transitional period for the industry.”
“The return on investment is rapid,” she adds. “Like many things, the initial outlay can seem a little risky,
but the system delivers consistent quality and allows growers to think and work differently. There is
obviously a benefit from being able to serve customers with top quality fresh produce for a longer period
each year, because they will always prefer to buy better quality product. We have proved around the
world that Janny MT can also improve margins and add value to every grower’s bottom line. The
flexibility of our solution allows packhouses to benefit from Janny MT installations too.”