The National Fruit Show 2011, which takes place on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October, has a full compliment of sponsors this year.
The Show has four main Sponsors and this year, the longest standing Norman Collett will be a sponsor for the eighth year running. The company, formed in 1977 specialises in marketing English top and stone fruit to most of the UK’s major supermarkets and wholesale markets. In celebration of Rubens a new variety, Norman Collett are part of the Rubens Club promotion to win a luxurious London break for two at the Rubens Hotel in London. The competition is open for anyone to enter and details can be found on the website www.tastyrubens.com. The best Rubens entry will also win a night at the Rubens Hotel courtesy of the Rubens Club. The other club variety Norman Collett market is Cameo and the winning grower of the Cameo class will have the added bonus of a trip for two on Eurostar with dinner on the Bateaux Mouches courtesy of the Cameo Club.
BASF a sponsor since 2007 believe that British Fruit has benefited from the innovation and market understanding employed by growers and grower groups. Rob Storer, BASF’s Speciality Product Manager said: “BASF is committed to supporting the sector and continuing to invest in developing suitable agrochemicals, including the bio-products popular in countries like the United States. This sector focus makes BASF a keen sponsor of the National Fruit Show.”
International Controlled Atmosphere Ltd is the UK’s leading builder of cold stores for the storage of fruit and vegetables and has been exhibiting at the National Fruit Show for decades. The Company decided to become a main sponsor last year when the opportunity arose. ICA Ltd based in Marden, specialises in building and equipping Controlled Atmosphere Stores, fruit distribution centres and pack houses with food safe insulation panels as well as standard cold and chill rooms. Andrew Wills from ICA said: “The ICA6000 is a new generation of control systems for the control of Controlled Atmosphere storage rooms and communicates directly with the room refrigeration controllers for single point display and remote operation. The National Fruit Show is the perfect platform to talk to growers about this innovation with our sister company STS Refrigeration who are experts in the design, installation and maintenance of cold storage technology.”
###p
Pro-Tech Marketing, one of the leading manufacturers of growing systems, tunnels and equipment, will be the Bonanza Prize Sponsor. Rob Tasker, Pro-Tech’s Sales Director, says: “This is the first time we’ve sponsored the growers’ competition and we’re delighted to be supporting such an important event. The National Fruit Show is the showcase for the UK’s fruit industry so it makes perfect sense for Pro-Tech to be involved.”
Each year, the Bonanza Prize is drawn at the Show dinner and is open to all growers who enter three or more entries in classes 1-19. Their name is entered in to the draw once for every three entries gaining a minimum of 85 points. This year’s prize, provided by Pro-Tech, is a weekend for two in Prague, the historic capital of the Czech Republic. Being a competition sponsor at the show is an important opportunity to meet growers from across the UK and abroad.
Whitehouse Monckton a law firm based in Maidstone and Tenderden are sponsoring The President’s Reception and ‘The Great Debate’. This inaugural year sponsoring at National Fruit Show recognises the importance of the sector. The company has recently celebrated a 225th Anniversary, and has specialist knowledge of Kent land-based industries which is very beneficial to local growers and land owners.
The popular Show Dinner held at the Orangery, Turkey Mill, Maidstone, will be supported by Orchard World and Hadlow College. Orchard World has sponsored the reception for nearly a decade and are delighted to be part of the event for a further year. Hadlow College based in the small village of Hadlow is a renowned centre of excellence for horticulture. Hadlow’s finance director Mark Lumsdon-Taylor believes private sector sponsorship money to fund training can be achieved if the structure of the training is right. He comments: “If apprenticeship programmes are designed to provide the education and training that fulfil growers’ current needs and are structured in such a way that they can be adapted to fulfil the needs of the future, I believe we shall be able to find sponsors. There are those who will be proud to invest in the continuance and success of a progressive, forward thinking industry.”
Admission is free on both days with a completed registration ticket which can be completed on the day or in advance by downloading from the ###a href=”http://www.nationalfruitshow.org.uk/event-info/” target=”_self”>Event Information page of National Fruit Show website.
Opening times day one, 10am – 5.30pm, day two 10am – 3pm.
