In April, Greenvale AP joined forces with International Controlled Atmosphere (ICA) to form a new joint venture company Restrain Company Ltd.
The new concern is responsible for the sales and marketing of the Restrain system and was launched at the British Potato Council’s storage event on May 20. The system comprises the Restrain generator, sensor and fuel and is used in commercial storage operations to maintain a stable ethylene atmosphere.
Greenvale AP has been using the system successfully for three seasons, as have a number of other major pre-packers. The system is a cost-effective solution for producing and maintaining a stable atmosphere of ethylene within large or small stores without modifications.
This partnership came about as the result of six years of development work. “Restrain has an emphasis on ease of use,” says David Bishop of ICA. “It simply requires a 13 amp socket in store and just plugs in.”
The system has also been developed with the fruit sector in mind. “We were aware of a number of serious practical issues encountered by the fruit-ripening industry when operators tried to use a neat ethylene supply and so developed a self-contained generating system,” adds Paul Coleman head of technical and agronomy at Greenvale AP.
The Restrain system recently won a Royal Agricultural Society of England new machinery award. “We are delighted to receive this award, it is a fitting reward for many years hard work by a number of people in Greenvale AP and ICA,” says Nick Gilford of Restrain Company, which aims to bring Restrain to a wider marketplace.
The system only requires a 13amp socket in store and just plugs in. It is capable of working in dusty storage environments. It has been designed with busy people in mind and engineered to work in dusty storage environments.”
Alan Owens, chief executive of Greenvale AP, said: “Our business constantly strives to meet the challenges of the fresh produce industry and develop market leading solutions. We have a number of technology projects which will be brought to the market place in the coming years. We have been actively encouraged by Tesco to further develop the Restrain system, broadening its application to other areas of the industry confirming the versatility of the Restrain technology.”
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