Sustainability, labor, and time are some of the challenges growers are dealing with nowadays. Products that tackle these hurdles are therefore welcomed with open arms, like the Low-Profile tray of The HC Companies. This new tray was introduced at Cultivate'23 and attracted a lot of interest. In this article, more about the benefits of this tray and how it fits the current developments in the market.
Sustainability
Sustainability, the use of recycled plastics, and the reduction of plastics is becoming an increasingly more important topic in North America. And this tray ticks the boxes, explains Richard Meule, the company's District Sales Manager. "It is more sustainable as it is made of recycled materials and has 30% less plastic, which also makes it 30% lighter than a standard polystyrene tray. And the fact that it is made from polypropylene, it is more readily recyclable. Polypropylene is widely accepted in municipal recycling programs and in many municipalities."
Richard Meule at Cultivate'23 presenting the Low-Profile tray
Saving labor and time
Labor seems to be one of the biggest challenges for North American growers nowadays, and they are, therefore, looking for alternatives that will enable them to save labor. According to Meule, the Low-Profile tray saves labor in several ways. "First of all, the pot and trays are shipped pre-assembled to growers, which is not only saving labor but also time. Usually, the trays and pots are shipped separately and are assembled by the workers in the greenhouse. With these bundled pots, we've already done it already in our factory and shipped it ready to use to the grower. On top of that, more trays per person can be handled; one person can move up to 4 trays at a time ergonomically at every stage, whereas traditional trays can only be carried two at a time. And when talking about tagging, the pre-oriented tag slots that speed up tagging, and it can be used for automated labeling systems."
Tags can be attached to the pot and tray on several ways
Space saving
Another advantage is the stackability of the trays. "The bundled pots are stackable, and as you can see in the picture above, 8 regular trays (with 80 pots) take up as much space as 50 Low-Profile Trials (with 500 pots). In the warehouse, this means a 20% reduction of shipped and stored pallets and no partial pallets of excess pots. Also, at the retailers, the empty trays take up less space for return or recycle."
More benefits
On top of the advantages mentioned above, the secured pots "reduce the likelihood of plant damage, allow total brushoff from top, enables fast, hassle-free merchandising with excellent brand exposure, has no sharp edges, has easy one-hand clip release, and the tray utilizes the same can-tight footprint as traditional trays, which ensures proper fit to carts and grow spaces.
For more information:
The HC Companies
www.hc-companies.com