Fleurolex Vitroplant Production opens its new in vitro culture laboratory in Ferrières
Fleurolex Vitroplant Production opens its new in vitro culture laboratory in Ferrières Ferrières, 3 May 2024. Fleurolex Vitroplant Production inaugurated its new in vitro culture laboratory in Lognoul on Friday, in the presence of Willy Borsus, Vice-President of Wallonia and Minister for the Economy and Agriculture, and Frédéric Léonard, Mayor of Ferrières. The building houses the entire micropropagation chain: preparation of culture media, transfer rooms fitted with laminar flow hoods, and climate-controlled growth rooms. It raises the company's capacity to 400,000 plants a year. In vitro culture makes it possible to propagate, under aseptic conditions, plants that are difficult to reproduce from cuttings or by grafting. The plantlets are then transplanted into the site's 1,100 m² of greenhouses, where a full year of care is needed before they are ready for sale. Specialising in rhododendrons, azaleas and Kalmia latifolia since 1992, the nursery offers more than 200 varieties and supplies professional growers throughout Europe, from Spain to Sweden and from Portugal to Scotland — and occasionally as far as Australia and New Zealand. "This facility allows us to increase our capacity while maintaining the phytosanitary standards our reputation is built on," says Roland Kersten, managing director. After the ribbon-cutting, guests toured the facilities, from the initial explant to plants ready for delivery. The inauguration took place a few hours before the nursery's open days, held on 4–5 and 11–12 May, at the height of the flowering season.
Photo – Ribbon-cutting in front of the new laboratory, 3 May 2024. From left to right: Roland Kersten, managing director of Fleurolex Vitroplant Production; Minister Willy Borsus; and Frédéric Léonard, Mayor of Ferrières. Contact: Fleurolex Vitroplant Production SRL – Lognoul 31 A-1, 4190 Ferrières, Belgium – +32 86 388 870 – info@vitroplant.be – www.vitroplant.be