Jul 25, 2008

Around the IndustrySource: Various

HIP Meets Global Standards for Biodegradable Labels

Horticultural Identification Products (HIP) – a customized tag and labeling products company for the horticulture industry – recently announced it had met the standard specification set by ASTM International for its sustainable BioTag labeling products.

The ASTM specification establishes if products made from plastics will compost satisfactorily, including biodegrading at a rate comparable to known compostable materials. Meeting this specification is a sustainability breakthrough for HIP because it means the companies’ BioTag product can be officially considered fully “compostable” based upon the composition of the product.

“Meeting ASTM’s standard specification criteria further emphasizes HIP’s commitment to conservation and environmental awareness,” says Bob Lovejoy, president/CEO of HIP. “We understand the critical need for businesses to have a positive environmental impact and offering BioTag is a way for us to support growers in their sustainability efforts.”

For more information, visit www.hiplabels.com.

D.S. Cole Growers Plans Open House

D.S. Cole Growers of Loudon, N.H. will be having their open house on Thursday, Aug. 7. Garden vignettes of their young plant products will be on display, along with new variety additions, including an expanded coleus selection, succulents, begonias and a new canna program with virus-free, actively growing cannas.

RSVP to Lynne Blye at lynne@dscolegrowers.com or (603) 783-9561. For more information on D.S. Cole Growers, visit www.dscolegrowers.com.

OFA Announces New Officials

OFA – an Association of Floriculture Professionals – announced at its July 12 annual business meeting, during the OFA Short Course, the election of its OFA president and vice president, as well as the election of five new members and three appointments to the OFA board of directors.

• Bobby Barnitz of Bob’s Market & Greenhouses Inc., Mason, W.Va., was re-elected as president.
• Danny Takao of Takao Nursery, Fresno, Calif., was re-elected as vice president.

The five directors elected to the Board are:

• Mark Foertmeyer of Foertmeyer & Sons Greenhouse, Delaware, Ohio, elected to the Ohio Grower director position.
• Joe Moore of Lucas Greenhouse, Monroeville, N.J., elected to the Grower At-Large director position.
• Jerry Dill of Dill’s Greenhouse, Groveport, Ohio, elected to the Ohio Garden Center director position.
• Dan Johnston of Tri-State Foliage, Cincinnati, Ohio, elected to the Interior Plantscape At-Large director position.
• David Kuack of GMPro magazine/Branch-Smith Publishing, Fort Worth, Texas, elected to the Allied Trade director position.

In other appointments, Mike McCabe of McCabe’s Greenhouse & Floral, Lawrenceburg, Ind., was appointed as Board Liaison to the Executive Committee; Jim Broderick of Plantland Garden Center, Columbus, Ohio, was reappointed by the board of directors as OFA treasurer; and John R. Holmes, CAE, was reappointed as the OFA Executive Director.

For additional information, visit http://www.ofa.org or call (614) 487-1117.

Athens Select Adds New Propagator

Athens Select has announced that Les Entreprises Normand Tellier, in Quebec, Canada, will join the network of nine existing licensed Athens Select propagators. The addition makes the line of heat- and humidity-tolerant plants accessible to even more growers in North America. The addition of Les Entreprises Normand Tellier also marks the expansion of the Athens Select program into Canada.

“We are proud to join Athens Select as a propagator,” said Normand Tellier, the owner of Les Entreprises Normand Tellier. “We are excited to be working with this well-known line of plants and look forward to making our contributions to the continued success of the brand.”

For more information visit www.athensselect.com.