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nยบ8. 2014
2015
Editorial
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New year, new life: commitment to attitude Have you heard of Victor Küppers? He is an educator who gives lectures focusing mainly on boostingpeople’s excitement and enthusiasm so get more enjoyment out of their job. He provides practical and effective methodologies to help anyone become better persons and professionals. Not an easy task! We analysed a case, our case, with him. If we ask any of you, with sales figures in hand, how the year has gone for us, your answer would most likely be “well, not that good” or “could have gone better”. What are the reasons? “We are feeling the crisis, prices, margins, competition is very aggressive, etc.” All these replies have something in common: they are negative circumstances that we can do nothing to change. However, there are things that do depend on us and we can control 100%. We can be friendly to customers, listen to them and serve their needs. We can train in product knowledge, streamline costs, improve our daily time management, strive to prioritise urgent needs, etc. It’s all a matter of attitude, and this IS entirely up to us. My hope for 2015 is that it finds us looking up. And while we’re at it: with the new website project underway, with new products tailored to different markets, with the birth of the new Hobby brand — which will be a big hit—, with the Barbens facility up and running, with new shows and customer events in the pipeline and consolidating projects such as our subsidiary in Chile and India, which is advancing well as our foray into the Asian market. Happy 2015!
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Semillas Fitó sponsors the prize for ESAB’s best final project In keeping with our philosophy of supporting initiatives that benefit society and promote innovation, Semillas Fitó recently signed a contract with the Escola Superior d’Agricultura de Barcelona (ESAB) to sponsor the Final Project (FP) Award for ESAB students whose work brings improvements in crop sustainability and efficiency. The winner of this first edition was Mauro José Bernal González for his final degree project: “The effect of the CV Beaufort graft on tomatoes’ agronomic performance and organoleptic quality (Solanum lycopersicum L.)”, a document which our R&D team has deemed as very professional.
Eduard Fitó with the ESAB director, Lourdes Reig.
HH.RR.
SEF Congress
FP Award
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Fitó sponsors the 8th National Congress of the Spanish Phytopathology Society (SEF) The 8th National Congress of the Spanish Phytopathology Society took place in Lleida, from October 7-10. The Spanish Phytopathology Society (www.sef.es) is an association of professionals working in the field of plant phytopathology (diagnosis, epidemiology, disease control, biotechnology, genomics, etc.) that collaborates with other associations related to Plant Health in Spain and abroad.
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT
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HH.RR.
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Collaborating with the Department of Agriculture in technology transfer related to forage and maize crops Last November we signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Environment regulating our collaboration related to agricultural technology transfer to improve forage and maize crops. One of the initiatives of the agreement is to improve irrigation recommendations issued by the Irrigation Office, integrating all the expertise on the Fitó platform. This agreement will also allow students in agricultural vocational training to do internships in agronomic management of maize and forage crops. Young farmers and all industry professionals will also be able to witness first-hand the progress made in this research and development centre. Also, the company and the ministry in question will back the creation of an international course specialising in maize farming, which aims to become a worldwide benchmark, showcasing all the accumulated knowledge in this crop in Catalonia.
The company and the ministry will back the creation of an international course specialised in corn farming
In the photo, the Director of Food, Quality and Agri-food Industries from the Ministry, Domènec Vila, and Eduard Fitó signing the agreement at the La Casa de Barbens facility in Bellpuig. Agreements like this underscore our community commitment to knowledge transfer.
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The quest for the best-tasting tomatoes Under the SABORTOM project, a collaboration between Semillas Fitó, the Fundació Miquel Agustí and the Chemometrics Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and as part of an experimental methodology, we organised a tasting session for consumers in late July, in Barcelona’s Horta Market to determine consumers’ sensory profile and preferences. They tasted cherry tomato and salad tomato varieties to see what attributes are currently most appreciated. The goal was to discover their preferences and include them as key indicators for the new stages of variety selection.
Cabrera also takes part in the tasting event A tasting event also took place with our staff at our Cabrera facilities. A total of 30 people took part, thanks to whom we’ve been able to obtain key data which will drive forward our research on the best tomatoes.
Client
WWW.SEMILLASFITO.COM
SABORTOM PROJECT
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HH.RR.
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News on the new site The new website is now a reality! The wait is over...you can click over and start enjoying it. We are starting the year with a new website that aims to position our company among the best brands in the market and will help us showcase our core values. The aim is to use this online platform to promote our products, publish our day-to-day activity and inform customers, suppliers, and society in general of news related to Semillas Fitó. We aim to build a dynamic platform that generates content, news and updates, so we encourage you to send us any news you believe to be interesting or noteworthy. All contributions are welcome! Browse over towww.semillasfito.com and see what you think!
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Iberflora 2014 awards the Claro de Luna bean The first week of October the HOBBY team attended the Iberflora exhibit to present the new FitoHobby and Eurogarden products. The fair was very positive as there were many professional visitors throughout the day. At this venue we presented the CLARO DE LUNA bean as our major new development. The initiative and work behind this development were very well received by the public and the breakthrough took the Iberflora’14 first prize for innovation. We also presented a complete new range of easy-to-grow kits with the new SEMBRA division brand.
Client
Hobby
Hobby
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HH.RR.
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Sembra, the new Fitó Hobby brand Sembra launches two very distinct product lines. The children’s range focuses on educational toys and the range for adults makes it fun and easy to get started with gardening. All kits from both ranges include everything required for making a seedbed at home. But what makes this product truly special is that each kit comes with a book that explains - using illustrations, photographs and simple tips - how to successfully plant seeds, transplant seedlings and harvest the produce. There are kits for everyone! Cooking fans have a kit Culinari featuring essential kitchen species. And health nuts will love the classic kit Salad to grow lettuce and tomatoes in very small spaces. And kit Herbal has been designed for tea lovers. What better way to always have their thyme, stevia, chamomile and anise at hand?
All kits from both ranges include everything required for making a seedbed at home
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Fruit Attraction 2014 once again a total success The main players (domestic and international) in the fruit and vegetable industry met again from October 15th - 17th in the new edition of the Madrid Fruit Attraction. We were there again this year with an impressive booth taking the opportunity to introduce ourselves as a seed company. This year we have opted to dynamically showcase many varieties. The tables were used as a product counter, each representing a particular species. Melons, tomatoes and peppers were especially in the limelight. The “Delicious Corner” also featured a real shopping trolley that really caught visitors’ attention. We used it to display Jessy aubergine and Egara tomato specialties.
Jessy aubergines and Egara tomatoes were highlighted as specialties
Tom Lombaerts, our Chain Manager, talking to media at the booth.
Client
HORTICULTURAL
HORTICULTURAL
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HH.RR.
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Conference on courgette crop management On Wednesday, October 29, 97 guests attended the Courgette Day we organised at the Envía Almería Hotel. The main objective was to present some of our varieties and offer detailed information on how to handle the Atlantis courgette, offering practical tips on how to get the most out of its virtues and avoid potential crop problems. After a brief corporate introduction given by our Almería Area Manager, Fco. Javier Rodríguez Usero, three presentations were prepared from three different viewpoints: “Methods for improving courgette at Semillas Fitó” by Santiago Garcçoa (courgette breeder), “The courgette in Spain: distribution by area and type of crop” by Nicolás Sánchez (sales technician in We showcased Murcia, Valencia and the Canary Islands), and our extensive “Handling the Atlantis courgette” by Germán zucchini range to Victoria (sales technician in Almería - Roquetas). meet the demands The conference demonstrated that we have a of different vast range of courgette to meet the demands of markets different markets.
Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Almería Area Manager, presenting product to clients.
HORTICULTURAL
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New edition of the Membrilla Regional Melon Fair From August 8 to 10 the new FERIMEL edition took place. The Fair is recognised as one of the most important Spanish melon fairs. We participated and enjoyed seeing a great turnout by farmers from around the area. The catering provided by Trujillo Restaurant and the presentation of our new melon varieties were a full-fledged attraction at the show and made our booth a great success. José Antonio Zafra, sales technician in the area who was responsible for a lot of the organising involved in our participation at the fair, had the opportunity of meeting most of the top customers in the area to inform them about our main new melon products, including our Cristiano yellow melon and our Manchego Santa Claus variety. Both were very well received by the public and point to a great future for Fitó’s melon division.
We showcased the latest in melon varieties: our Cristiano yellow melon and our Manchego Santa Claus variety
Our colleague José Antonio Zafra poses with María Luisa Soriano, Minister of Agriculture, Lola Merino, PP Spokesperson in Ciudad Real and national president of AMFAR, Manuela Borja, Mayor of Membrilla, the provincial president of AMFAR and the Membrilla Councillor for Culture.
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International Field Day 2014 The second edition of our International Field Day (IFD) was held on September 16-19, bringing together a total of 85 distributors in France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Poland, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. The event combined visits to our centres at Les Cases de Barbens, Cabrera, Llavaneres and Barcelona with talks on R&D in Field Crops, the sunflower breeding programme and our El IFD de este forage range. año ha sido una The IFD this year has been a unique opportunity to explain the Les Cases de Barbens project, our future centre for Field Crops processing and logistics centre. We also took advantage of the opportunity to establish and strengthen our collaboration with key distributors, looking to boost the sale of Semillas Fitó products in Eastern European and Middle East countries. Currently, sales outside Spain account for 70% of the total Field Crops division turnover.
ocasión única para explicar el proyecto de Les Cases de Barbens
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Field crops
Field crops
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HH.RR.
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New Fitomix Forage Formulation Our latest Fitomix forage formulation went on sale last August. The Fitomix range comprises 12 new mixtures classified into 4 families: ENERGY (high energy intake and high quality), TURBO (high digestibility and high regrowth capacity), PERMANENT (extraordinary productive life) and AUTO (high-quality reseeding). The launch of our new range of Fitomix formulas builds on the project for redefining the range of fodder seeds, which was reinforced by the creation of a new catalogue and a specific brochure for these formulas. Semillas Fitó is the top forage seller in Spain, offering new solutions for livestock farmers to help them achieve maximum farm productivity.
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New packaging desing for field crops With the launch of the new range of Fitomix forage formulas, the Forage range bags feature a new design. This new design aims to standardise the packaging look for products from the various Semillas Fitó business units. Yellow becomes the primary colour and the Fitó corporate logo is given more importance. This change The Forage was already implemented in the range bags Vegetables Division in 2013. Forage varieties bags will be the first to be available with the new design, and then it will be gradually rolled out to maize, sorghum and sunflower bags.
feature a new design
Field crops
Field crops
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HH.RR.
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Farmers’ visit to Barbens A total of 400 clients from Aragón and Catalonia (distributors, large farms and farmers) have visited the Finca Les Cases de Barbens during the months of September and October. All were impressed by the construction progress of the new warehouse and processing centre, confirming that there it will shortly be operational. After visiting the construction site, the groups also toured the farm’s corn fields. There they inspected the R&D fields (more than 700 new varieties undergoing testing), different tests of irrigation systems (drip, sprinkler, etc.), crop density, planting times, resistance to water stress and demonstration fields of the successful Fitó Agricultural Irrigation and Fertilisation Solutions. Later, visitors saw the demonstration fields of commercial varieties, where they were able to witness the great potential of varieties POBOA YG, BOLEA YG, LERMA, TAMPA YG and SAGUNTO, as well as the new varieties that will be available for the next seasons.
400 customers from Aragón and Catalonia have visited the farm
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Success at the Annual Greenkeeper Congress for the Rinovo variety One more year, Semillas Fitó has been present at the Annual Congress of the Spanish Association of Greenkeepers (AEdG), which this year took place in Valencia. We set up a booth to showcase our solutions for the concerns and needs of technical landscaping professionals at golf courses and other sports fields. This year, Spanish greenkeepers have enthusiastically acceptance Rinovo, Fitó’s new variety of English ryegrass that delivers the latest technology in persistence, lateral growth and stress resistance.
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Áreas Verdes
Áreas Verdes
Editorial
HH.RR.
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Rossmary, Abercharm, Umbrella and Terrano, new grass species for this campaign
We have launched four new varieties for our 2015 campaign to complement our wide range of grasses suitable for all conditions. Rosemary is an English ryegrass highly tolerant to drought and heat, with heavy resistance to trampling, which will be a top-seller for golf overseeding. Abercharm is a new fine fescue for high-salinity environments, tolerant to trampling and water stress. Umbrella is a tall fescue offering optimal tolerance to cold, but also tolerant to drought and salinity and featuring maximum grass density. Finally, Terrano is another tall fescue that stands out as a good example of the new generation of this type of lateral growth fescue for sport and turf applications.
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Áreas Verdes
Corporate
Áreas Verdes
Editorial
Visit to the Italian Tolcinasco golf course in Milan Semillas Fitó has visited the Italian Tolcinasco course located in Milan, which has become one of the best in Italy. The visit aimed to check the status of the golf course that has been re-converted this summer with the Riviera Bermuda variety in its fairways and tees. The result of this conversion has been spectacular and the course boasts an unbeatable look.
HH.RR.
Participates
New 2015 Fitó catalogs We have launched new 2015 Turf Grass catalogs in Spanish and in English, including all our latest grass innovations for the season. We are also releasing a new catalogue published by Fitó dedicated to football fields, specifying the type of grass varieties appropriate for this type of sports field and their technical specifications.
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Our customers are featured in the Fitó 2015 calendar In this issue we feature not just one customer but five! These five clients have let us use their image in the calendar which Semillas Fitó prepares every year. Some will appear on the calendar and others won’t, but everyone has been really involved in the project. A big thank you to all of them for their time and dedication! Moments like these make us realise how the friendship and relationship we have with our customers is essential for things to flow and go from strength to strength! Here are our heroes of the hour: Josep Vizcarro from Agroalsina Carles Bordas, from Jardinería Bordas Octavi Creus, Greenkeeper at the Llavaneras Golf Course Josep, from Cal Serret Josep Reixachs from Agrolara And of course, thanks also to all our other heroes — Semillas Fitó staff. Definitely our best models.
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HH.RR.
client
client
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Juan Carlos Moreno Desde México nos llega el testimonio de un cliente que nos desvela como es su trabajo con la compañía. 1. Name? Juan Carlos Moreno 2. Company Name? SERCA SEEDS S.A. de C.V. 3. City and country: Cuernavaca, Mor. Mexico (also known as the City of Eternal Spring). We are located in the center-south of the country. 4. When did you start working for Semillas Fitó? We started working with Semillas Fitó in 2009, when Fitó decided to open its retail network throughout the country. At that time they were already present in the area of Sinaloa. 5. What is the difference between Semillas Fitó and other companies? We are distributors also for other brands. With Semillas Fitó we enjoy a friendlier relationship — warmer and more direct. They provide answers to our questions much faster than other companies, and our relationship is much more personal. We feel we are among friends, which makes it much more than a business deal. 6. What are your best-selling products? The products we sell most are Slicer, European and Persian cucumbers. With them, we have managed to diversify our greenhouse area, where before the arrival of Semillas Fitó, only Saladette-type tomatoes were grown.
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7. What is the best Semillas Fitó product? The best Semillas Fitó product is no doubt the Centauro Slicer cucumber, which managed to change the domestic Slicer market, raising the bar in terms of quality, colour, flavour and fruit format. 8. What is the virtue you appreciate most in a company like Semillas Fitó? For us it’s loyalty and honesty. The suspicion of possible unfair trade practices simply does not exist. This is the most valued quality in a seed company. At the same level of importance, seed quality — germination and purity — is also vital, as well as packaging, presentation and accuracy in specifying the number of seeds in each package. 9. What is the relationship between you and Semillas Fitó? The relationship between SERCA SEEDS AND SEMILLAS FITÓ right now is excellent. We have the same goal, which is to expand the presence of Semillas Fitó in Mexico and thus grow together in the domestic market share for the sale of vegetable seeds. This relationship has been built with hard work on both sides, and also with great respect and trust. 10. How is the seed business in your area now? Like all areas of the economy in our country, we’re seeing great competition in the seed business. The reduction of arable land and the appearance of many seed brands (of all quality levels) lead to strong competition. In this environment, service and quality eventually prevail, and both Semillas Fitó and Serca Seeds are focused on providing just that: high-quality seeds and excellent sales service. The arrival of Semillas Fitó in Mexico has been a gust of fresh air in the way of doing business. Having a business relationship with a company which has been in business for so many years and yet remains a family business despite its size and history make clients feel rather like friends, or perhaps as part of a large family, their extended family.
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Damos la bienvenida a... • NAME: Juan Jesús Narváez
• NAME: Chantal Díaz Lorenzo
• POSITION: Seed technologist
• POSITION: Field Crops Customer Service
• WORKPLACE: Barcelona
• WORKPLACE: Barcelona
• HOBBIES: sports, beach, Italian food, original version movies, traveling, hanging out with friends and having fun.
• HOBBIES: Hiking and being close to nature, enjoying friends and watching a good movie. As far as food is concerned, I prefer the Mediterranean diet.
• NAME: Jesus Gastelum Elenes
• NAME: Rafael Ulpiano Taleb
• POSITION: Farm Manager
• POSITION: Commercial Technician Morocco
• WORKPLACE: Semillas Fitó México (Improvement Centre)
• WORKPLACE: Agadir - Morocco • HOBBIES: Beekeeping, karting and motocross.
• HOBBIES: Baseball, music, fishing and movies. • NAME: Octavio Aguayo Sepúlveda
• NAME: Montse Codina Botifoll
• POSITION: Administrative and Accounting Assistant
• POSITION: Talent Manager
• WORKPLACE: Semillas Fitó México (Culiacán)
• WORKPLACE: Barcelona
• HOBBIES: Fishing, Baseball and Football.
• HOBBIES: Writing short stories, reading novels, watching American TV series, Barça club member, watching football and playing padel tennis..
• NAME: Charlène Aurignac • POSITION: Field Crops Technical Sales • WORKPLACE: Aquitaine/Poitou-Charentes (Francia) • HOBBIES: Skiing, tennis, gastronomy .
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The family grows Our colleague Manuel, who works in the Barcelona warehouse, has just become the father of this beautiful girl. Congratulations!
Our Recipe
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Mint Chocolate-chip Cookies Our “Sembra” kits offer innumerable culinary possibilities.Take care of your urban garden and add that hint of your own self-grown mint to your recipes! Here’s a sweet option for these holidays. This will make a batch of about 40 cookies: - 125 g butter, softened and cubed - 125 g sugar - 1 egg, lightly beaten - 1 teaspoon of fresh minced mint - 185 g of all-purpose flour - 1 tablespoon powdered cocoa - 220 g semi-sweet chocolate chips - A pinch of salt - Pre-heat oven to 180 ºC. Cover cookie sheet with grease-proof paper. - Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, beat until well mixed. Add mint. - Add flour, salt, cocoa and chocolate chips. - Drop dollops of dough onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly. - Bake about 15 minutes and let cool on rack.
do you have any picture or recipe you would like to share with us? Send them to: comunicacion@semillasfito.com