Polybuild – offering a bespoke design and manufacture service to horticulture

Published: 02 June, 2011

Tell us about your company, when and where it started.

Polybuild started in 1977 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire developing specialist smaller horticultural structures until it was sold to the current owners in 1991. In 1995 Polybuild moved to Worthing and at that time became a manufacturer offering a bespoke design and manufacture service with installation.

How many people do you employ?

We employ 11 people at our manufacturing centre.

You supply a comprehensive range of polytunnels – do you supply to hobby gardeners as well as the professional growers?

Polybuild design and manufacture bespoke garden centre canopies, walkways and retail structures as well as commercial polytunnels for the professional grower along with static & mobile bench systems.

With our factory production facility we can cater for bespoke and new development structures.

For garden centres we offer insulated steel clad shop structures as well as steel canopies and walkways and glue-laminated timber structures to suit required span sizes.

For horticulture commercial single span stock sizes are available in 5.5, 6.4, 7.3, 8, 9 and 10m.

Multispan stock sizes are 6.4m, 8m and 10m.

For the home hobby gardener market we supply span sizes of 3m, 3.6m and 4.3m.

Why do clients choose polytunnels in preference to glass structures?

There are crops such as hardy nursery stock that fair better under polythene than glass.

For the same price as a small glasshouse you can buy a large polytunnel.

Polytunnels are a safer alternative to glass houses with minimal to no maintenance.

A polythene cover lasts 5 to 7 years and replacement covers generally cost no more than 10% of the complete polytunnel or less than 2% of the tunnel price per year.

Light diffusing films offer an improvement of the available growing light and crop specific films can control specific components of the light spectrum to grow the desired produce.

Can you give us examples of some of the polytunnels you have supplied?

Most of our work is UK based on nurseries and garden centres but we have undertaken development projects all over the world. One of these is for the seawater project in Oman turning salt water into fresh to feed crops and people, we have also been involved with Solar systems for power generation in our structures. Other structures are used at schools, for cafes, car valeting, swimming pool covers, microlite hangers, football dug outs and many other applications.

With technology constantly changing, how is Polybuild looking to move forward in 2011?

Polybuild are involved with various international development projects incorporating solar power and desalination systems to irrigate crops in coastal dessert regions, with climate change and the cost of produce and transport increasing we are looking to support overseas development.

What are your main concerns in the current economic climate?

Despite the current economic climate we have seen an increase in demand for new structures at both ends of the market, with ever increasing food prices there has been more demand with the home gardener to grow organic produce as well as the economies of scale meaning larger production units increase efficiency and are cheaper to purchase than glasshouse alternatives with minimal maintenance and the benefits of growing under diffusing films.

What would you say makes Polybuild different from its competitors?

We at Polybuild have always listened to our customers requirements and developed tunnel profiles and fabric gripping systems to make assembly easy. There are not many structures out there that are a standard specification of build, we have never shied away from designing bespoke structures.

What does the company do to encourage repeat business?

Polybuild works hard to give a personal honest and friendly professional service to all our customers throughout the purchase, supply and installation process.

We support our customers with future refurbishment services.

What is your company ethos?

Commitment - Quality - Design

How do we contact you ?

Polybuild Ltd

Upper Chancton Farm

London Road

Washington

West Sussex

RH20 3DH

Tel. 01903 892333

Fax. 01903 892777