In Aquitaine, the nurseries of Martaillac have built their know-how in the strawberries plant production based on their experience as producers of soilless strawberries. From mother plant in tray-plant or plant ball, each stage of production is carefully controlled and supervised. These advanced techniques enable to ensure an optimal production for all types of varieties, at each customer's request.

Human Resources of the Pépinières de Martaillac: a well structured company

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Yves Bertrand and Christophe Huber manage the firm together.

Yves Bertrand deals in relationship fronts with the other actors of the industry. He organises tests with other organisations, permanently striving for the latest technique for growing strawberries. Each month, Yves travels abroad to seek new, more innovating solutions appropriate for the nursery.

Moreover, at the customer's request, deliveries to the region can be done through a refrigerated lorry marked “Pépinières Martaillac” ; this also enables offering for each customer a technical follow-up and regular consultation.

Ten permanent employees work on the Pépinières de Martaillac site. During the season, the company employs seasonal workersfor attending to the surplus of work on the nurseries. For example, during summer, for all the tasks relating to farming of the strawberry plantation, a hundred additional workmen join the team.

Christophe Huber, farming manager, keeps a watch on the entire farm. He decides on the dates of tests and planting of strawberry plantations, sets the daily and seasonal objectives, supervises the irrigation of the different farm sites etc.

Moreover, he supervises all activities of the personnel. At the start of the day, he distributes between the different teams the tasks to be carried out and regularly follows up the progress of the work.

The team managers, Chantal and Alcindo take over control from Christophe; they give work rates to the workmen, calculate the farm yields and communicate the difficulties encountered.

Delphine, the technician, has a double role: he works simultaneously in the logistics and technical fields. Delphine is in touch with organisations of the industry, the GNIS and Plant Protection. Moreover, he manages the orders and deliveries, meeting the requirements of all thecustomers as best as possible.

In Dordogne, the company has a first-class salesman, René Gillot.
Jerome is in charge of the accounting operations of the company.

Lastly, Dominique, personal assistant, deals with all the secretarial work, as well as staff management - employment and wages contracts.

“Pépinières de Martaillac”, an evolutionary company:

The know-how of Pépinières de Martaillac was acquired gradually through many years of work and experience.

In the beginning, Yves Bertrand managed a market garden farm of 6 hectares, near Marmande. In 1984, the first cold glasses were installed for soilless farming of tomato, the prominent fruit of the region.

In response to difficulties encountered in the tomato industry, the first workshop of soilless strawberry was installed in 1989. This is the first French company to move in this market segment.
During this time period, Christophe Huber joined the company; initially employed as farming manager, he quickly became the partner of Yves Bertrand.

The company initially began its strawberry growing activity by traditional planting. Then, in 1997, it changed to plant frigo of southern hemisphere. But soon, the plant frigo type of production was replaced by the trayplant and pots which offer a much better quality as well as economic yields higher than the plant frigo of southern hemisphere.
Gradually, the company developed its own nursery for obtaining a better health quality as well as higher production yields.
The company then became a real nursery. To the traditional production of strawberry a new production prospect was added: production of strawberry plantations.

Today, Pépinières de Martaillac produce nearly 9 million plant balls and trayplant. The company is recognized as one of the best strawberry plant nurseries production French company. Pépinières de Martaillac has gradually become the European leader in the trayplant market.

The Martaillac nurseries are well known for their competences. Their employees offer you consultation and help you with choosing your nursery.

In the heart of the nurseries:

• The 10 hectares of nurseries are protected by anti-hail nets, protection against risks and climatic stresses.

• The system of ferti-irrigation is directly connected to computers for an optimisation of the conditions of farming, in particular by frequent water inflows.
• The nursery production is entirely managed by fertilisation computers. 3000m² of glasshouses reserved for the production of plant balls are also equipped with automatic slopes for irrigation and plant health protection.
• The installations and the buildings are entirely dedicated to production, sorting and storage of the plantings. New refrigerators ensure the very fast cold setting and the possibility of long conservation at negative temperatures. Thanks to all the equipments, the Martaillac nurseries deliver the plants in growing conditions desired by each customer (varieties, dates of planting, levels of fertilisation, coldness level).