30 june 2021
May 17th RHP has welcomed a new colleague again: Catarina Chemetova. As a technical advisor Catarina completed the RHP team.
Catarina will follow a training program within RHP, to master the specific knowledge about substrates. Catarina will also carry out a specific project within this process. “At RHP I will be responsible for the new research project ‘Characterisation of organic fibres’. The project must bring valuable know-how on the characterisation, predictability and impact of innovative organic fibres in the growing media industry,” Catarina explains her new job.
Along her PhD in Environmental engineering at the University of Lisbon (Portugal), she worked in the interface between stakeholders within research, industry and society. The research focused on making forestry by-products suitable as raw materials for substrates. Catarina: “I have gained a lot of experience in the laboratory and also in practice and used this knowledge within my horticultural network and other collaborations. This has given me an idea of the valuable by-products from agriculture and forestry, which can possibly be used as raw materials for horticultural substrates after processing.”
“Essential steps have already been taken towards sustainable circular horticulture: producing quality and using alternative resources, without compromising safety of growing media. At RHP, our core goal is to increase knowledge about substrates which are the basis for quality and safety. The coming years it will be mostly about the emerging organic raw materials, focused on its efficient use in future large scale application. My ambition is driven by knowledge transfer from research to industry application, with sustainability as the main pillar. To be part of the raw materials transition in the growing media industry is the resilience I always looked for. More than ever, I’m feeling aligned with the values of RHP!”
