PHC.L Regulatory News (PHC)

31 Jan 2005 07:04

Plant Health Care PLC31 January 2005 For immediate release: 31 January 2005 PHC wins Moscow tree care trial Plant Health Care plc ("PHC" or the "Company"), a leading provider of naturalproducts for plants and soil, has been invited by the City of Moscow authoritiesto tackle its tree survival rate problem. Plant Health Care BV, the Dutch subsidiary of PHC plc, has been awarded a12-month contract by the Dutch Ministry of Economics in collaboration with theCity of Moscow to undertake a study and develop a plan aimed at combating treeloss in Moscow. The contract was awarded on a joint venture basis and PHC willbe working with two other Dutch companies and Wageningen University. Under theterms of the contract PHC has received €120,000 from the Dutch Ministry toundertake the study. As in most large cities, trees in Moscow suffer greatly from the combination ofair pollution, de-icing salts and limited organic matter in the soil. Keepingtrees alive is considered an urban 'quality of life factor' and requiresconsiderable resources. Over the past few years the City of Moscow has been executing a majortree-planting project with 60,000 young trees planted annually. Unfortunately,some 80% of the trees died within one year, primarily because of poor plantingsites, deficient soil and poor environmental conditions. The City of Moscow intends to spend €1.5 million on tree planting and soilimprovement over the next five years. Subject to the outcome of the 12 monthcontract and evaluation this may lead to an ongoing relationship with the Cityof Moscow from which PHC may be in a position to claim a reasonably significantportion of the City of Moscow's indicative spend. Pius Floris Managing Director of PHC's Netherlands subsidiary and leader of theMoscow programme, stated: "By adding Plant Health Care's mycorrhizal fungalspores and soil bacteria into the planting holes, planting losses can be reducedfrom 80% to 2-4%. This represents considerable monetary and environmentalsavings to the City of Moscow." John Brady, CEO of Plant Health Care plc said: "Worldwide research and fieldstudies have shown that when PHC's mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria are addedto the root system of trees they develop a very high salt resistance and theirhealth improves dramatically. New York City Parks have been a customer of oursfor some time and trials are ongoing in London and we are confident that theresults from this challenging assignment in Moscow will trigger the interest ofother cities worldwide that have similar problems, and create a large potentialmarket for our products and technology." For further information: Plant Health Care plc Tavistock CommunicationsJohn Brady, CEO Jeremy Carey/Katy PrattTel: 001 603 525 3702 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Email: kpratt@tavistock.co.uk Notes to Editors The solution consists of the following elements: • Establishment of composting plants for organic waste from the city parks • Application of compost mixed with native soil in new planting holes • Addition of PHC mycorrhizae and sufficient amounts of soil bacteria to the soil • Education of the staff of Moscow's planting programme in nursery and planting practices Background on the importance of 'urban forestation' International research has shown that even the smallest particles (primarilyfrom car emissions) can be absorbed by city tree leaves. Fine particles areconsidered to be a key cause of lung problems affecting city inhabitants. Withrain, the particles end up in the sewage system, leaving a clean tree thatstarts the air-purification process all over again. The only requirement thattrees have is that they are able to grow in a healthy soil. Most urban trees donot grow in a natural setting and often lack water, minerals and biologicalconditions that are necessary to fulfil their functions properly. Plant HealthCare aims to improve trees living conditions so that they are both healthy andaesthetically pleasing and capable of performing this important purificationprocess. About Plant Health Care Plant Health Care plc (PHC) is a leading provider of natural products for plantsand soil. Established in 1995 in Pittsburgh, PA, PHC currently has approximately60 employees and has operations in the U.S., Mexico, the United Kingdom and theNetherlands with technical support in Austria. The Group has two principaloperating subsidiaries in the U.S. - PHC Inc., (PA) and PHC Reclamation. TheCompany listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in July 2004. PHC's products are aimed at the horticulture, agriculture, turf grass,commercial landscaping, forestry and land reclamation industries and areenvironmentally beneficial and on the whole, more cost effective than solelyusing synthetic chemicals. Through the commercialization of these products, PHCis capitalizing on current long-term trends toward natural systems andbiological products for plant care and soil and water management uses. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange