Replacing retractable roof screens for instant light gain

A new roof system, designed for the replacement of retractable roof screens in existing greenhouses, uses new mounting plates on the panels, thus eliminating the need for sewn-on straps and hooks. “No soaking up of water and dirt, a wider material choice, and no modifications to the roof mechanism required,” Niclas Heescher with Novavert summarizes. “HS BRAVO is our cost-effective solution for any grower looking for a replacement of their existing hook-based roof screens.”

Renovation is upgrading
Being active in the North American market for decades, Niclas knows what growers are dealing with. Even greenhouses that are maintained well, roof screens will, over time, become dirty, damaged, or otherwise deteriorated. Replacing them might be worth it in terms of light and climate in the facility, but doing so can also be a challenge.

With their HS2 system, Novavert developed a retractable greenhouse where this activity is considered from the start, allowing for replacement with low labour efforts.

This way of thinking formed the basis for the development of their new line HS BRAVO, a solution to replace retractable roofs in other greenhouse systems as well. “It’s tailor-made to fit any greenhouse with at least 10 degree roof pitch.”

The HS BRAVO was soft-launched last year (Michigan and Germany) and is currently being rolled out both in California and Florida. One of the key differences with other replacement solutions is that the HS BRAVO panels utilise mounting plates attached to the top and bottom of the film, secured with two rivets. “This is not only an extremely strong connection, but also replaces the use of hooks that perforate the film,” Niclas explains. “And without any sewn-on straps, we also prevent the accumulation of water and dirt.” Additionally, the system allows for a wider range of material choices, including thicker and flame-retardant options.

Replacement process
A key point in the development of HS BRAVO has been to offer a solution that can be installed smoothly and with limited complexity, Niclas explains. “We know it is difficult and expensive to find skilled workers, and with HS BRAVO, a local team on site can carry out the work with very limited complexity. The crew will remove the existing roof panels and install so-called twin-clips on the wire bed in a 1-to-1-replacement. These clips are the connection point between the mounting plates and the wire bed and can slide within the mounting plates, which compensates for wire beds that are not 100% perfectly straight and prevents drag on the drive system.”

As the system functions without additional parts, no modification is required to the existing roof mechanism, with the aim of simplifying installation for growers and installers on site.

Closing the gap
“For all customers looking to build a new retractable greenhouse, our HS2 remains the most advanced and service-friendly solution due to drastically lower labour efforts for replacing and complete design freedom for the structure,” Niclas says. “But we also want to offer a smooth renovation process to growers using other structures like Cravo or Nexus, and the HS BRAVO is the tool to do so.”

Instant light gain
“We did not grow plants in the RRGH anymore because nothing grows in there,” is what Niclas heard from a grower whose roof screens had accumulated so much dirt on film and straps. As soon as the new HS BRAVO panel had been swapped, the difference in light gain was dramatic. “Seeing,” Niclas smiles, “is believing. Get your trial panel now!”

Novavert is offering one free trial panel per customer until the end of June. The panel is provided free of charge ex-works, with the customer responsible for shipping costs and import duties. Applicants are asked to provide the wire spacing of the existing installation and photographs of local constraints. “Any customer who is looking to replace their panels in the near future is invited to contact us by email and provide the details of the installation, first and foremost the wire spacing of the existing installation. Additional photos may be helpful to understand local constraints. As we have a wider range of materials than our competition, growers may also want to consider alternatives to the basic 280g/m² woven and coated non-FR materials covered within this special trial campaign.” Niclas concludes.

For more information:
Novavert GmbH & Co.KG
Niclas Heescher
Telephone: +49 2571 588890
www.novavert.com
[email protected]