DEFINING A DECADE
10 YEARS ON – HENRY MADDERS
In early 2014 we interviewed Henry Madders , Managing Director of local family business Citadel Environmental Solutions .
The firm which operates out of Grittleton near Chippenham manufactures and distributes Biocat +. This innovative product harnesses the power of bio-stimulants and bacteriophages (‘ phages ’), to optimise plant performance and sustainably boost crop productivity , reducing reliance on conventional fertilizers and chemicals . We reconnect with Henry to delve into his journey over the last decade , exploring the significant changes that have reshaped his business …
How has Citadel Environmental Solutions evolved since we last spoke to you ? In the last 10 years , we ’ ve been doing a lot of research and development at a place called the John Innes Centre in Norwich , which is a Government-funded institution that works on agricultural technologies . We ’ ve also been working with Team Ag , which has involved trials , tests and data analysis relating to our product and how it works .
But perhaps most significantly , we ’ ve also managed to condense our product into a concentrate . Previously ( per hectare ) you would have needed 20,000 litres of Biocat + – but now you only need two litres !
This is better for the environment and is also more economically viable for farmers who can just put our concentrate product into their spraying systems .
Moreover , the concentrate has enabled us to go from not only working in the horticultural industry but also in the agricultural industry . So , it ' s opened huge opportunities for us .
What else has changed ? Originally , we needed to brew our bio-stimulant onsite wherever we were dosing it . We would need to invest say £ 5,000 into a bit of kit to put on to a customer ’ s farm to make the product , but now we make it all in our factory in the UK and we can ship it all around the country very economically . This means that instead of less than one per cent of the market being able to access our product , the whole market can now access it .
We ’ ve also gone more down the Horti / Agri route in the last few years and have now got a new website - cb-biostimulant . com - dedicated to it . Meanwhile , Citadel-biocat . com handles the livestock / AD / wastewater treatment side of things .
What ’ s remained the same ? Not much ! We ’ re still getting the same great results - and I ’ m still here ! Apart from that the whole company has pretty much changed .
What ’ s been the main barrier for growth ? Education around the subject and igniting change . It ' s always hard to get people to change from a product that they are used to but bio-stimulants really are the future . The traditional chemicals used in farming are not particularly good . You never truly own the land , you are the custodian of it , and we must do all that we can to preserve its health for future generations .
What ’ s been the biggest challenge ? In the last ten years , we ' ve been bubbling along quite nicely but no one was really prepared to talk about bio-stimulants . But now they are very much a focal point of farming and arable land , so I think the biggest challenge has been making sure that people reciprocate by sharing and using this sort of information .
What have been the key lessons you ’ ve learnt ? We ’ ve always seen that our product visually can increase the yield , but it ’ s been interesting to see what goes on beneath the ground in the soil structure and the root systems . The biggest learnings have come from our partnership with the John Innes Centre which has enabled us to understand what makes a plant grow bigger and healthier . Also learning about the bacterial phages has been fascinating - the world would be covered in slime if we didn ’ t have them , so they are a phenomenal species !
Given that you trade internationally , how did Covid and Brexit affect the business ? During Covid , I couldn ’ t travel and see farmers because people weren ’ t keen on meeting face-to-face . It also had a massive impact on growing the business overseas .
In terms of Brexit , it ' s probably assisted us if anything , because of the changes to the area based support subsidies that farmers used to rely on . Things have now pivoted to enhance the environmental focus on land management and farmers are now having to go out and find alternative products to help them become more profitable .
There are many different facets to your business including supply chain and materials etc . Has the war in Ukraine had an impact on any of this ? At the John Innes Centre , we ’ ve learnt that we can reduce the amount of nitrogen farmers need to put on their land , because the phages enable the soil to encapsulate the nitrogen and then slow release the nitrate into the crop . With the price of fertilizer going through the roof because of the Ukraine War , our product could benefit farmers moving forward , and therefore us as well .
Has the government ’ s Build Back Greener agenda impacted the business ? Biocat + enables the soil to get rid of all its bad bacteria , so it will only assist rural life in getting back to its natural state without having to rely on chemicals . Ultimately , the green agenda will be a positive thing for us , especially when concerning water . If we can reduce the amount of nitrogen being used by 25 per cent ( 60 per cent of it either evaporates or gets washed into the waterways !) then that would have a huge impact on the environment and air quality .
Where do you see Citadel a decade from now ? We would like to organically grow the business over the next ten years to have a significant share in the bio-stimulant sectors of both the Agri and Horti UK markets .
Connect with Henry on LinkedIn or email : henry @ citadel-biocat . com
For more info : www . citadel-biocat . com
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