Members of staff from DPD have recently returned from a visit to their parent company, ATUL Ltd., in India.

On what was a memorable visit, we were treated to a guided tour around the brand new laboratory and nursery facilities at the ATUL Rajasthan Project. Created by a joint venture between ATUL and the Rajasthan government in Jodhpur, DPD staff were highly impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm of all involved with the project.

We went onto visit ATUL’s nursery at the ATUL main campus in Gujarat. This is where we were able to see DPD plants, which had been shipped directly from the UK, growing on for sale to India’s farmers. Our primary hardened plants are replanted and grown to the 1-2 pinnate leaf stage in the nursery, ready for farmers to plant. We were very impressed by the comprehensive pre and after sales service offered by ATUL to local customers, which included field preparation assistance, planting advice and classroom instruction, conducted by well qualified engineers.

The modern and well managed facilities at both sites were a tribute to the commitment ATUL are undertaking with their date palm projects in India.

We would like to thank everyone who made us feel so welcome in India and pass on our congratulations to all the staff involved for the fantastic work currently being undertaken at ATUL.

 DPD have recently returned from their first ever participation at the 3^rd Salon International des Dattes du Maroc in Erfoud, Morocco. In partnership with ATUL Ltd, DPD had an exhibition stand at the event to display the different projects that DPD and ATUL currently have and to promote awareness of date palm production in the UK and India. In what was a very successful exhibition, DPD would like to thank everyone who helped organise the event and all the people that made us feel so welcome in Morocco. We give special thanks to ANDZOA, who gave us the opportunity to participate and ensured all our needs were catered for beyond our expectations. We hope that we will be able to return for next year’s exhibition and continue to grow DPD’s reputation across Morocco.

During the autumn of 2011, Date Palm Developments (DPD) was approached by the EDT  (Engineering Development Trust) project to sponsor a local school, The Blue School, Wells, in a science and engineering project.

An independent registered charity, established in 1984, the EDT runs schemes to inspire and motivate young people to choose a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

EDT’s STEM scheme encourages work related learning for 11 to 21 year-olds, to enhance their technical, personal and employability skills through industry-led projects, industrial placements and specialised courses. In this instance DPD became involved with the Engineering Education Scheme (England and Scotland) in a 6-month STEM project for four 16-17 year old students, chosen by their school.

For many years, DPD has been recognised by the ‘torpedo’ style pots used for growing and shipping their tissue culture date palm plants. With DPD always looking to research and improve all aspects of their Date Palm production, the EDT project provided the perfect opportunity to study potential pot improvements, whilst creating an excellent project for the students.

With the able and enthusiastic support of our systems support engineer Peter Duncan and the assistance of senior management of the local Avalon Plastics company, DPD agreed to sponsor 4 pupils from Wells Blue Secondary School, to design a plant pot and carrier tray for the culture of our date palm plants.

DPD provided the initial design brief, including consideration of the requirements for optimal plant growth, the economics of space utilisation, packing volume, weight, cost of manufacture and the ergonomics/requirements of manual handling.

At a workshop hosted by the City of Bristol College’s Engineering Department, the project progressed to the design of 4 possible styles of pot from which one would be selected for a prototype to be constructed. With input and fine-tuning from DPD in the selection process, the design of pot and carrying tray was finalised. The students were able to experience and make use of the latest computer aided design programmes and expert tuition from the College engineering staff, culminating in the production of a prototype using a state of the art 3D printing facility.

The pots will be manufactured from polypropylene using injection moulding. Using the final design drawings created by the students, moulding tools can be created for the plant pot and carrier tray. We are currently consulting with a local company, Avalon Plastics, who are providing advice on this concept and the final manufacturing procedure. If feasible and economical, DPD could then be supplied locally, with a product that fits its requirements. The 4 pupils would have fulfilled their project goals, gained invaluable experience in a practical, commercial design and manufacturing project and reached a very satisfactory conclusion for all parties concerned.

The above photograph shows the four students, their teacher and our systems support engineer together at the EDT celebration day held in Bristol at the beginning of May. One of DPD’s directors, Mr. Shailesh Pandya (Atul Europe) was invited to be on the panel of assessors for the 27 schools who entered from the South West of England, where he gained insight into some the latest engineering design and technology development programs from leading UK manufacturers.

Welcome!

This new website for D.P.D. Ltd. was initially launched today. Please take a look through our site and contact us for more detail. We will be adding new content over the next few weeks so please come back soon for the latest additions.

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