Chempak

[Peter]

The parent company of this well-known fertiliser firm went into liquidation last November. However there has apparently been a management buyout of the section that is of most interest to us, particularly with regard to the mentions of their products in Dr Allcock's excellent articles (Notes on general cultivation) in recent editions of Cactus World.

Their website has a message that it is under construction at present and gives an email address. That stated, I used it a few days ago to query whether they could recommend a hose feeder attachment for their products and if they produced a larger pack size than the small boxes that many of us are familiar with. To date I have had no response.

My interest lies mainly in testing the balanced formulation (Chempak No 3) against the reduced nitrogen formula used to date.

[Tony R]

Peter,

The management buy-out of 26th Nov didn't quite work out, but the good news is that Thompson & Morgan have bought the bits that matter and will be relaunching "Chempak" fertilisers soon.

Here is an excerpt from a press release last month:

John Richardson, managing director of Chempak's parent company Pre-Packed Products, undertook a management buyout of Chempak in late 2009. Pre-Packed Products went into liquidation but the Chempak and mail order business Garden Direct were saved.

T&M has bought Chempak from Richardson for an undisclosed sum after being in negotiations for several months, while Richardson continues to operate Garden Direct. T&M hope to generate jobs but have not bought any offices or factories and say much of Chempak's production is currently outsourced.

A T&M representative said: "We're growing ever such as lot at the moment and weathering the storm in the recession and the Chempak brand is really well aligned with our exisiting range."

The Chempak range includes 35 products from general-purpose fertilisers and plant foods to specialist products for roses, fuchsias, orchids, cut flowers, indoor plants and tomatoes.

Chemist and gardener Bill Richardson started the business in his garage in 1967.

T&M is conducting a review of the product range and plans to continue with the majority of products and to expand the range further.

Plans to expand the availability of Chempak products through an "exclusive number of leading independent garden centres" are underway.

T&M chief executive John May said: "We are planning for a 2010 launch of Chempak under T&M ownership. The plans include increased distribution thanks to one of the most experienced sales forces in the UK and to update and renew the range, ensuring its continued development and evolution.

"Chempak is a brand that will sit well alongside existing T&M products and we look forward to introducing our customers to the benefits of the excellent feeds and fertilisers in the Chempak range.

"We're really pleased to be able to offer the Chempak range of affordable and effective plant and vegetable enhancing products."

The Ipswich tel. no. on the "Chempak website - coming soon" is T&M's head office in Ipswich.

Hope that helps,

[Geoff Lovell]

This is of great interest to me as I have used Chempak and only Chempak for all of my plants and have never needed to go elsewhere.
Incidentally, you don't pay for water with Chempak unlike others.
I buy it from my local horticultural society and may just buy a few more packs in case it goes pear shaped.
I have noticed how expensive it has been of late and wonder what the expensive component is?.
Who knows when T&M get hold of it I am sure the price will go up.
Thanks for alerting us Peter, and thanks for the update Tony.

[Lindsey]

Thanks for supplying info on this thread.
I had wondered why I couldn't buy Chempak recently, my plants seem to be OK on Vitax but the powder smells a bit odd to me , Chempak was odourless.
I'll "watch this space"...

[Herts Mike]

I'm with Lindsey there. Been struggling to find it lately. I use all their range both in the greenhouse and on vegetables.

Mike.

[Tony R]

All,

If you want more information on fertilisers for succulents, then I commend to you an article on Richard Hodgkiss' excellent Succulent Plant website:

http://www.succulent-plant.com/fertiliser.html

Last year when I ran out of my preferred Chempak No. 8, I switched to Phostrogen mainly on grounds of price (NB Wilkinsons last year sold off their stock at half price at the end of the "growing season" (Aug-Sept) - I got a dozen 800g boxes of Phostrogen at £1.60 each from my local store, just enough for this year's feeding, I think!).

We'll see if T&M decide to compete with Bayer's Phostrogen when they "relaunch" Chempak.

Regards,

[Bill H]

Hi! Tony,

Thanks.

I have never seen Chempack for sale in my neck of the woods.

I get regular email from T&M and I will watch out for it.

In the meantime I am going to give Tomorite and Miracle Grow a try since I have already bought them.