Aluminium profiles are the obvious choice when you build a greenhouse. Profiles – because they can be formed exactly to your needs. Aluminium – because it contributes with, among other things, corrosion resistance and low weight. They know it at Grönsta.nop. The company has a long tradition of using profiles.
Grönsta.nop designs and builds gardening centres and greenhouses for professional cultivators. We are talking to Nils-Ola Pettersson. He is the Managing Director and responsible for product development and design.
- It was my father who started a greenhouse building company back in the 1960-ties. In 1973 he started using aluminium profiles, so it is by no means a new material for us. I have only 25 years of experience myself.
 |
 |
|
Greenhouses are built of 3.20 m wide sections. The standard roof-ridge height is 6 m. |
The Plant Kingdom gardening centre in Strömstad. |
Grönsta’s solutions – all-the-year-round greenhouses, cultivation greenhouses and gardening centres – are custom-built using about 60 different profiles. They include transoms for roofs and walls, profiles for roof-ridges, eaves, bases, ventilation windows, doors and much more.
- One of the unique advantages of aluminium profiles is the fact that we can integrate several different functions in a single profile. This simplifies the assembly process when we build our different solutions.
Grönsta keeps its own stock of the different “Greenhouse Meccano” components.
- It happened that we ran out of some parts and then it was Sapa who helped us out with fast deliveries. They are always willing to help.
With so many profiles in stock it is, of course, important to try to rationalize and reduce the number of articles.
 |
|
Profile drawing. |
- The standard covering material for an all-the-year-round greenhouse consists of 10 or 16 mm thick polycarbonate panels. Earlier, we needed two different transom solutions, one for each panel thickness. But Sapa’s technicians visited us and we solved the problem together. The “lock” consists of a springing profile which we tighten with a screw to the bottom profile. The only thing we need to do is to use a different screw length depending on the panel thickness.
- The bottom profile offers several advantages. It forms a “cup” which takes care of any leaking water and condensate. It has special screw ports and bolt grooves.
- Sapa’s expertise became evident also in other ways: The screws, with which we fasten the profile to the base, can be tightened with driver bits. Sapa’s technicians have made sure that there is enough space for this. It is difficult to think about such things yourself. There is a neoprene rubber strip between the profile and the panel. Sapa has designed the profile in such a way that we can use standard strips. Sapa’s numerous contributions to our product development process are valuable.
 |
|
Reconstruction with white painted profiles. |
When Grönsta renovates old greenhouses, its customers get another positive surprise. The old aluminium profiles do not have to be thrown away. Scrap merchants pay a good price for aluminium. The metal can be easily recycled with a minimum environmental impact and a very moderate energy input. What can be more suitable for a greenhouse than the green metal?
Text: lg.linden/text