Shropshire organic fertiliser producer celebrates anniversary after £1m investment
A Shropshire organic fertiliser producer is marking its four-year anniversary after a £1million investment - and already has plans for further expansion.
Carlos Kao and his wife Lian Lin launched Lohas Fertiliser at their site just outside of Oswestry in 2021 after investing £1million in the technology and process.
The agri-biotech business, based at West Farm, Crickheath, now produces two high-performance, carbon-negative organic fertilisers and boasts customers all over the UK, including professional growers, horticultural specialists and vineyards.
The ethos behind the business is to “support sustainable, climate-conscious agriculture and horticulture.”
The Government agency, APHA, approved its innovative process in processing ABPs and manufacturing organic fertiliser and soil improver.
Mr Kao, who employs a small team of five people at the current site and boasts a background in chemical waste recycling for the World’s largest semi-conductor producer in Taiwan before coming to the UK to study, said: “We are committed to environmental stewardship and are working extremely hard to address challenges such as nutrient runoff and river eutrophication.
“We are extremely pleased with how the business has scaled since we secured this site but this is just the start - we already have our eyes on another site to cope with the demand we are facing and will continue to be at the forefront of transforming organic waste into valuable resources for the benefit of our environment.
“We will do this by reducing river pollution, reducing ammonia emissions, creating a circular economy, lowering the greenhouse gas emissions from the supply chain, and ultimately mitigate climate change by picking up the waste and giving it a second life.
“We currently have capacity to produce four tonnes of our fertiliser in one day with a maximum of 150 tonnes a month and our sales are already reaching those levels.”
Ms Lin said their plans would involve more investment in the Shropshire economy and create more jobs in the near future.
Lohas uses patented enzyme-based fermentation technology to convert organic waste - like poultry manure - into high-quality, pathogen-free organic fertiliser within just three hours and it is odourless.
The couple said they began promoting their revolutionary technology in 2019 in Telford to help farmers add value to their agricultural by-products. Over time, they said they “came to realise our broader responsibility and mission in supporting sustainable food production”.
“Driven by this purpose, we dedicated ourselves to improving and ensuring the quality of fertiliser production. That led us to begin manufacturing organic fertiliser ourselves. This brings us to where we are now - operating from our site in Oswestry, which we established in 2021,” Ms Lin said.
The innovative technology has now been tested and evidenced through various successful InnovateUK funded projects.
The team attends exhibitions to showcase its range of products and help educate growers and farmers about the importance of the technology and process they use to produce their products and also deliver Innovate UK funded sessions to demonstrate and test their technology.
They have just returned from the Horizon Europe Brokerage visit in Poland - the EU's framework programme for research and innovation - where the duo took the opportunity to present their technology as a leader in European innovation.
The business is already collaborating with leading academic institutions and participates in government-supported initiatives like DEFRA’s Farming Innovation Programme to advance sustainable agriculture practices.
The team also works with poultry farmers across the region to support making best use of manure waste, adding value, reducing the environmental impacts from the farming practices, whilst creating new revenue for the farmers.
