Colne engineering firm reaches major milestone with innovative greenhouse technology

A Colne engineering company has reached a significant milestone in the development of an innovative new greenhouse system that could change the way commercial growers control growing conditions.

NP Structures has successfully completed more than 2,500 opening and closing cycles on its constant-tension roll-off roof greenhouse during development and testing at the company's Lancashire headquarters.

The technology has been designed and engineered entirely in-house by the NP Structures team and is now progressing towards its first commercial installation.

Unlike conventional roll-off roof systems, the new design can stop at any point during operation while maintaining constant tension across the greenhouse cover. This allows growers to make precise adjustments to ventilation, helping create more stable growing environments.

The development programme has involved months of engineering refinement, with thousands of test movements helping the team optimise every aspect of the mechanism.

George Shaw, Design Lead at NP Structures, said: "One of the biggest engineering challenges was perfecting the relationship between roof movement and cover tension. Achieving smooth, reliable operation required extensive testing and refinement, but reaching more than 2,500 successful cycles gives us real confidence as we move towards our first commercial installation."

A key part of the project has been the development of a custom aluminium drive tube, designed by the team to improve strength, reduce cover creasing and increase the lifespan of the greenhouse covering.

Alex Cowland, marketing manager at NP Structures, said: "It's fantastic to see a project that's been developed here in Colne reach such an important milestone. This has been a genuine team effort involving design, engineering and manufacturing, and we're excited to be taking the next step towards commercial deployment."

The company, which manufactures commercial polytunnels and protected growing structures from its Lancashire base, supplies customers across the UK and internationally.

As the project moves towards its first commercial installation, the successful completion of more than 2,500 test cycles marks another important step in bringing the new technology to growers.