Bosses at Bradford-based Urban Planters are always looking for something new.

The specialist business, based in Pasture Lane, Clayton, started the year by launching its Reflections range of stainless steel containers.

The planters, designed by David Marrison, Ian McCulloch and Thomas Palfreyman, are produced in the UK and are suitable for interior and exterior use.

Also new is a selection of quality artificial flowers from Indonesia aimed at office receptions and boardrooms.

The firm has plants and trees in a wide variety of locations including call centres and office blocks.

The company is headed by husband and wife team David and Ray Marrison who are pushing for better training in the landscape industry. The group has been involved in talks with Government Ministers on how to raise standards in the industry.

The company has always been noted for its staff training and development. The company also has Investors in People and the ISO 9000 quality standards.

The firm's top achievers had their own success recognised at an awards ceremony at the annual dinner dance. The ceremony, introduced for the first time, saw operations manager Denise Price honoured for making the most significant contribution in 1999.

Presenting the award, Colin Glass, Urban Planters' non-executive director and senior partner in Leeds chartered accountants Wimburne Glass Norfolk, said that Denise had been nominated for her dedication and for her skills in customer retention and team leadership.

Other award winners were: Highest Group Sales (rental & maintenance) - sales director Ian McCulloch; Highest Group Sales (installation) - David Marrison; Highest Franchisee Sales (rental & maintenance) - Ary Saaman and Sheena Malhotra; Highest Franchisee Sales (installation) - Thomas Palfreyman.

Accounts administrator Gaynor Kehoe celebrated becoming a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians and six franchisees were awarded their NVQ certificates in Amenity Horticulture.

The firm is keen on raising charity cash and proceeds of a raffle held during the dinner dance were donated to Candlelighters, a Yorkshire charity which supports children with cancer.

Staff were also involved in raising £10,500 for the When You Wish Upon A Star charity at a 50-metre aerial slide at Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre last year. The charity grants the wishes of terminally-ill children.

The company, which was started by David Marrison's parents in 1965, has achieved a massive 250 per cent increase in group sales since the launch of its franchise division four years ago.

Mr Marrison said: "Opportunities have been spread across the company's national network, proving that franchising has been a successful business formula."

The firm now has 11 branches in the form of franchised businesses around the UK and is the fastest-growing business in the interior landscape sector.

The branches are in Bradford, London central, west and south, Oxfordshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Reading, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The interior landscape company, which in 1999 had group sales in excess of £2 million, has already had an outstanding start towards achieving this year's sales targets including a major contract in Southern Ireland.

David Marrison is a great believer in the therapeutic value of having plants in offices and stores. His view is backed by research which shows that plants bring healthy benefits as well as making their surroundings more attractive. There is

evidence that plants 'scrub' the air, absorbing some of the harmful toxins given off by office equipment and synthetic

materials.

Professor Nigel Bell, professor of environmental pollution at London's Imperial College of Science, said: "Plants help people to relax, both in the workplace and at home and there is no doubt that they are capable of removing toxins from the air.

"They are also another living organism in the office which we can relate to on many levels. We like living things and we need to nurture them. They benefit us from just being there.''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.