A growing Moray firm has completed its biggest contract to date, building the world’s largest floating riverbank in France.
Forres-based Biomatrix Water transformed a drab stretch of inner-city canal in Rennes with its ecosystem platforms that offer plants and animals a place to live on urban waterways.
The project is the latest international venture for the company, which has worked in China, Manila, Brazil and India and has also been creating modules for a mile-long floating park in the US city of Chicago.
Founded by Michael Shaw, Galen Fulford and Lisa Shaw in 2000, the business aims to build on its success by increasing its full-time workforce from eight to 13 over the next two years. It has seen its turnover rise from ÂŁ117,000 to ÂŁ500,000 since 2013 and is aiming to more than treble that to ÂŁ1.6 million by 2020.
Managing director, Mr Fulford, said: “We have had a very successful year, working hard to innovate and improve our products and expand into European markets to help create a movement of Living Water Cities. This summer, we installed our biggest project yet; the world’s largest floating riverbank in an inner-city canal in Rennes, France.
“We had the opportunity here to implement our newest product – a floating planter for shrubs and small trees, and to create a system that could withstand high water flows in a dynamic river environment.”
Biomatrix has received support from development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for its endeavours.