About Us

background

Upcycled Plant Power (UPP) are a start-up company founded in 2022.

Co-founded by Pollybell Farms, UPP was formed to specifically address the issue of maximising the value of crop biomass towards 100% crop utilisation.

Working with Agri-EPI Centre, for their agri-tech development and deployment expertise, and The James Hutton Institute, for their physiology and biochemistry expertise, UPP aims to develop, test and validate a sustainable (low C-footprint) and safe, crop biomass-to-food grade nutrients platform.

UPP is proudly nestled within the prestigious Harper Adams University, renowned for its excellence in agricultural education. In addition, we are closely affiliated with Agri-EPI Centre, a distinguished company passionately committed to propelling the advancement of UK agriculture. Our adept team possesses substantial knowledge and hands-on experience in dairy farming and agricultural machinery, affirming our dedication to driving progress within the heart of British agriculture.

The agricultural industry is already experiencing a ground-breaking shift in farming practices. UPP is at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging innovative technology to boost yields, enhance profits, and minimise both labour and unnecessary waste for broccoli farmers. What makes this endeavour even more exciting is UPP's integration of a sustainable food side stream, furthering the commitment to eco-friendly and efficient farming.

If you feel our vision and values align with your farming future, please contact UPP about how we can work together.

What We Do

Our team is developing an AI autonomous harvester to replace current manual harvesting practices. Our harvester would gather essential crop side streams, which will be transported to our specially designed mobile units for processing into valuable protein, fibre, and sugar ingredients. We will then supply these ingredients to food manufacturers for use in their products.

Meet the Team

Mark Evans

CEO
Mark is an entrepreneurial executive and leader with a finance background, general management experience and international exposure.
His experience is in fast-moving technology businesses, from pre-revenue start-ups to multi-national companies within 3 NYSE, 2 NASDAQ and 5 VC backed organisations.

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Joe Sanderson

INNOVATION LEAD
Joe spearheads ingredient innovation, leveraging two decades of invaluable experience in product development within the food industry. His expertise has played a pivotal role in orchestrating groundbreaking product launches featured across prominent UK retailers and brands.
Email: joe.sanderson@upp.farm

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Martin Stace

CHIEF ENGINEER
Martin leads the harvester development team and brings 30 years of mechanical engineering experience in a wide range of engineering sectors to UPP.
Email: martin.stace@upp.farm

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Has Rathnayake

PRINCIPAL MECHATRONICS ENGINEER
BTech (mechatronics) qualified with an MBA from University of Suffolk with over 9 years of experience in automation solutions. Design control systems for electromechanical machinery, material handling solutions and packaging machinery are the major areas of expertise.
Email: has@upp.farm

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James Drewnicki

SENIOR DESIGN ENGINEER (MECHANICAL)
MSc qualified, Chartered and incredibly adaptable Mechanical Engineer from the University of Manchester with over 10 years of experience working within multi-disciplinary engineering teams delivering products to the market from a blank sheet through to production.
Email: james.drewnicki@upp.farm

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Mark Thackwray

DESIGN ENGINEER (MECHANICAL)
With a BEng Engineering Design (Staffordshire University) and HND Mechanical Engineering (Harper Adams) and being able to adapt years of experience in agricultural machinery design & manufacture, on farm equipment and farming practice, Mark is responsible for bringing quality engineered solutions to the team.
Email: mark.thackwray@upp.farm

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Matthew Dingle

DESIGN ENGINEER (MECHANICAL)
With an MEng from Loughborough University, a background in mechanical and powertrains engineering, Matthew is part of the team responsible for the design and development of the harvesting and processing machines. He hopes to apply his agricultural background and extensive practical experience to the project.
Email: matthew.dingle@upp.farm

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Rhys Brown

ROBOTIC ENGINEER
MEng qualified with Plymouth University with multiple awards. Experienced in embedded systems, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and PCB design.
Email: rhys.brown@upp.farm

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