MIKO N.V. 
By Miko Coffee is delighted to announce the naming of an orchid in honour of their Puro brand of Fairtrade coffees. International conservation charity the World Land Trust (WLT) organised the scientific naming process in recognition of Puro’s on-going support and donations to their land purchase projects. Since its launch in 2006, Miko has pledged to donate 2 % of Puro sales to WLT and this partnership has enabled the funding and creation of a 5,330 acre rainforest reserve in Ecuador, and now a further one in Brazil.
Whilst trekking within the Puro Rainforest Reserve in November 2007, a representative from Puro together with Dr. Lou Jost, a world-renowned botanist, discovered a new tree species. This tree was later named Blakea attenboroughii after Sir David Attenborough (a patron of WLT) in celebration of his lifetime effort in matters relating to land and wildlife conservation.A series of other discoveries have since been made, and several new orchid species and 1 new frog species – all previously unknown to science – have been recorded within the Puro reserve. One of these orchids has been officially named Teagueia puroana in honour of Puro. Dr. Lou Jost has stated that the Teagueia puroana orchid is a member of one of the most remarkable plant radiations in the world, and that “the Puro reserve is proving to be a real treasure-trove of biodiversity”.For centuries the scientific naming of species has traditionally been used to recognise contributions to biology and Miko is thrilled to have both their Puro Fairtrade brand and worldwide client base (whose purchases make this all possible) honoured in such a way by the WLT and community of scientists.ABOUT MIKOMiko has been active in coffee service for over 200 years and in plastic packaging for some 35 years now, and was floated on Euronext Brussels in 1998. Miko follows a “two-pillar strategy” in which its core activities – coffee service and plastic packaging – are practically independent entities each with its own management, so that each activity can follow its own growth path. The group employs 641 people and achieved a turnover of EUR 117.8 million in 2010. The plastic packaging division accounted for 50.1 % of this total. The remaining 49.9 % was provided by the coffee service division. It is an international group which owns companies in Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Australia.ENDNote for editors:For further information, please contact Frans Van Tilborg, tel. +32 (0)14 46.27.70. After 4.30 p.m. CEST: (mobile: Frans Van Tilborg) +32 (0)495 59.12.77.
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Miko websites: www.miko.eu www.purocoffee.com www.coffeerecycling.eu
