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8 edition, Summer 2016
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Foreword Brexit has forced us all to face up to some hard facts. Every day there are surprises, unexpected events and new challenges. For our company, the outcome of the referendum is a setback. Without doubt, there will be many questions about future trade relations with the UK and the conditions that businesses will have to meet. Our preference is a large stable market with free movement of people, services and goods. This allows us to do business properly and efficiently in the EU, and with many trading partners throughout the EU. It means the environment is competitive, which forces you to provide the best products and services every day. In the long-term, protecting markets with trade barriers and customs duties only serves to create inward-looking markets with lazy companies.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER Foreword Interview with Alain Katzenhofer of Gysi+Berglas AG Innovation: growing in tropical climates VDH builds 8.9 ha in the Netherlands 250,000 m² ModulAIR greenhouses in France Once again, VDH guarantees quality and safety
Peter Spaans, Director
Third phase Solar projects in Southern France Trade fairs
Interview with Alain Katzenhofer of Gysi+Berglas AG 1. How long has the company been around, partners, employees? Gysi+Berglas has been an established company for more than hundred years. In 1910, Gysi built the first greenhouse at the Pestalozzi Foundation in Switzerland, and we’ve been in the greenhouse business ever since. Besides our own greenhouse system, we partner with a few manufacturers of Venlo and Plastic greenhouses. In the case of Van der Hoeven, we have had a partnership with them for more than 25 Years. 2. How many people do you have working for the company? We have just over 30 employees. One of our strengths is our HVAC R&D Department. Meanwhile, we do complex climatic studies even in international markets. This a unique competence that sets us aside, even in an international setting. Another one of our strengths is the turn-key solution: the delivery of an entire working installation from one supplier, which has become more common in the last few years. 3. How long have you been working with Van der Hoeven? Allow me to take a step back in history. Decades ago, the owners of Gysi+Berglas, the brothers Berglas, had a vision in which they wanted to form a collaboration with a Dutch Venlo manufacturer. Fortunately, we started a partnership with Van der Hoeven 25 years ago. Initially, dealing with Venlo greenhouses was frowned upon (sorry for that!), which was also true of plastics. But in the end, this partnership has been a significant success factor in enabling our company to attain a strong position in the Swiss market. 4. What did you think of the collaboration with Van der Hoeven during the projects you built with them? Van der Hoeven is a very professional company. To me, they behave as the benchmark for how a greenhouse manufacturer has to be. Competent, fast, available, and let’s not to forget, it’s an amicable relationship when working with Van der Hoeven.
5. What type of greenhouses do you build most of the time? What do you think of the greenhouses, is there anything you would like to emphasize? We divide the greenhouse market into three segments: Production, Garden Centers and R&D applications for pharmaceutical or government applications. And the market is actually pretty well-balanced between the segments. In the case of production, we mainly build Venlo greenhouses. Right now we have an exciting project for a small closed greenhouse at a university; this will be our first ModulAir greenhouse.
Personnel changes
INNOVATION Solution for growing in tropical climates At our stand at the GreenTech show, we had a demonstration of our latest innovation for growing in tropical climates. The system, also called Hygroscopic Adiabatic Cooling (HACo), is a great solution for growing in tropical climates. To learn more about this innovation click on the leaflet below.
6. Why did you choose Van der Hoeven for your previous projects? That’s an easy one! In general, it’s impressive how innovative Van der Hoeven is. The ModulAir system, integrated Photovoltaic, and the Sundrop Project are showing that a greenhouse is not simply a greenhouse. For our projects, we appreciate working with Van der Hoeven because of their excellent project management. We are further impressed that, considering the size of Van der Hoeven, they are still able to offer the customer a certain amount of customization. To work with Van der Hoeven is simple, pleasant and ultimately successful. 7. What is the company’s ambition for the next 5 years? The market is changing, challenges are becoming bigger; we’re undergoing change as well. The goal is to retain our position in the Swiss market and reinforce our strengths. Our R&D Department will be extended to meet market demands. Another goal is to retain our key accounts and provide them with first class service. The challenge is to fulfill or even excel the customer’s expectations.
Address: J.M. van der Hoeven B.V. Postbus 5115 2600 GC Delft, The Netherlands Visiting Address: Vrij- Harnasch 124 2635 BZ Den Hoorn, The Netherlands
Van der Hoeven is building 8.9 hectares on Dutch soil 89,835 m², Greenhouse and Heating, Andijk, the Netherlands, peppers After a number of lean years in the Netherlands in which did not build a great deal, we are now working on a lovely project for the Rainbow Group. Rainbow has an existing business in the northern tip of North Holland (Andijk). This 10-hectare company was established in 2009 and was already well-prepared for expansion. During the course of 2015, the local Rainbow team decided that it was time to grow. Phase 2 must deliver all the properties required to grow peppers qualitatively. The existing greenhouse already possessed these properties, so it was logical to simply build the same greenhouse type: the Venlo 12.80 trellis. One difference being that the current greenhouses have lighting, which was not chosen for phase 2. The reason for this is that two planting dates can be worked with, which provides working and production diversification. Van der Hoeven was contacted. Were the plans achievable? This question was directed towards the time-scale, and the clock had already started ticking. For Van der Hoeven, a company well-known for its outstanding project management, this was not a problem. In the meantime, the project has started and we are happy to be building on Dutch soil once again.
Collaboration with HortiNed yields 250,000 m² ModulAIR in France The collaboration between Van der Hoeven and HortiNed, which began in 2013, is starting to bear fruit. Currently, 250,000 m² of ModulAIR greenhouses are under construction, including a CATE research station, with various climate solutions and the nice project called Binda, which is situated in the Marmande region. The fact that this collaboration has allowed to work deeper in the French market is just one of those fruits. What is also important is the fact that ModulAIR is a product in development. In the last couple of years, a few things have been optimised in areas such as light, efficiency of the fans and integration of the components. Most of the projects are located in the South of France, from the Bordeaux region going further South, but we are also working to find an appropriate solution for the market in Brittany. This region is requesting different solutions, which we are looking into with a number of customers. Here, environmentally-friendly cultivation, pesticide-free cultivation, energy efficiency and higher production outputs play a role in finding the best solution. We expect to be able to achieve the first project next year. Besides ModulAIR greenhouses, HortiNed and Van der Hoeven are building a lot of traditional greenhouses in France as well, for example projects Brothier and Conan.
Trade Fairs - Growtech Eurasia 30 November - 3 December 2016 Antalya Expo Centre, Turkey
- Fruit Logistica 8 - 10 February 2017 Messe Berlin, Germany
Successful second edition of GreenTech We can look back with satisfaction at the second edition of Greentech that took place in Amsterdam a few weeks ago. We would like to thank you for your visit, and we hope that it was a successful exhibition for you.
Vacancies at Van der Hoeven Van der Hoeven currently has the following vacancies: - Engineering Manager - Assistant for our shipping department
Once again, VDH guarantees quality and safety Quality and Safety are two terms that have become a household name worldwide. But what do these terms mean? Generally these terms are used to establish agreements, both internally with employees and externally with customers. To guarantee these agreements, a management system is used. For most sectors, these "management systems" are established in a handbook and assessed according to a norm or standard. For Van der Hoeven, these norms are EN 1090, BRL 8000 and OHSAS 18001. A certificate is issued and managed for each norm. EN 1090 is the European norm for the manufacture of steel structures in accordance with the European Regulation, Conformité Européenne (CE). BRL 8000 is the Dutch norm for greenhouse quality systems. OHSAS 18001 is the international norm for safety regardless of the industry. If, during audits, significant abnormalities are found, there is a risk that the certificate will be revoked. Recently, Van der Hoeven had a number of surveillance audits for the three norms described previously.
The purpose of these audits is to assess whether Van der Hoeven's working method is still in accordance with the agreed management systems that have been set out in the Manual. We passed, and all our certificates have been renewed; we are very proud of that!
Check our website for more information: www.vanderhoeven.nl
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Third phase Solar projects of 42 hectares in Southern France After the successful completion of phase 1 and 2 (27 and 30 hectares), the 42 hectare Solar projects of phase 3 are ready to spring out of the trap. These 20 projects will be built in Southern France again. The ground work of the first projects is in full swing and the first foundations will be in place in mid-July. This new series of projects will essentially be the same as the previous phases. We have included improvements to the structure, and integrated a new generation of solar panels. In short, Van der Hoeven also builds Solar projects with IQ.
Text contribution: Photographs:
Martin Steentjes Peter Spaans Van der Hoeven archives
Final editing:
Daphne Kramer
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