Florensis 75 years | 4.2 Everything changes

Florensis 75 years 4.2 EVERYTHING CHANGES Period 2000 - 2016

The Ball deal Over to the directors Partnership in Europe To govern is to look ahead

January 2017

CONTENT 1 The Ball deal 5 Successful partnership 6 Interview: Anna Ball about the deal 8 Over to the directors 9 Not what I expected 10 Interview: Alexander van der Bijl 12 Partnership in Europa 13 Bleep, bleep, bye, bye 14 From cutting and pasting…… to Marketing & Retail 19 On the acquisitions trail over the years 20 Interview: Marck Strik 22 Sponsoring to mark our 75th anniversary 23 Anniversary weekend 24 Catalogues 25 Florensis’ meteoric rise from no. 90 to no. 9 26 Interview: Leon Duijnisveld 28 In memoriam 30 Jan Hamer 32 Interview: Herman Hamer 34 To govern is to look ahead

The Ball deal Episodes from a very special exchange process On 28 July 2009, Florensis and Ball signed a collaboration agreement at the Van Doorne lawyers’ offices on the Zuidas in Amsterdam. It was a very special agreement in which both parties would sell off and take over different parts of their respective businesses. Read how the Ball deal came about.

Part I: Before the deal The turn of the millennium saw various acquisitions take place within the industry.

Colegrave Seeds bought out Van Zanten & Co in 1999. In 2000, Ball UK took over NickersonZwaan and Sluis Garden, following with the UK market leader Colegrave in 2001. Soon thereafter, Vegmo (Ball) and Van Zanten & Co (Colegrave) joined forces under the name of Ball Holland, while Ducrettet (Colegrave) became Ball Ducrettet and, in Germany, Ball Germany was set up. It couldn’t be more transparent: Ball was intent upon building up a European organisation. But it wasn’t as straightforward as originally envisaged.

The British market, in which Ball (Colegrave) was active, was developing rapidly but things were not going so well in the other countries.

Ball was strong in the UK and weak in the rest of Europe.

Part 2: Florensis in heavy weather By the end of 2008, a combination of incidents had contrived to place Florensis under severe pressure. There were three main stress factors.

The first was the sudden drop in the value of the British pound – it had lost around a quarter of its value by the end of 2008. Turnover in the UK at the time accounted for around a third of the total turnover, and the drop in the value of the pound meant around an eight per cent loss on the Florensis gross margin, a loss running into millions!

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The second factor was the trouble we were having implementing our new JD Edwards ERP software package, which had proved an uphill struggle from the start. The plug was pulled on the project at the end of 2008, by which time the cost meter was already running at several millions, most of which had to be written off against profits.

The third factor (the straw that broke the camel’s back) was Syngenta’s acquisition of Goldsmith Seeds: our biggest competitor was taking over our main supplier of genetic material.

Part 3: Light-bulb moment!

Of course we had no intention of throwing in the towel, so a special strategic management meeting was convened, at which solutions were diligently sought. At the end of the meeting, more or less out of the blue, Herman suggested phoning Anna Ball and proposing an exchange. That wasn’t such a bad idea, given that Florensis and Ball each had a diametrically opposed problem.

Anna Ball From: Sent: To: Subject:

Anna Ball 0 PM ber 13, 2008 5:2 Thursday, Novem ‘Herman Hamer’ November 17th re are some ideas

Dear Herman, He

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employees. rgration of the for some of our key as about the inte Ideas for positions are your initial ide at Wh . ies pan com gland.

How we value our lusive agent in En be Florensis’s exc business? for Colegrave to is it. t a tec ide e pro On to e. nt in spite of re and we wa 3) Ball Colegrav have never been, leading market sha are not for sale and We Colegrave has the . out ling sel t tual, agains basic 4) Protection, mu ut crops we are not sis. What to do abo rumours. nt sales to Floren Pla an eric Am n Pa 5) Potential for etative business. e about your veg in. that knowledgeabl not are We . tive 6) Vegeta ica. m?

URC supply in Afr we deal with the of course but no Ball and how do We have breeding ween Florensis and bet s etic gen ing pet consider licensing What are te com rope. Would you our genetics in Eu reasing share of inc in t res inte an We have se varieties? and promoting the legrave in Africa? cuttings for Ball Co er production of st refusal to Would you consid ave the right of fir l, we would like to h If you decide to sel al. fus t re firs t of 7) Righ ? in Florensis now buy the company. minority position n to Ball taking a ? ials enn 8) Are you ope per on what is your view ?

9) Perennials w on cut flowers what is your vie operation?

10) Cut flowers ns? lity fitting into your aci ut f jsenho Ri our production pla our ee u s , fit yo 11) Do , Novosol into y Kieft? ility fac se gue American Plant and ur Portu n d o Pa oul en w w we Ho bet

12) oration sibilities of collab rview of 13) Are there pos ld give us an ove petitors be good if you cou who the other com with you. It would and ing do talk will to ta ard gen k Syn thin We look forw you at wh ut r ideas abo Florensis and you uld be. ning strategy wo rtation of are and what a win arrange for transpo if we can help you Billings, onman and Todd are coming in and Bo you es en Ce wh are w a kno of your ide Please let me ple who are aware peo two y onl lodging. The cussion. join us in the dis our CFO. They can

1) 2)

Anna

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Florensis 75 years

Florensis was strong right across almost the whole of Europe except in the UK, and Ball had a strong presence in the UK with little activity in mainland Europe. If Florensis were to give Ball Colegrave its UK location and were to receive the Ball activities in the rest of Europe in return, this could lay the foundation for a win-win situation. In addition, Ball could become the main supplier of genetic material to Florensis to compensate for the loss of Goldsmith.

The seed was sown in everyone’s head and Herman went ahead and phoned Anna Ball.

The first time they spoke, Herman only mentioned that he had an idea, but in the second conversation, which followed soon thereafter, he outlined his proposal. Anna was surprised but said she would be happy to talk.

Before a meeting took place, she sent Florensis a list of thirteen questions, all of which HendrikIdo-Ambacht happily answered ‘YES!’ to. The questions were all about the content of the Florensis proposal, so the idea had fallen on fertile ground.

A well-kept secret Back in 1998-99 Hamer had already had talks with Ball (Ball Horticultural Company) on a partial or even full takeover. The underlying idea had primarily been to secure access to enough genetic material in the future, since Hamer had very little in-house genetic material at the time.

Talks with Ball went on at irregular intervals for two years, but in the end, following close consultations with Graines Voltz and Walz, it was decided to discontinue negotiations and remain completely independent. Following this decision, Anna Ball sent an amiable card expressing her disappointment at the collapse of the deal, finishing with the words: ‘And who knows what will happen in the future?’

Part 4: The negotiating table Herman and Leo visited Ball in West Chicago for the first time in late November 2008. The actual negotiations started in January 2009. A unique situation: two major competitors sitting at one table working together in a positive way, both seeing benefits in the deal they are hoping to close.

In the ensuing months, the group of people involved in the negotiations grew in direct proportion to the increasing complexity of the deal. Florensis and Ball continued to meet for four months. A relatively short time for an agreement that was so complex and had so many consequences. It was a miracle and worthy of a compliment to all concerned that news of the deal didn’t leak out prematurely.

Herman and Todd Billings

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Herman and Todd Billings at the signature

Final adjustments to one of the documents

By the end of the negotiations, the deal on the table was as follows: • Florensis would take over Ball Holland and Ball Germany and would work with some of Ball’s agents.

• Florensis would take over Ball’s cut flower activities.

• Florensis would take over the Ball (Vegmo) production location in Rijsenhout.

• Ball Colegrave would take over Florensis UK, although Florensis would continue to produce for the UK at variable costs.

• Graines Voltz would take over Ball Ducrettet, and in exchange both Florensis and Ball would acquire a roughly 11 percent stake in Graines Voltz.

• PanAmerican Seed would take over Kieft, along with Florensis’ 25 percent stake in Kieft.

• Because the exchange would be more favourable for Florensis than for Ball, Ball would obtain a 13 per cent stake in Florensis, which it would extend by buying a further 7 percent.

• Graines Voltz would take over seed distribution from Florensis, with the exception of a few major customers.

On 12 May 2009, around five months after the idea was mooted at the board meeting, Florensis and Ball officially announced the planned joint venture. The Letter of Intent had already been signed some weeks before, on 28 April.

Reactions were overwhelmingly positive As mentioned previously, Florensis and Ball signed the final agreements on 28 July.

Reactions were overwhelmingly positive.

One of the agreements

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Successful partnership The deal with Ball is now seven years old and the conclusion is that it is still a great success.

Collaboration is very intensive on numerous fronts: on joint breeding projects, for example, but also on exchanging knowledge in the area of URC production. We share knowledge and exchange genetic material wherever possible. The deal has resulted in a unique working relationship between two very successful family-run businesses, that have stayed true to their humble beginnings and hope to do so for a long time to come, and has delivered almost nothing but benefits.

VOOR ONMIDDELI JKE PUBLICATIE

Ball, Florensis and Van der Haak URC specialists visiting Florensis Kenya

Smart casual The dress code at the Ball headquarters requires men to wear a tie every day except on casual Friday. In August 2011, the Florensis sales team visited Ball and stepped over the threshold dressed to impress – in other words wearing the same shirts, trousers and ties. As you’d expect !

PERSBERICHT Voor meer informati Herman Hamer, Flore e nsis, +31 (0)786233 208/201 Serge Voltz, Graines Voltz, +33 (0) 6117 Joep van den Bosch, 1834 0 Ball Holland, +31 (0) 297 383 030

9 oktober 2009

MARKTLEIDERS BUN DELEN EUROPESE ACTIVITEITEN Florensis, Graines Voltz en Ball Horticult ural Company hebb gebundeld op de Euro en per 1 juli 2009 pese markt. hun krachten Op 12 mei jl. hebb en wij u bericht over de plannen van Flore hun krachten op nsis , Graines Voltz de Europese markt en Ball om te bundelen. De voor omgezet in een conc nemens zijn eind rete samenwerking. september Op dit moment zijn de betrokken bedr ijven vol energie bezig uitvo gemaakte afsprake n. ering te geven aan de

De activiteiten en orga nisaties in verschill ende kernlanden in het oog op het verd Europa zijn gebundel er versterken van d. Dit met hun aanwezigheid hun service aan de in de markt en het klanten. De samenw verhogen van erking bestaat uit de volgende stappen : • In Duitsland en Ned erland heeft Florensis de activiteiten over Holland en Ball Deu tschland. Deze bedr genomen van Ball ijven zijn inmiddel bestaande Florensis s geïntegreerd binn bedrijven in deze twee en de landen. De snijbloem ondergebracht in Flore enactiviteiten zijn nsis Cut Flowers te Rijsenhout. Tegelijke een minderheidsaande rtijd verkrijgt Ball el in Florensis.

• In Engeland vormt Florensis UK een joint venture (Florensis Colegrave.

Flower Seeds) met Ball • In Frankrijk neemt Graines Voltz, de excl usieve agent van Flore over. nsis, Ball Ducrettet Florensis is een zaadleverancier van siergewassen en prod planten uit zaad en ucent/distributeur stek, gevestigd in van jonge Hendrik Ido Ambacht productielocaties in , Nederland. Het bedr Nederland, Portugal ijf heeft , Kenia and Ethiopië en levert door heel Europa.

Graines Voltz is distributeur van zaad en jonge planten van gevestigd in Colmar siergewassen en groe en Brain sur L'Authion nten, , Frankrijk. Graines producten en hee

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‘Fast, fluid & flexible’ Anna Ball about the deal

Florensis’ anniversary magazines would not be complete without an article by Anna Ball, the representative of the Ball family with whom Florensis signed an agreement seven years ago: the famous Ball deal. Anna Ball how she experienced the negotiating phase and our working relationship since then.

Anna Ball

The gardens at Ball - impressive show and trial gardens

‘One snowy day in December 2008 my phone rang, and, to my surprise, it was Herman Hamer at the other end. He asked me whether we would be interested in working with him in Europe. We had been struggling with the European market ever since we took over Colegrave in 2001 and although we were doing fine in the UK, we weren’t doing so well in continental Europe. As we spoke, I thought back to the year 2000, when our two companies had previously attempted to reach agreement on some form of joint venture. The conditions for collaborating had not been right at the time. But that was then, I thought, and times were different now. By the time I put the phone down I was already in an enthusiastic frame of mind!

‘The conditions for collaborating had not been right at the time’

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Florensis 75 years

We quickly formed a team to start the discussions, headed by Todd Billings and also including Cees Boonman and Sandy Shepherd. In the months that followed we worked closely with Herman Hamer and Leo Hoogendoorn of Florensis, and Serge Voltz of Graines Voltz. It was a complicated deal involving several different locations and

Ball International Management Meeting (IMM) 2015 - visiting Florensis

entities, but the will to succeed was there and communication was open and transparent. It was also perfectly clear that working together would be beneficial for both sides. In the meantime, seven years have passed since Herman’s fateful phone call. Since then the respect we have for each other has only grown and our working relationship has developed in every possible way.

Herman and Leo attend – and make an important contribution to – our annual Ball International Managers Meeting. In fact, in 2015 they hosted the event in the Netherlands. All our senior managers from all over the world come to this meeting, where they talk to each other and share ideas about strategy and growth opportunities.

When Herman was young he even did an internship at Ball. To continue this tradition and strengthen our ties even further, three of his sons, Robert, Sander and Benjamin, and Leo’s daughter Demi also completed internships with us. It’s lovely to see such very different young people at work – each one special in their own unique way and all endowed with strength of character. They give us confidence in the future. The personal relations between our two companies are strong, and that’s important.

From a business point of view, Florensis has been a big promoter of Ball’s PanAmerican Seed, Kieft Seed and Ball FloraPlant genetic material. In 2011 Florensis, Ball FloraPlant and Van der Haak formed the Toscana Breeding joint venture for breeding geraniums. We are already working to expand it by adding other crops. It’s not always easy to work together on breeding, given the length of time required to complete the entire process, but together we are doing well.

We share a lot of production know-how. On a yearly basis, for example, at the annual meeting

Herman Hamer and Anna Ball

of the Ball and Florensis unrooted cuttings production teams. They share best practices and new techniques and meet every year at a different Florensis location in Africa or one of ours in Central America.

‘Be innovative in everything you undertake’ Ball has its foundation in what we call our ‘Seeds of Success’ principles. These guide us in our strategy, and our working relationship with Florensis responds to these guidelines. One of those is ‘be innovative in everything you undertake’. Our working relationship was innovative within our sector and we are still innovating in the fields of production, research and marketing. Another of our principles is ‘never sacrifice long-term goals for short-term success’. Everything we do together with Florensis is geared towards the long-term well-being of our two companies. Investing in advanced research in technological areas serves both Florensis and Ball and fits in with our combined strategy as family-run companies of reinvesting all profits back into the business.

Both Ball and Florensis want to remain as family businesses. It is this that sets us apart in the market and gives us the strength to compete with listed companies and private equity firms that have entered our sector. As family businesses we’re fast, fluid and flexible!

Finally, I would like to thank Herman for his vision of our two companies working together and for that phone call back in December 2008. Together we have set up a winning model for our enterprise, our staff and our customers.’

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F.l.t.r.: Leo Hoogendoorn, Leon Duijnisveld, Marck Strik, Adriaan Vonk and Alexander van der Bijl

Adriaan recently took over NL Production from Piet Tensen after he left the company

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Florensis 75 years

Piet Tensen

Over to the directors In part three of the series of anniversary magazines, Leo Hoogendoorn (COO) described his career at Florensis. Now he and Alexander van der Bijl (CFO) take a brief – or in Alexander’s case a slightly longer – look back on their roles in the management team.

In addition to these two gentlemen, the MT currently consists of Adriaan Vonk (Netherlands Production & FCF), Leon Duijnisveld (Foreign Production & Supply) and Marck Strik (Sales & Product Development, Marketing & Retail), both of whom will tell us more about themselves elsewhere in this issue. We will also hear more from Herman Hamer, who is still officially CEO but who handed over day-today management to Leo on 1 January 2014.

Adriaan recently took over NL Production from Piet Tensen after he left the company. Piet had completely reorganised the department over the past few years, leaving things relatively shipshape for Adriaan. That aside, it’s now over to Leo and Alexander.

Not what I expected COO Leo Hoogendoorn ‘It seems like only yesterday that I took over from Herman. The last three years have gone so quickly. For me it has been an enormous challenge and absolutely a sign of appreciation to be asked to lead the company I have been working for, for 30 years. It is exciting to be able to manage an organisation that has to make Florensis future-proof. Aspects I never thought were particularly significant when I was commercial manager now turn out to be of fundamental importance to our organisation’s long-term future. It’s only when you take the helm yourself that you realise the enormous efforts and achievements Herman has delivered over the past few years.

Three years ago our current management team started work on the mission to boost customer satisfaction through an improved delivery reliability. Last year, after we said goodbye to Piet Tensen, Adriaan Vonk added the responsibility for young plant production in the Netherlands to his remit. We took the conscious decision to slim down the MT after Piet Tensen’s departure. This has given the middle management tier formed in 2014 more room to develop. Through trial and error we MT members are likewise developing an even better relationship with middle managers. Following the recent establishment of the supply chain

Herman gives the lead to Leo

organisations, we’re slowly but surely reaching our goal of enabling middle management to run the company independently. However, the dynamic interplay between people remains – whereby the MT are increasingly taking on a coaching role.

The dynamics within the management team have changed quite significantly as a result of its current make-up, but also because the shareholders have taken slightly more of a step away from day-to-day operations. Confidence in the MT, plus the dedication, knowledge and respectful cooperation within it, are at a high level and I am looking forward with confidence to all the challenges that lie ahead.’

The management team during the first IMM in 2016

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Florensis’ man of finance

CFO Alexander van der Bijl

F.l.t.r.: Leo Hoogendoorn, Leon Duijnisveld, Alexander van der Bijl and Piet Tensen

Alexander van der Bijl joined Florensis in August 2010 and was appointed financial director with responsibility for Finance, Control and Information Management a year later.

Alexander still remembers his first introduction to Florensis very well. ‘I met my predecessor, Casper Dickmann, who was looking for a successor, through a mutual acquaintance in spring 2010. After an initial chat I met Herman Hamer – in the lobby of the Ara Hotel in Zwijndrecht – and I was taken on shortly thereafter. This course of events is typical of Florensis: short lines of communication, quick decision-making and placing trust in people.

That’s an atmosphere and a way of working in which I feel very much at home.’

‘First build the motorway and then step on the gas!’

F.l.t.r.: Marck Strik, Luca Antoniazzi, Alexander van der Bijl and Raul Moras

10 Florensis 75 years

It soon became clear that there was quite a bit of work to be done. Florensis had been through some financially turbulent years and the Ball deal had only been signed the year previously. Our financial management was lagging behind the rapid international expansion and increased complexity of Florensis. In the winter of 2010/2011 it also became apparent that the new custom software Floris II was not viable after all. So the search was on again for another ERP system.

During the course of 2011, PAT came into the picture as a possible ERP solution, supplied by Concept Data Systems in Graz, Austria.

Alexander van der Bijl in Kenya Alexander: ‘After a careful selection process, the board took an important decision in March 2012: to go with PAT as our ERP software. From then on, a closely-knit project team worked very intensively on rolling out the system. PAT went live in phases from November 2012 onwards. This was quite an exciting time for Florensis because the new sorting and delivery system for the distribution process was being installed at the same time. And, in between all that, the entire outdated hardware infrastructure was being replaced – an unavoidable move following a fatal system crash over the crucial Easter weekend in 2012.’

On the automation front, Florensis has undergone some remarkable developments in recent years, our arrival in the world of e-commerce being the most recent success story. A lot of positive energy has also gone into the many joint ventures and acquisitions

by Florensis, in which Alexander has been involved. To name but a few projects: the acquisitions of Van Klink (cut flowers), Silze (activities in Kenya and Germany) and Florensis Polska, the expansion of our interests in Implantex (Switzerland), Florensis Ethiopia and Florensis Italia and our joint venture with Renner (Austria).

With all these investments, there is a clear ‘speedway’ ahead for Florensis, which means we can step on the gas a little more than we have been doing already. Our financial results have become healthier year after year. A fact that builds confidence among our shareholders and financiers, and offers Florensis the flexibility and elbow room to react promptly to new market opportunities.

‘Is there an easier way? First straighten out the spaghetti!’

Alexander: ‘Florensis is quite a complicated business. We make a vulnerable natural product, we do a lot of work in countries where you can be faced with both pleasant and unpleasant surprises, and the seasons dominate our production process. This complexity is hugely challenging and requires you to eliminate all superfluous intricacies and ensure the other business processes are as straight-forward as possible. It really gives me pleasure to work on these challenges every day, together with the Finance, Business Control and Information Management teams.

It’s hard going sometimes, but that’s precisely the charm of Florensis’ dynamism and drive.

Instead of spaghetti we now have beautifully straight asparagus on our Florensis plate.

Florensis can keep on stepping on the gas!’

F.l.t.r.: Tomasz Burda, Alexander van der Bijl and Willem-Jan Troost

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Fascinating fact !

Rabobank and Hamer/Florensis have been doing business together without interruption for more than 50 years. The oldest known document dates back to 29 September 1966 and relates to a ‘current account overdraft facility’.

Partnership in Europe The birth of Florensis Portugal One of our biggest cuttings production groups is Solanaceae, or the nightshade family.

Plants belonging to this family, such as Petunia and Calibrachoa, are banned from being imported from anywhere outside Europe, with the exception of Israel. This restriction, plus the fact that we didn’t want to be entirely depend upon third parties, led us to the decision to build our own nursery in Portugal.

Peter Bresser took over at the helm.

Pegöes We found a very suitable location in Pegöes, a small village around 40 km outside Lisbon.

Florensis signed the purchase agreement for about 13 hectares of land in March 2007. This marked a new challenge for Peter Bresser after Kenya, ably supported by Jaap Anker and Leon Duijnisveld.

As usual, it was all hands on deck in order to ensure that our first petunia cuttings could be stuck by early August. Mission accomplished!

The first phase went almost entirely to plan, with a 1 hectare greenhouse and a 1,600 m2 warehouse built and completed on time.

Production could now get under way.

Production of cuttings: sedum

Production of cuttings: calibrachoa

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Expansion Over the next few years the Pegöes farm grew steadily, both in terms of size and product range. We added seed cultivation to our Portuguese activities and expanded our product portfolio with various genera, including Sedum. URC (unrooted cuttings) production in Calibrachoa became a speciality of Florensis Portugal.

In 2013 there was a change at the helm and Filipe Braga took over from Peter Bresser as general manager. Further professionalisation took place under Filipe’s guidance and the farm was expanded once more until it encompassed 1 hectare of glass greenhouses, 0.5 hectares of poly greenhouses and 1 hectare of polytunnels and shade houses.

Today, annual cuttings production amounts to around 30 million URC while perennial seed production is becoming an ever more important part of our output.

Bleep bleep, bye bye

pij voor het Aanleveren ko er: maart numm

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res: Redactie-ad drijfsnieuws .v. redactie be Florensis, t.a 32 us stb Po ijndrecht sis.com 3330 AA Zw eesens@floren E-mail: ellen.dr

But the complexity of the system had constantly increased in the 14 years since its ering: Uitvo introduction. In addition, the new technical Promotions solutions needed to make the AGV work properly required ever larger investments while the user benefits diminished. Cultivation became dependent on the system instead of the other way round.

Added to this was the fact that our enormous growth required us to produce ever larger volumes off-site. Small production orders were still being processed at the HendrikIdo-Ambacht site, but small volumes and an automated system do not make good bedfellows.

Nummer 3

Afscheid robo t team

Going back to basics and performing these taskes manually, turned out to be the only way forward. This was proven to be the right decision, and the switch from automated to manual processes and the implementation of new software systems were a success. We parted company with the AGV, and justifiably so.

V.l.n.r. Dennis Rem mers, Jan Oudijn , Hans Roeling, Kooij, Jan Duijne Jeffrey Zonneveld , Miquel Marisc al, Angelique van , Marcel lers.

Andel, Jan Duine , Danny CoeOp de foto ontbre ekt Cees Los, die op vakantie wa aangevuld met s. (Het complete in- en uitspoolers robot team, Marcel, Angeliqu e en Miquel) Namens alle Flo rensis-collega’s: Bed ankt voor jullie ces! bijdrage aan het bedrijfspro23

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CATALOGUES

From cutting and pasting... ... to Marketing & Retail In the early years of Hamer, as was the case elsewhere in the business world both at home and abroad, the words ‘marketing’ and ‘communication’ were concepts that took place on another planet. Still, Hamer started advertising its products very soon after its foundation. To begin with, its marketing was indirect, via its colourful flower seed packets, and it published its first catalogue, the ‘Prijscourant voor bloemisten en bloemkwekers’, as early as 1946. Now, 75 years on, we have a director with Marketing & Retail in his portfolio, our catalogues are produced in several languages and digitisation of sales is expanding exponentially.

Catalogues Hamer/Florensis’ first real communication medium was the catalogue. In the 1940s and for many years thereafter, the catalogue was compiled by cutting and pasting the content, which consisted largely of text. Now it’s a glossy tome with beautiful product images, concepts and information that promotes Florensis as a whole. The design work is done in-house, and Florensis publishes a Viola/ Primula plus an annuals catalogue every year. Perennial and cut flower catalogues are published every two years. Most of our catalogues are produced in more than six languages

Open days and trade fairs

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Florensis set up its first trial garden in the late 1980s. But visits to the trial garden fell over the years. We also experimented with open days, which resulted in two concepts: the Fleur-In and the Fleur Garden – open days for our cut flower range and annual and perennial garden plants respectively. Both no longer exist and have been succeeded by the FlowerTrials® in week 24 of each year. At this four-day show, which now attracts more than 2,000 international growers, dealers, retail chains and media representatives, we present all our new products and highlights in an exciting and unique way.

Trial garden 2004 The flower trials in weeks 9 and 17 are also attracting more and more growers and representatives of the European trade and retail sectors.

Besides our own FlowerTrials®, we also exhibit at an increasing number of ornamental plant fairs, both at home and abroad, including IPM (Germany), Plantarium, FloraHolland Trade Fair, IFTF Vijfhuizen, HortiContact and Garden Retail Experience (all in the Netherlands), Four Oaks (UK), Open Days (Poland) and ÖGA (Switzerland).

FlowerTrials 2012: Urban Gardening

Pack Trials Retail Show 2016

Booth Plantarium 2015

Booth FloraHolland Trade Fair 2015

Frühjarsblühertag Rain am Lech 2015

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The next step By the 1990s it had become customary to promote new products with a brochure and a colourful poster. But the latter would often end up in the customer’s shed, and with the constant rise in the number of competing products, the brochure also attracted too little attention. And so it was that marketing entered the picture.

Regina Dinkla gives a presentation at Hamiplant

It was soon realised that a solid product promotion campaign aimed at specific target audiences worked better than a brochure and poster. For that reason we have been actively approaching the trade and retail sectors for around five years now. The aim is to draw not just our customers’ but also endcustomers’ attention to our product range, and in doing so create a demand for growers.

That approach works. Florensis has also started exhibiting inspirting retail solutions at shows and trade fairs, and the number of retailers visiting us and adding our products to their ranges is growing.

From physical to digital Over the last decade digitisation has made enormous strides forward, both at home and at work. Florensis has not slow to catch up in this area. We’d had a website for years, but at the end of 2014 Robert Sanders was released from his other duties to work with TamTam on developing an online customer portal.

Old website

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New website with surplus availability

New website with customer portal

Revealing of the new logo The portal is now in place, but before it was finished we first introduced an online ordering module: the Florensis Online Ordering Tool (FOOT). This tool is designed for sales representatives, and they have been using it since 2016. A first small step in the leap towards a web shop for customers. In 2017 the first customers will be able to place their orders online and we are anticipating an increase in the number of users over 2017.

To make all this possible, we first had a new website built which went live earlier in 2016. It is an attractive, easy-to-navigate site that displays the surplus in real time, which means customers can enter their orders themselves. Florensis is a step ahead of its competitors in this area. The new website ultimately also raised another issue: isn’t it time for a new logo?

A logo for today Digitisation, a modern website with an online ordering tool, a customer web shop... the old logo simply didn’t do justice to these innovations.

We needed a new one that reflected the core values of Florensis: reliable, innovative, professional and sustainable. We commissioned several parties to fulfil this brief and in midFebruary 2016 the directors chose one of the proposed designs. The new logo has gone on to become an indispensable part of our image.

Still, the real work didn’t start until mid-February: all Florensis communications had to be replaced before the launch of the new logo on 27 May. A mega-job! But one which ran very smoothly, of course.

On 27 May we held a spectacular unveiling of the new logo in the presence of all the staff at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht and a very special guest, Mrs Hamer.

The sleek, strong logo was very well received, so now Florensis is ready for the future in this area too.

Florensis 75 years

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Royal encounters Florensis’ impressive achievements haven’t gone unnoticed in royal circles, and in 2015 and early 2016 various meetings took place with members and representatives of the Royal Family.

The first of these was on King’s Day 2015 in Dordrecht.

Florensis was invited to decorate the royal water bus which carried King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, the three princesses and other members of the Royal Family during this national holiday. The water bus was given a sunny disposition with our own cut flowers and plants in shades of orange. The royal tribune was also decorated in beautiful Florensis arrangements. Having this honour bestowed on us was the crowning glory of Florensis’ achievements.

Herman had a personal meeting with the king and queen on 4 December 2015. As the winner of the Horticultural Entrepreneur Award 2015, he was invited, along with 25 others, to the ‘Uitblinkerslunch, a lunch for outstanding entrepreneurs held at Noordeinde Palace.

The 30th edition of the Horticultural Entrepreneur Award took place at the beginning of 2016. To mark this anniversary, Her Majesty Queen Maxima attended the event. As the 2015 winner, Florensis COO Leo Hoogendoorn had the honour of welcoming the royal guest. During that conversation the Queen was generous enough to mention the beautiful flowers with which the royal water bus had been decorated in 2015.

Fully fledged department What started with cutting and pasting and moved on to in-house DTP work has now become a fully-fledged Marketing & Retail department with a staff of six. This department has made a positive and measurable contribution to boosting the image of Florensis, a company that tends to be a little modest by nature. And it was partly due to our improved brand awareness that we were able to scoop the Horticultural Entrepreneur Award (Tuinbouw Ondernemersprijs) in 2015 and the International Grower of the Year Award in 2016. These two awards, and the related publicity, led to Florensis being invited to decorate the water taxi that would carry the Dutch Royal Family on King’s Day 2015, plus an invitation for Herman to attend one of the ‘uitblinker’ (to excel) lunches for outstanding entrepreneurs hosted

by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.

Naturally, Marketing & Retail never loses sight of the consumer at any of these festive occasions. Especially for them the department organises events such as a Ladies’ Night, takes part in the ‘Libelle Summer Week’ festival and holds an open day every year. Of course, the biggest project in 2016 was organising our 75th anniversary!

Ladies’ Night 2016

18 Florensis 75 years

Spring flowering day 2016

On the acquisitions trail over the years Although growth at Florensis has been largely organic, over the years we have entered into joint ventures with an impressive number of companies and acquired parts of other companies or entire enterprises. We expect this list to keep growing in the coming years.

1980 1996 1998 1998 1999 2008 2009

2009 2011 2013 2013 2011 2012 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2015

Nederlandse Zaadcentrale (flower seed activities taken over) Orangerie Kieft (38% stake) Saatzucht Quedlinburg (annuals breeding programme) Hamer&Wagner (buy-out of Wagner) Walz Ball Holland - Vegmo (previously taken over by Ball) - Van Zanten & Co (previously taken over by Ball) Ball Germany Van Klink Yates (Begonia breeding) Combinations (bedding plants division) Silze (Geranium activities) Implantex (Florensis already owned 49%) Gutscher (Primula breeding) Pres-Tige Plants Growing Green Rheinart (joint venture on Poinsettia breeding) Florensis Polska Albani SRL (Florensis already owned 25%) Renner (50% stake)

Indirect via Graines Voltz

2009 Ball Ducrettet (Claude Ducrettet previously taken over by Ball) 2012 Saulais 2013 Plan Ornemental

PRESS RELEASE

For more information: VOOR ONMIDDELLIJKE PUBLICATIE Herman Hamer, Florensis Cut Flowers, +31 (0)78-6233200 Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, 27 september 2013 George van Klink, H.A. van Klink & Zn, +31 (0) 252-536999 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FLORENSIS EN COMBINATIONS GAAN STRATEGISCHE SAMENWERKING AAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17th September 2010

Met ingang van 1 oktober 2013 gaan Florensis en Combinations een str samenwerking aan m.b.t. de opkweek van uitgangsmateriaal van één- en meerjarig perkplanten. Onderdeel van deze samenwerking is dat Florensis de verkoop van perkplanten uit zaad van Combinations overneemt.

Florensis versterkt hiermee haar positie op de internationale markt van uitgangsma kan door de samenwerking op het gebied van jonge plantenproductie de productievol beter verdelen over meerdere, hoog gekwalificeerde, productielocaties. Door gebruik van elkaars kennis en kunde wordt verdere optimalisatie in productie en producton verwezenlijkt. Combinations zal met name die producten voor Florensis produceren zich door de jaren heen het beste bewezen heeft, zoals Helianthus, Viola, Lavandula, etc.

FLORENSIS CUT FLOWERS AND VAN KLINK COMBINE THEIR ACTIVITIES

Florensis Cut Flowers and H.A. van Klink & Zn have announced today that they are De overname van de pot- en perkplanten activiteiten van Combinations zal vrijwel ge engaged in discussions with a view to combining their activities. gevolgen voor de werkgelegenheid bij beide bedrijven hebben.

De productie zal in eerste instantie geheel samengebracht worden op de locatie van F

Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. medio januari zal Combinations aanvangen met opk Both companies have as a result of these discussions decided toVanafmerge their plantmateriaal voor Florensis. activities. This with a view to further intensifying their market presence and raising “Door de strategische samenwerking met, en de overdracht van de the level of service to their customers. perkplantenactiviteiten aan Florensis, kan Combinations nog hoogwaardigere pro

grote volumes produceren. Met als uiteindelijk doel de eindklant optimaal te bedien Martin Noordam.

The ultimate aim is to continue further together per 1-1-2011 at the current location Herman Hamer vult hierbij aan dat “Florensis met de overname van de pot- en pe activiteiten en de samenwerking op productiegebied goede mogelijkheden ziet om di of Florensis in Rijsenhout.

betrokkenen, klanten, Combinations en Florensis, tot een succes te maken. Floren hiermee vanuit een solide basis haar producten en diensten aan de pot- en perkplante nog verder uit.”

Combining the activities of these two family businesses and equal partners will enable the best possible application of each partner’s knowledge and enskills, thus van siergewassen van jonge p Florensis is een veredelaar producent/distributeur zaad en stek, gevestigd in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Nederland. Het bedrijf heeft produc opening the way to further optimization. Quality improvement and increase of in Nederland, Portugal, Kenia en Ethiopië en levert door heel Europa. reliability of supply have been cardinal points in this entireCombinations process.is een plantenkwekerij van jong uitgangsmateriaal voor de gro sierteelt, gevestigd in ‘s-Gravenzande, Nederland. productielocaties, en levert door heel Europa.

Het

The breeding and selection activities of Van Klink, incorporated in ENVIRO, are part of the merger and are to be combined with the breeding activities of Florensis, Voor meer informatie: Florensis Florensis - Herman Hamer, +31 78 623 3200 where they will be further intensified.

Combinations - Martin Noordam, +31 174 412 432

75 years

“Combining the activities is intended to provide cultivators with an improved service

bedrijf

19

heeft

ver

The Florensis roller-coaster

How Marck Strik lost his blonde locks

Marck Strik joined Florensis as European Sales Manager on 1 October 2007. Now, nine years on, he takes a look back for the anniversary magazine at the roller-coaster that is working at Florensis. Looking back, he also realises that the colleague who recently asked him whether he was the same person as the one in the ‘smoelenboek’ (picture database of Florensis employees) was asking a perfectly legitimate question. The luxuriant blonde head of hair from 2007 has given way to a grey crew cut – not from worries but from a healthy mix of hard work and growing older.

Marck visiting Kenya

On ‘work visit ‘at Danziger

‘I originally applied to Florensis for the position of Sales Manager Benelux. Because my skills didn’t quite fit the job profile that Casper van Kempen had produced, I didn’t get the job, but as I had a lot of international sales experience, combined with a knowledge of products, licences and languages, Herman and Leo offered me a job anyway – as European Sales Manager, with responsibility for export countries – with the focus on Eastern European countries - and wholesale customers.’

Won over by the sense of ‘coming home’

20 Florensis 75 years

For the first few months Marck wasn’t sure whether he had made the right decision.

Adapting from his previous role as a freespirited entrepreneur to being part of a large organisation was not always easy. But he soon changed his mind as he came to appreciate how pleasant it was to work with a large number of people, and he was won over by the sense of ‘coming home’ that Florensis gave him.

But, like Marck’s mind, that ‘home’ was about to change. When our strategic partner Goldsmith was sold to a major competitor, Syngenta, in November 2008 and Florensis subsequently entered into discussions with Ball Horticultural Company, Marck ended up on a serious rollercoaster ride.

Ready for the future ‘The entire process of taking over and integrating the two organisations was an exciting one and the partnership really gave Florensis wings. Since then, acquisition and integration projects have taken place on a yearly basis. My position in the organisation has actually kept pace with this growth. After we brought Ball on board, the UK was added to my territory, as was Benelux after the death of Bernd Reeke. This left me responsible for the entire sales organisation.

I have been the Director Sales & Product Development since 1 January 2014, and Marketing & Retail was added on 1 July 2015. As per this summer the organisation has more or less been the way we want it to be, going forward. Sales are split into four clusters: Western, Eastern, Southern and Central Europe, which creates the right balance between emerging and established markets, with short lines to and from the various areas. As far as product development is concerned, we have opted for an organisation with two strong and experienced Florensis corporate product managers, supported by an assistant, two trial coordinators and master data specialists.

The youthful trial coordinators are responsible for the overall process of launching our products. Our precise positioning methods and decision-making bring the focus back to the organisation and guarantee success.

The addition of Marketing & Retail to Sales & Product Development completed the ‘triangle’. Marketing & Retail now consists of corporate communications, projects (shows, catalogues, etc.) plus retail and the team will soon be expanded with the arrival of a product marketeer.

A changing world In a rapidly changing market, precise positioning of the right products and the courage to make choices are crucial elements in business. The decline in the number of distributors and an explosion in the range of new products have

caused Florensis’ position to shift significantly in recent years. Being an ‘independent’ distributor with the strongest sales organisation and market penetration, Florensis is a company every breeder wants to work with. Distribution margins are under pressure, so having exclusive or inhouse genetic material is vitally important to us if we are to remain profitable, and increase that profitability. For that reason, we are working to strengthen our own breeding operations and enter into more strategic partnerships with other breeders.

‘Florensis is always on the move’

Finally, we do not intend to ignore the digital era and we are aware that we must take steps to be front-runner in that area too. We therefore started working with our partner Dept (TamTam) two years ago and prioritised the improvement of our website and the creation of an online ordering tool for representatives (Foot). The website is now up and running and part of our sales organisation is already successfully using it to enter online orders. In week 24 of 2016 we launched a webshop and we hope to open it to the vast majority of our customers from 1 January 2017 onwards. This does not mark the end of the department’s development, and neither is it our wish to do so. For example, our customer service department will be switching from an administrative role to a commercial one, and we have already taken that on board in our recruitment policy in recent years. Florensis is always on the move.’

Solid experience and youthful zest Looking back and with another glance in the mirror, Marck concludes that he is getting older, the first wrinkles are beginning to show, and enough has been said about his hair! But also that Florensis is exactly the kind of company that knows that a balance between young and old is very important for profiling yourself properly in the market – in other words, by investing in young people and at the same time nurturing the experience of those who are slightly older.

The healthy mix of solid experience and youthful zest at Florensis exudes the confidence we need to continue to build a successful future. Marck couldn’t be in a better place.

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Extra help in Africa Naturally, our sites in Kenya and Ethiopia are sharing in the celebrations for our 75th anniversary.

Parties have been held on site for the workers, and both countries have also received a donation of 100,000 euros which they can spend over the next three years.

In Ethiopia, this money will be used for the Koka Children Project which looks after children in the village of Koka and surrounding area who have lost their parents because of AIDS or other diseases. Without help, these children have very little chance of a positive future. Around 100 children are currently being looked after by foster families in Koka and supported with clothes, schooling and medical help. Florensis is also working on construction of a Child Centre and provides support for the Koka Ejersa High School.

In Kenya, one of the projects selected is the Naivasha Childrens’ Shelter, a reception centre for orphans and young people who have been driven from their home for one reason or another. Every child has the right to an environment where he or she can grow up, learn and play. Over the last year, 41 of the 83 children looked after by the shelter have been successfully reunited with their family.

Sponsoring to mark our 75th anniversary In the Netherlands, when it’s your birthday it’s customary to treat those around you to cake or sweets. It’s fun and it shows that you’re proud to have reached that age. That’s true of Florensis as well, of course, so this year we have earmarked the appropriate sum of €75,000 to give to various social causes in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht and Zwijndrecht. These are the projects, for both young and old, that we have decided to support: • Historische vereniging (Historical Society) De Vergulde Swaen (€5,000). This society keeps the history of Zwijndrecht alive and organises exhibitions every year.

• Historische Genootschap (Historical Society) Hendrik Ido Ambacht (€5,000). This society is committed to preserving the history of this beautiful village along the river Waal for future generations.

• De Cirkel Hospice (€10,000). This hospice is a place of refuge, the circle of life. Its 80 volunteers work tirelessly to give people in the final stages of life a dignified end.

• Hendrik Ido Ambacht children’s play park (€10,000). A wonderful park for young and old alike which attracts 40,000 visitors a year is moving to the Sandelingen Ambacht leisure area.

School materials for the children in Ethiopia Koka

• Swinhove (€15,000). The ‘Swinkeltje’ shop was set up by volunteers to raise money for a wheelchair bus to take residents of the Swinhove care home on trips by selling gifts made up of donated items.

• Sophiapolder Visitor Centre (€15,000).

Surrounded by the Noord river on one side and the Rietbaan on the other, this island is a unique flood plain with a series of lovely trails across boardwalks over the water.

22 Florensis 75 years

Handing over checks worth €75.000

• Hooge Nesse Visitor Centre (€15,000). A new nature reserve on a 72 hectare former sludge and soil depot along the Oude Maas river. The plan is to create an area that is attractive for playing, exercising and experiencing nature.

Anniversary weekend

Florensis 75 years

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CATALOGUES

24 Florensis 75 years

Our heaving trophy cabinet

Florensis’ meteoric rise from no. 90 to no. 9

Florensis has won quite a few awards over the years.

So many, in fact, that at the annual Ball International Management Meeting in 2016 we received a hilarious one: the IMM award for winning the most awards!

The Hillenraad100

The two prizes mentioned above – the Horticultural Entrepreneur Award 2015 and the International Grower of the Year Award in the young plants category – were what helped win us the IMM Award.

Established back in 2003, the Hillenraad100 is an annual ranking of the 100 leading companies in the knowledge and capitalintensive horticultural and greenhouse sector in the Netherlands. Florensis has of course featured in this ranking ever since it started, and now we’ve made it into the top 10.

An excerpt from the 2015 jury’s report reads as follows: ‘Florensis is going from good, to better, to best. In line with this, it has further improved its delivery reliability to 97.3 percent.

That is impressive, bearing in mind that we are talking about 4,000 items going to thousands of customers.’

Our great position at number 9 has been held for 2016. This year the jury’s report says: ‘Orders, sales, result: all of these growing faster than the market. Plus a delivery reliability of 97.9 percent with 650 million delivery units.’

The Horticultural Entrepreneur Award 2015

AIPH International Grower of the Year Award 2016, category Young Plants Florensis 75 years

25

Combined plant and business expertise An interview with Leon Duijnisveld

‘I first joined the Florensis organisation 12 years ago,’ Leon Duijnisveld tells us. After Jan Ammerlaan’s departure in 2004, Florensis needed someone with a technical cultivation background in the team, and that someone was Leon. Before he joined Florensis, he had spent 12 years working as an independent technical cultivation consultant and a further six years in a manager role at Syngenta.

He also has a background in business administration. It was the perfect combination for Florensis.

His 12 year career with Florensis has always been characterised by internationalisation, specialisation and supply chain management 26 Florensis 75 years

Right from the start, Leon was committed to producing cuttings abroad. His 12 year career with Florensis has always been characterised by internationalisation, specialisation and supply chain management.

‘Right from day one I was given responsibility for cultivation at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht and cuttings production in Kenya. At the time we only had 4.5 hectares and some rented greenhouses there, compared with 35 hectares producing cuttings under our own management in Africa today. Shortly after I arrived, Florensis also opened in Ethiopia and, under the expert guidance of Ronald Vijverberg, we managed to set up a completely new company there from scratch – Florensis Ethiopia. What has made the biggest impression on me, apart from the practical developments, is the fact that the Ethiopian culture is so very different from ours here in the West. Finding the right balance between two cultures, the Western mentality and simultaneously setting up the right corporate culture, putting a reliable water supply in place and assembling a competent management team are aspects that recur

Leon Duijnisveld with Leo Hoogendoorn at Van der Lugt

time and again when you’re setting up a company in Africa.’

The second major project in which Leon was involved was the establishment of a cuttings production facility in Europe for key products like Petunia and Calibrachoa, which are banned from being imported from Africa. The small Portuguese village of Pegöes, a 30-minute drive from Lisbon, caught Florensis’ eye. We now have a fully-fledged, well-organised production company there, producing around 30 million Calibrachoa cuttings per year.

‘The acquisition of Silze’s Toscana Geraniums in 2011 brought about the biggest change in cuttings production. Ultimately it resulted in the physical and organisational merger of three neighbouring companies in Kenya belonging to Florensis, Silze and Mayflower. In Hendrik-IdoAmbacht, this takeover also led to the setting up of the current nucleus stock department, the relocation of the trial garden, the setting up of Toscana Breeding and the opening of a second facility in Ethiopia. Florensis Abyssinia is a good example of a cuttings production company that is ready for the future. It has an optimised layout, a great deal of attention has been paid to elements such as hygiene and sustainability, and it features all the latest cultivation techniques. A salient personal detail that springs to mind is that, since I have been with Florensis, I have flown more than a million kilometres!’

Another major development in which Leon was closely involved was the setting up of a supply chain organisation within the company.

‘It is essential to ensure that a rapidly growing

Leon at the Florensis clinic in Kenya

company like Florensis with a structure comprising a large number of independent companies remains manageable. So it was important to introduce integrated supply chain management. We now have a supply chain for products from cuttings and from seed. Our most important aim is to combine the various parts of the business and optimise the supply chain right through to the end customer.

‘Since I have been with Florensis, I have flown more than a million kilometres!’

‘Florensis has been in existence for 75 years now, and cuttings production has grown exponentially, particularly over the last 10 years. A changing society also means making changes to the organisation going forward, and this is something we are working intensively on at the moment. However, I am also very proud of what we have achieved over the past 12 years and the fact that I was fortunate enough to be part of that achievement.’

Florensis 75 years

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In memoriam Jan Hamer Sr.

Jan Hamer Jr.

Jan Hamer Sr., the founder of Hamer/Florensis, passed away in 2005. He was 84. Until the very last, he would come into the office virtually every day.

Jan Hamer Jr. passed away in early 2006. He became seriously ill at the end of 2005 and died on 6 February 2006, aged 58. Jan joined the business in 1966. As he was the eldest son it was taken for granted that he would come and work in his father’s business, so he went to horticultural college in Aalsmeer. In 2006, the year of his death, he would have celebrated 40 years with Florensis.

When he set up his flower seed business, J. Hamer Jr. Bloemzaden, in 1941, the only help he had was from his (then) girlfriend and they took care of everything between them. As he always used to say with a smile, his illustrious career finally culminated in a job as ‘errand boy.’ Mr Hamer enjoyed doing odd jobs, for instance delivering a backorder of a few more seedling boxes. This made him the most expensive courier Florensis ever had.

When he built his company at the Rotterdamseweg in Zwijndrecht, he was still very much a member of the ‘frugal’ generation. This meant that you didn’t borrow money; you only spent it if you had it. It also meant that you could only invest once you had earned the money to do so. The result was that, during that time, he did everything himself, from fulfilling orders, answering the phone and preparing the post to producing the cash slips at the end of the day to check what had been sold. When his three sons took over the business he finally handed over the reins and said: ‘Now it’s up to you’.

The first years after Jan joined the business were particularly difficult ones. He and his father worked long hours. Over the years his role changed several times, and included heading the seed department, the purchasing department and ultimately taking over responsibility for credit control. He chased up many a poorly paying customer, often with positive results. Jan was also the face of Florensis to the immediate, local outside world.

He was a committed ‘club man’ and enjoyed going to meetings and gatherings. He had to leave this all behind much too soon.

He managed the transfer well and left all strategic decisions to his sons, but he was still always present and involved – although he did pop home for a cup of coffee and lunch.

He remained accessible to all employees for a chat, and not just about the nice things in life. His critical eye, interest and personal involvement were always apparent, and he maintained these right up until the end, when he passed away, very suddenly, on 24 August 2005. Please see earlier issues of the Anniversary Magazines for more on Jan Hamer sr.’s life and times.

28 Florensis 75 years

F.l.t.r.: Jan Jr., Jan Sr. and Enny Hamer

Enny Hamer-Rozendaal Enny Hamer-Rozendaal, the co-founder of Hamer/Florensis, passed-away ten years later, in 2016. She and her (then) boyfriend Jan Hamer Sr. had started out in 1941 running the flower seed business together from a bedroom. They got married just after the war, in June 1945. They had six children together: one daughter and five sons. Besides running the home and bringing up the children, Enny was also involved in the business on a day-today basis, mainly fulfilling orders for Okkerse.

She also operated the machine known as the ‘organ’ on which the seed packets were printed. Whenever it wasn’t too busy at work, the staff would help her in their turn with household tasks like topping and tailing beans.

They would often drop in on ‘ma’ for a quick cup of coffee or a bite to eat at lunchtime. In the winter, when things were busy, staff would often eat with the family, after which they would continue working until as late as 10 pm.

When her husband died in 2005, Enny Hamer’s life changed and she was no longer involved in the business on a daily basis. Yet she always attended staff association events, such as the workshops for making Christmas decorations and hanging baskets. And didn’t the baskets always flourish on her balcony?

She would proudly say: ‘How is it possible!’

She was always at Florensis parties, and treated everyone at work to cake on her 95th birthday. The last time she came in was on 27 May 2016 for the unveiling of the new Florensis logo. When she drove onto the premises, she said: ‘Who would have thought it would get so big! And it all started with just the two of us.’ She would have loved to attend the 75th anniversary party, but sadly it was not to be.

She died on 20 June 2016 following a short illness.

Enny Hamer, surrounded by family at the revealing of the new Florensis logo

Enny Hamer

Jan Jr. Hamer Florensis 75 years

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A driven connoisseur

Jan Hamer: sharp, flamboyant and face of Florensis

This anniversary issue would not be complete without an article about Jan, the oldest of Jan Hamer’s and Enny Hamer-Rozendaal’s three sons, who helped build Florensis into what it is today. Reproduced below is the speech given

by Herman at Jan’s funeral which paints a wonderful picture of the co-founder of today’s Florensis, who left us far too soon.

For the first 30 years, Jan put a disproportionate number of hours into the business

30 Florensis 75 years

‘Jan worked at Florensis for almost 40 years. As the oldest son in a family of six children, it was more or less taken for granted that he would go into the business. After secondary school he went to horticultural college in Aalsmeer, lodging in rooms with the Vreeken family at the tender age of 16. After horticultural college he had to do military service. He worked as a chef, a life that suited him very well. So he was none too pleased when his father called him back out of military service early ‘on account of his indispensability to the business’. And so it was that he started his career at Hamer Bloemzaden at the age of 18.

Jan’s first years with the business weren’t the easiest, working with his mother and father in a small family business behind the parental home. You couldn’t be any closer together than they were 24 hours a day, and Jan Senior’s and Jan Junior’s temperaments often clashed. His brothers Wim-Arie and, later, Herman only joined the company ten years later. For the first 30 years, Jan put a disproportionate number of hours into the business. An average working day ended at 10 pm, which, as Jan often used to joke, was when his overtime started. His working week was also longer than average, including, as they did, the Friday evenings and Saturday

F.l.t.r.: Leo, Jan and Gea

mornings. For many years Jan led the seed department, the core activity of what was still Hamer Bloemzaden in those early years.

After that he went on to become head of purchasing. In the last few years his work revolved around credit control, something he did with verve. He had a sympathetic ear for customers who were in financial difficulties and who asked to be considered for a payment plan. Yet he could also be fierce if agreements were not adhered to. He dealt with customers with a dubious payment morale delicately but at the same time with razor-sharp perception, usually achieving the result he was after. Getting a long outstanding invoice paid gave him a feeling of triumph.

Together with his two brothers he worked hard to turn Florensis into the wonderful and flourishing business it is today – the business Jan was always proud of, and rightly so.

Jan was the face of Florensis for many years.

He always enjoyed attending Fleuroselect meetings. He was also the local ambassador, welcoming a number of groups of visitors, showing them round and giving many a speech. These activities suited him well and he performed them with pleasure, being a real ‘club man’. He was a member of two business clubs, the economic club: the Rotary club and the VVGZ business club. He was an enthusiastic member of all of these and never missed a meeting or excursion. Jan was an amiable and dedicated member of the organisation.

From a business point of view he passed on a lot of knowledge to many colleagues. Away from the business, Jan also taught us how to enjoy everyday things. He delighted in going

out and partaking of good food and equally good wine! Florensis will always have colourful and enduring memories of Jan owing to the many paintings he collected, which to this day still adorn the office walls. Visitors often comment on this art collection. Florensis will remember Jan as a considerate man, a proud man, and as a man with a special, refined and sometimes almost cynical sense of humour.

Jan was a man always interested in people.

He dealt with customers with a dubious payment morale delicately but at the same time with razorsharp perception Jan was intending to retire after his 40th anniversary, around his 60th birthday, and had made a lot of plans. It is so sad that this was not to be for the man who meant so much to Florensis.’

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Running, flying… and stepping back a little A personal retrospective by Herman Hamer

In a nutshell, Herman’s career at Hamer and Florensis consists of four periods. The first are ‘the early years’ which run from when he started working in his father’s business in 1976 to 1985. The second covers the years 19852000, his ‘most intensive period’. Followed by his ‘most difficult time’, from around 2000 to 2010. Bringing us more or less up to the present, the ‘calmer waters’ – or perhaps simply ‘different’ waters.

‘In the coming years I hope to play more and more of an advisory role myself, and to be able to distance myself from Florensis a little more’

Herman and Rian with children and in-laws

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1976 - 1985 ‘During my first ten years at Hamer my main role was that of representative for the area south of the Dutch river delta, in the provinces of North Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland plus a small part of Gelderland. I got the biggest kick out of poaching orders from my competitors.

In 1984, when Adriaan Vonk joined, I also became more involved in planning, keeping a tally of orders, organising the sowing period and putting the catalogue together. I also started travelling and visiting trial gardens abroad.’

1985 - 2000 Herman’s early years came to a close when Hamer decided to set up its own nursery in 1986. Jan Ammerlaan came on board to lead the project. ‘We spent the next 10-15 years never quite being able to keep up as we were growing by more than 20% a year at that time. We never really managed to get on top of things. That growth and success didn’t happen spontaneously: we worked incredibly hard for it. But there was always too much work. With hindsight, we should have started bringing in even more external expertise, people from outside and professionalising our management much earlier than we did.

The only thing I can remember from those years is that I was always working. I had to

Herman with Sally van der Horst at the Fleuroselect Convention 2015 cancel family holidays several times, I always took my computer with me and I was always on the phone. The fact that our home life ran so smoothly with five children is entirely due to Rian.’

2000 – 2010 ‘Our most difficult period was in the decade from 2000 to 2010. My role changed from entrepreneur to manager. Florensis had grown so big by then and it was still growing rapidly that we got to the point where we urgently needed to professionalise. But no matter how many good people you gather around you, at the end of the day you’re often on your own when it comes to decision making. You’re the one who has to make those choices.’

‘My role changed from entrepreneur to manager’ In 2005 a number of serious personal events took place in the lives of the Hamers and Herman in particular. He became seriously ill and shortly after that, when he was fortunately on the mend, his father died, followed by his brother Jan in early 2006. Shortly after his admission to hospital, Herman decided to recruit a general manager from outside to prepare for the future and to professionalise the management structure. This didn’t deliver the hoped-for change, however, and after some four years Herman was back at the helm again himself.

‘There have been times when I wondered why I was doing all this. Times when I was through with all the work and you realised that your health is much more important. But still,

Leo and Herman visiting Sakata F.l.t.r. Taka Miura, Leo, Herman and Hiroshi Sakata there were also a lot of great moments and events in this period. Signing the Ball deal was definitely one of them, and starting cuttings production in Africa another. That’s the kind of variety I enjoy. I’m still constantly on the lookout for new challenges, and that is in fact what made us start bringing outsiders into the directors team in the years after the turn of the millennium, including Leo Hoogendoorn and Peter van Esch, until we had a team we could count on.’

2010 to the present day The day-to-day management of Florensis has been in the hands of Leo Hoogendoorn for some years now. Herman has taken a step back and now tends to focus on specific projects. He has also been elected chairman of the industry organisation Fleuroselect, a position which for many years he turned down due to a lack of time and interest in business clubs, and the step into the limelight that goes with the post. In preparation for passing the baton to the next generation of Hamers, Florensis has now also joined FBNed, the Dutch industry association for family-run businesses.

‘The day-to-day management of Florensis is in the capable hands of Leo and the other members of the management team. Leo was able to prepare for his role in 2012-2014 and that is reflected in the excellent way things are running now. In the coming years I hope to play more and more of an advisory role myself, and to be able to distance myself from Florensis a little more. But I will still be very much involved as a major shareholder and I am also continuing to work with the MT and various working groups on developing Masterplan 2.0. However, I no longer come in every day. Depending on my foreign trips, it’s usually 3-4 days a week so I‘m not making my curtain-call just yet.’

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Opening new canteen in 2012

To govern is to look ahead Masterplan 2.0 Langeweg and other investments The stove in the new nursery in Langeweg in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht was lit for the first time in December 1986. Now the buildings are around 30 years old and are in part due for replacement or at least upgrading.

Nucleus stock department pelargonium

A brand new canteen and staff entrance were built, for example, along with a new nucleus stock department New canteen, relocated trial garden and more

Nucleus stock department pelargonium

34 Florensis 75 years

The first plans to give the Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht facilities a facelift date back to early 2011. In the years that followed, a number of major investments were made in and around the nursery. A brand new canteen and staff entrance were built, for example, along with a new nucleus stock department. Additionally, the trial gardens were moved, changes were made to the tray washing department, the waterside installation was centralised and a brand new delivery system was put in place.

The total investment came to around â‚Ź4 million.

Delivery system

Masterplan 2.0 All these changes pre-dated the Masterplan Langeweg 2.0 which is now in the making.

The most important question back in 2011 (and still current until recently) was whether Florensis should keep the nursery in Langeweg in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. We answered ‘yes’ to this question, but this in turn raised others: should we build a completely new facility all at once or in stages; should we opt for whole or partial conditioned cultivation in growing cells; what is the optimum m2; and so on.

Many of these questions have already been analysed by the board and management, and some have already been answered.

A steering group and working groups were recently set up to identify needs and draw up plans.

Masterplan 2.0 is expected to start being implemented in mid-2020 at the earliest.

Florensis had already begun talks with the local municipal council about making changes to the development plan some years ago, since the current plan is inadequate for a modern nursery in terms of aspects such as the height of the greenhouses, a vertical heat buffer, and so on. Our talks with the municipality have been constructive.

Masterplan 2.0 will be fleshed out in more detail over the next few years.

Current situation of the production location Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht

One of the designs concerning the future production location Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Florensis 75 years

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ast MixM 2017

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Eenjarigen 2017

Uit zaad en stek Potplanten

Perennials 20

Novelties &

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Highlights

Nov

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Cut 201 Flower 7 s

EDITORS Regina Dinkla (managing editor) Herman Hamer (editor in chief) Wim-Arie Hamer Anne Nootenboom (design) Hortitaal (translation) Carola Aardenhout (Beebuzz)

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www.florensis.com