"It’s just so much fun to work with your family"

Family van Duijn’s business has already been around for a few decades. Alex van Duijn’s grandpa was already growing plants 60 years ago. Now the van Duijn family grows in two different locations in Westland, in Maasland and Maasdijk. “At one location we grow beaucarnea, ginseng, cambria and sansevieria and at the other Phalaenopsis.”

“My grandfather used to grow vegetables. And when my father joined the business, he decided to search for a combination with green indoor plants. That worked out very well!” When Alex’s father took over the business he concentrated solely on growing green indoor plants. “Our added value is our large assortment. Take for example beaucarneas, we sell them in lots of different sorts and sizes.”, Alex tells us. “But we also have a lot of different Phalaenopsis in our assortment. Clients can choose between 30 to 50 different shapes and colours every week.”

Especially for growing Phalaenopsis Duijn-Orchids was created. Now ten years ago, the modern growing business for plants opened its doors in Maasdijk. There phalaenopsis is being cultivated in an innovative way. “Here we specialize in orchids bent in different shapes. For example in the shape of an arc or a waterfall.”

"It’s just so much fun to work with your family. Especially that the entire family works in the business. One brother does the purchasing, the other plants and cultivates. I myself am responsible for sales and my sister does the administration (until recently together with my mother). My father is the happiest when he is in the greenhouse, monitoring the growth of the plants. Everyone has their own strengths. But we can’t do it alone, our team consists of 65 persons now. And I’m proud of that."

“Both locations are MPS-A certified. We grow our plants with respect for humans and the environment. Together with a few companies in the neighbourhood we decided to make use of terrestrial heat. We already use the left over heat from our neighbour's greenhouse. We also grow our plants as organic as possible, we always try to take one more step forward. In short, sustainability is in our DNA.” Van der Plas is always searching for the best quality plants for you. The assortment of van Duijn-Hove and Duijn-Orchids is a good example.