"We've entered a niche in the market"

Three years ago Ridder started a new company called Ridder Climate Screens. Mario Scherpenzeel took the helm of the business. At the moment of start-up, there were already suppliers of screen cloths around, so why did Ridder think there was room for another competitor? And was there even any room at all on the market? The situation was apparent to Mario: "There was no competition between the current suppliers. Each had their own products with specific qualities. In fact, growers can’t compare them with each other. The demand actually came to us from the sector. There was a need for an alternative. That was what was needed."

Ridder has entered this niche in the market. Ridder is a well-established name in horticulture and this was the basis for further development. The contacts had already been made. The number of topics for discussion were expanded. It was now no longer just about drive systems (Ridder Drive Systems) or growing solutions (HortiMax), but also about screening. Mario: "At Ridder they know the market and horticulture. We know what the greenhouse builder, screen installer and their customers (growers) need. One of those needs is the ability to switch quickly, because horticulture is a fast moving market. In order to be able to switch rapidly and to serve the customers optimally, Ridder Climate Screens has chosen to keep the most common cloths amply in stock, which means that delivery times are kept very short.

In the past three years, Ridder Climate Screens have already had their screen cloths installed in 2,000 hectares of greenhouse. These are greenhouses in the Netherlands at large-scale new construction projects, but also in the case of renovation, more and more growers are choosing for Ridder quality. In addition to the Netherlands, they also increasingly supply screen cloths to projects abroad. This is mostly done via Dutch installation companies, but also through the customers of the sales offices in France, Spain, North America, Mexico and China. As a result of the growth, Johan van Erven joined the sales department, and in addition to office sales, Johan takes care of part of the customers domestically and abroad. Mario: "And the growth goes on and on, I expect that in the foreseeable future we will bring the production to the Netherlands. Then we will be able to produce ourselves. We are now investing a great deal of time and energy in control and directing of foreign production. If we bring this to the Netherlands, it will offer many advantages. It’s a matter of time."