A storm hit the Dutch office of greenhouse builder Gakon quite hard this morning. "A gust of 119 km per hour did the job. Our façade was blown out, and our new logo also had to pay for it", says Olaf Mos from Gakon. Now there is only a small part of the slogan remaining. "On Projects", the building says. "The slogan still fits our company though, we are always active 'on projects'", Olaf observes.
Damaged greenhouses
This morning, most of the Netherlands suffered from heavy winds. Several horticultural companies evacuated their employees from the greenhouse. The Dutch meteorological institute issued a red alert and, after recommendations from grower organizations, several horticultural companies evacuated their greenhouses.In the morning, around 11am, it peaked, with blasts of 130 kilometer per hour being measured. Insurance companies say it's the heaviest storm in years, and several greenhouses and other horticultural companies suffered severe damage.
Greenhouses
On social media, several growers shared photos and videos of their greenhouses. Kees van Egmond, matricharia grower, made a video of the sounds in the greenhouse caused by the winds. "This isn't the sound of a machine, but the rattling windows..."
At Pieter Stolk, anthurium grower, the damage is limited to some windows. "Fortunately, the storm is less heavy here", he reports.
UK
Also in the UK, growers are suffering from the winds. At UK alpine plants grower Nursery Fresh Plants in Spalding, South Lincolnshire, the storm damaged their polytunnels. They posted the following picture on their twitter page.
For more information:
Gakon Horticultural Projects
(+31)174 225 700