Going GreenTech: a chat with Mariska

It has been almost two years since the last GreenTech exhibition, and there’s only two months to go until the 2018 edition. In the meantime Mariska Dreschler has travelled all over the world. “We believe in doing business face to face – that’s why we organize an exhibition in the first place.” Over the last couple of years Mariska has therefore visited many horticultural, other relevant shows, exhibiting companies, but also greenhouse growers (visitors) worldwide. “It’s one of the best parts of the job: getting in touch with many different cultures and getting to know people worldwide. Main goal is to learn about the specific challenges in the production process of flowers, vegetables and fruits and find feasible solutions for them at GreenTech. Now, no travelling, but full focus to build further on a meeting place for the industry ourselves. In our first editions we were supported by the Dutch industry. At this moment we see that more and more international suppliers choose to participate. The exhibitor list is very diverse and includes almost all market leading companies inclusive innovators from various segments.” 

From her travels and contacts worldwide, Mariska learned about the wishes of the horticultural entrepreneurs and included these in this year’s exhibition. Like last edition there’s extensive attention for the main themes Crops, Water, Energy and People. Next to the extensive overview of the best greenhouse builders and suppliers from Holland and abroad, also a Vertical Farming Pavilion will be hosted by the AVF and a Demo Area for heavy equipment and machinery inclusive post-harvest will be included. New is the focus on the organic industry. 

“This year we’re co-hosting the event TOFF, with special focus on (knowledge sharing in) the organic farming sector. Globally the organic industry is growing very fast and the market is asking continuously for more organic specific production technology. For example biological crop protection, vegetables seeds and weeding machines. Pre-registration shows there’s a lot of attention for TOFF.” Also new is the attention for medicinal crops. “We welcome many visitors from the US and Canada every edition and medicinal produce is an important topic there right now. We expect many visitors from this industry to see the newest production technologies for these crops, and are organizing special attention for the subject as well in our Trends and Innovations Theatre.” 

The exhibition floor for the GreenTech 2018 is sold out almost completely – but for Mariska and her team, the time to rest isn’t quite there yet. “We’re very busy with the last preparations to offer a warm welcome to our visitors at the exhibition and try to fit in the last participants. And of course we are working on the Summit which will be held on June 11. This will be a very special day for top growers and investors worldwide. Experts and visionaries will travel with us to the year 2028, to provide insights and inspiration for future proof business models. It’s going to be great. So if you haven’t registered yet: please do so!”