Netherlands and Holland push technology, efficiency, even in flower production
The advancement of technology in the past decade has moved the floriculture industry forward light years, making a better product faster, all while increasing efficiency.
Ter Laak Orchids, a third-generation family-owned orchid farm in the Westlands region of the Netherlands, has used a mixture of hands-on approach with extraordinary amounts of automation to the tune of about 6 million plants annually. A gallery of Ter Laak Orchids can be found here.
The upfront costs are high, but Richard Ter Laak, owner of Ter Laak Orchids, said that investment pays itself off rather quickly.
“Sustainable business, with respect for the environment and humankind, is the basis of our management approach at Ter Laak Orchids,” the owners stated.
Through solar panels on the roof of its glass greenhouses and fully insulated glasshouse facades, three internal screens, heat and cold energy sources and a heat pump have helped the company reduce its energy usage by 25 percent.
The greenhouses use 100 percent recycled water and also stores energy from the sun harvested during the day to use at night.
Click here to read the complete article at www.hollandsentinel.com.