It's a little like a safari, a trip around the cultivation at Ammerlaan TGI. It's always tropically hot, a large part of the over 100 varieties are continually in the water (hydro, professionally) and there is something new to see every meter. "A huge assortment and strong in day trade, that's how we define ourselves from the competitor", says the company salesman Dennis Smits.
The sales team: Ellen van Deelen, Hendrik-Jan Huisman and Dennis Smits
Variation
It is mostly mixed trucks that leave here, and logistically the day to day business is quite a challenge. Not only are there over 400 varieties, they also vary hugely in cultivation length (from a few weeks to many months) and in size (from 70 centimeters to 4.5 meters). Add to this the parties that are continually coming in, not only from South America, but also from other nurseries. And then there are still a lot of regular visitors, usually from exporters, who bring along their final customer to view the garden. "From Germans to Saudis, they come from all corners of the world," according to Dennis.
There aren't a lot of parties like Ammerlaan, but now that green is very trendy the company knows how to profit from it. As it is known, green plants have had a few difficult years, until it started to pull up again a year or two ago. By then quite a few people had dropped out, which meant there was space for expansion. Ammerlaan took their chance, built 1.2 ha and has used it for almost a year now. Even now in the middle of summer, when the plant trade traditionally dips, almost nothing is noticeable. "You never know what to expect, especially in the day to day trade, but so far we've been full every week."
A look in the new greenhouse
Ammerlaan is a trade nursery. It works together with a group of growers, who market part of the assortment through Ammerlaan. The plants leave the garden on order. That isn't to say that salespeople are peddling all day every day: most is bought by set customers. "We have a number of large customers who regularly place orders. It's never one or two crates, but on the other hand you never know exactly what's going to be demanded and no two orders are the same."
If there are some plants left over or a party is 'forgotten' Ammerlaan also has a solution. For over a year the grower has had a special offer every week - a number of crates of this or that special variety. These are treats for the trade, something fun to surprise the customers with, and the grower pitched it well. "The trade now knows about our weekly offer and is curious about what is on offer this week. Of course it's sometimes disappointing, but it hasn't made us a loss."
Finally, people know Ammerlaan from the addition of TGI, The Green Innovator. In 2010 the company was the first grower in the Netherlands that was able to independently fill in the energy demand with geothermal heat. Water with a temperature of around 70 degrees is pumped up from a depth of 2100 metres. This heats the greenhouse, after which it returns to the depths. What is also funny is that the capacity of the supplied heat is much larger than the need, which has lead to an expansion of the heat net. Now a swimming pool, various fellow flower, plant and vegetable growers and around 16 flats in Pijnackers are foreseen of heat.
Finally, people know Ammerlaan from the addition of TGI, The Green Innovator. In 2010 the company was the first grower in the Netherlands that was able to independently fill in the energy demand with geothermal heat. Water with a temperature of around 70 degrees is pumped up from a depth of 2100 metres. This heats the greenhouse, after which it returns to the depths. What is also funny is that the capacity of the supplied heat is much larger than the need, which has lead to an expansion of the heat net. Now a swimming pool, various fellow flower, plant and vegetable growers and around 16 flats in Pijnackers are foreseen of heat.
For more information:
Ammerlaan TGI
Dennis Smits
Nootdorpseweg 15
2641 BK Pijnacker
T: 0031 (0) 15 - 361 5544
F: 0031 (0) 15 - 361 5540
E: [email protected]
www.ammerlaan-tgi.nl