Plant nursery Ammerlaan-Sosef from the Westland area has been a loyal partner of OZ Planten for many years. The company is famous for its Celosia deep purple, as well as the other varieties of celosia, Primula obconica, and Cyclamen. OZ Planten was one of the very first visitors to admire the brand-new extension with high-tech automation.
Back to the beginning
Ammerlaan-Sosef was created in 1999 through the collaboration of Ard Ammerlaan and his son Jeffrey with employee Gertjan Sosef. The nursery currently has 3.8 ha of cultivation area and 14 employees. More than 3 million Celosia, 1 million primroses, and 100,000 Cyclamen leave the nursery every year.
Perfect purple
The success of the Celosia deep purple is due to a large trial of cut Celosia that was set up as a pot plant in the 1990s. “We took more risk by setting up multiple batches of Celosia, but it eventually paid off in the creation of the first potted Celosia. Thanks to a good collaboration with Royal van Zanten, the Celosia deep purple was created," says Jeffrey.
Renewal of the range is still a top priority at the nursery, and novelties are regularly introduced to the market. Ammerlaan-Sosef currently supplies no fewer than 16 varieties of Celosias in pot sizes 8 to 22 cm.
FUN factor
Fair, Unusual and Never Boring! That is the philosophy of Ammerlaan-Sosef. Gertjan: “Fair stands for an honest product with as little impact on the environment as possible, Unusual stands for the surprising range, and Never boring stands for how we work here. We work very closely as a team, we spend many hours together and we all work together for the best result. That is why it is very important that there is a good working atmosphere where we can laugh a lot with each other.”
Impressive sustainability through modern extension
Due to the renovation in the summer of 2021, the cultivation area has been increased from 2.8 to 3.8 ha and has 100% logistics automation. The smart new sun protection screens provide a better greenhouse climate and are also sustainable: in the winter the plants receive optimal light and in the summer the screens provide diffused light: optimal distribution of sunlight over the plants.
Due to the increasingly extreme weather influences, such as longer droughts and heavier rainfall, Ammerlaan-Sosef has decided to respond to this with a giant water buffer.
The nursery is connected to the Trias geothermal project in Westland, which means that the entire greenhouse is heated with water that has been heated deep in the ground. The cooled water is pumped back, creating a closed water system.
Due to all these and other activities related to sustainability, Ammerlaan-Sosef is MPS GAP and SQ certified, and they almost have the certificate “on the way to planet proof”.
OZ Planten