Maarten Schoenmaker grows cucumbers in the horticultural region of Papenburg, in northwestern Germany. After years of frustration with the heavy manual work required to lift heating pipe rails at the end of each crop cycle, he decided to develop his own machine. The result is a system that not only lifts the rails efficiently, but also lowers them back into position without shifting or damaging the ground cover film.
With the support of a machine builder, the concept was further refined and successfully patented. "We worked on it for five years," Schoenmaker says.
© Gärtnerei SchoenmakerTwo greenhouses, many pipe rails
As his name suggests, Schoenmaker has Dutch roots. His great-grandfather moved from Loosduinen in the Netherlands to Germany in the 1930s, rebuilding a greenhouse there that had been transported by ship. The aim was to achieve better prices for vegetables on the German market.
Today, Schoenmaker and his wife cultivate long cucumbers in a 3.75-hectare greenhouse. Their daughter and son-in-law also grow cucumbers on an additional 3.75 hectares. Across both sites, this represents a substantial network of pipe rails that must be lifted during crop changeovers.
Photo: Maarten with his wife in the cucumber greenhouse.
On pipe rails, without a combustion engine
Schoenmaker began looking for a more efficient solution to handle the rails. "I know there is already a machine on the market, but in my opinion it doesn't perform well enough," he explains.
He opted to develop a system that runs directly on the pipe rails, preventing disturbance of the plastic ground cover. "The major advantage is that when you lower the pipe rails again, the film always remains neatly in place. Because the lifting arm extends exactly 1.60 metres, the rail is positioned within one to two centimetres of the correct height."
From the outset, he chose a fully electric design, avoiding the use of a combustion engine inside the greenhouse. "The system operates with two batteries, similar to those used in a crop protection sprayer. They can easily be exchanged."
© Gärtnerei SchoenmakerMaarten and his wife's company and that of their daughter and son-in-law are located next to each other in Papenburg.
Hydraulic system
The first prototype was built together with his father-in-law. "We constructed an initial version on wheels that ran over the ground cover, but that didn't work. After that, we involved a machine builder."
The final version, now in use during crop changeovers, features a hydraulic system that pulls on a steel cable to lift the rails. Only the last rail section needs to be handled manually when raising or lowering the system.
According to Schoenmaker, the machine has significantly reduced physical strain and eliminated problems with displaced or damaged ground cover. "It works very well," he concludes.
For more information:
Maarten Schoenmaker
Gärtnerei Schoenmaker
Rheiderlandstraße 101
26871 Papenburg
[email protected]
