"Just call Vos, he'll sort it out." Pieter Vos still hears it often and he admittedly loves it. After bankruptcy, ten years ago this month, his greenhouse construction business has been doing well again for years. More importantly, apart from the business, Pieter is having fun again. The period around 2012 was not easy for him. "This is why I don't want to let this ten-year anniversary pass without any acknowledgment."
Ten years ago this month, VOKA Kassenbouw was founded. If you drive between the greenhouses in Drenthe, Netherlands, you will increasingly see that name on the facades of the greenhouses, not just on Kassenbouw Het Noorden.
VOKA is a real greenhouse builder, so there is also a poster in the company hall
"Learned a lot"
Pieter's parents moved from De Lier to Drenthe in the 1960s. There, Pieter's father first managed a garden, while he also had experience in building greenhouses. In 1981, Kassenbouw Het Noorden was set up. It quickly became a large company, employing over a hundred people at its peak.
In the economic crisis around 2012, things went wrong for the company. At the time, Pieter had already taken over the company from his father a few years prior. "It was a difficult time, but I learned a lot from it afterward," he said. "Running such a large company is not for me. It may sound strange, but the bankruptcy was also a kind of relief. It was easy to blame everyone else, but I didn't want to do that. I didn't do things right either."
Central role in the region
Looking back, Pieter now says that after the bankruptcy his Westland mentality surfaced. The company was able to make a fresh start, in a more streamlined form. "I was 46 at the time and was happy with the chance I got to start again. We were able to continue." It was a case of trial and error at the beginning. "We had to leave our premises. For a while, we were located somewhere else. Until I decided to move back. The bank didn't know that, initially. When they found out, they were angry of course, but I also got a compliment, because I showed resilience and was a real entrepreneur."
The car park in front of VOKA Kassenbouw's premises in Erica
The greenhouse construction company has always been having a central role in the region. "We get about ninety percent of our turnover from the north-eastern Netherlands. With our team of around twelve people, we have everything in-house, including our own technical draughtsman in the office. As a result, we can now build many special, smaller customized projects. Our customers are therefore not only production growers, but also all kinds of companies that use greenhouse constructions and garden centers. That is an important branch for us nowadays. It's nice to see that we also have jobs outside the region, even in South Limburg."
New building for Tuincentrum De Aadijk in Almelo
Less stress
At the beginning of last year, the local presence of the greenhouse builder came in handy. The heavy snowfall caused a lot of damage, including to growers in Drenthe. "We received a lot of calls and helped where we could. We go back a long way with many growers here, so if they need us, they know where to find us."
One of the growers whose greenhouse collapsed was Meewisse Plants. "We immediately helped them when the greenhouse collapsed and we also built a new greenhouse last year. As VOKA, we cannot and will not build much bigger on our own. Nowadays, my permanent team and I, with little turnover, enjoy working on the projects we have. Bigger and more, with all the stress that that entails, is no longer necessary for me. I myself have learned over the years to be less stressed and sometimes to sleep on things."
New building for Meewisse Plants. The greenhouse is now complete and in production, the grower announced last month
Full throttle
Pieter is now 56 years old. How much longer does he want to carry on? "At the time of the bankruptcy, I said I would go flat out for another 15 years and then stop. That would mean I would continue for another five years. Now I look at it a little differently. I'm enjoying myself and I still love my work. I think I will continue for a little longer, although I will be looking around for a successor in a few years' time."
Among his offspring, Pieter cannot find such a successor. Would he, therefore, consider closer cooperation with the current turnkey partners an option in due course? "Who knows. There were times when we drove each other off the road as competitors, but now we regularly sit together over a cup of coffee and talk about it with a smile. We all work together here in the region."
More information: 
Pieter Vos
VOKA Kassenbouw
[email protected]
www.voka.nu