Over the last couple of years, the company of Dutch young plant grower Maarten Bloemen expanded rapidly. It tripled in surface and built a new facility. Also, his son joined the company as owner, and the company recently changed its name to Bloemen Young Plants.
Maarten, Jacqueline, and son Merijn
The company, Ornamental Plant Nursery Maarten Bloemen V.O.F., was founded on October 1, 1987. After working for ten years with an extensive assortment of plants, including ready-to-deliver products, they switched to acidophilous shrubs. Now, they only produce reproductive materials such as rooted cuttings and planting material, specializing in a limited assortment. In the past years, they have been intensively engaged in the production of newly patented varieties.
A peek into the new storage and processing area
For many years, they did not have expansion plans, but in '10, they started to think about it and took the first steps in '14-15. It took some time and paperwork to receive a go, but in '19, they finally received it. And in '21 and '22, they went from a production acreage of 1.5 ha to 4ha, of which a 2ha greenhouse, a 2.5 ha container field, ha storage and processing area, loading docks, and a basin in which 1 million liters of water can be store. Production has grown from 900,000 to over 2 million plants, and the assortment has also expanded considerably (with all kinds of shrubs).
Container fields
The focus now is on consolidation. "We have had(29) one season now, and it has gone well. We are very pleased with the production, processing and sales. And we stopped production at two rental locations, which has been a good decision in terms of logistics."
The new greenhouse is not being heated, but it is frost-proof
Currently, Maarten, Jacqueline, their son Merijn (29), and twelve employees are running the business. After working for more than a decade in the company, Merijn is now also co-owner. He mainly focussed on cultivation, and his mother on administration and H&R.
"We are almost sixty, still too early to retire but at a good age to let the new generation take it over gradually. We have now set up a nice, future-proof company and also have about 40 years of experience to build upon. We still have 2 hectares of empty land, which we certainly intend to develop in the coming years. We are only halfway to our potential in that respect because all the facilities are already set up for full production."
For more information:
Bloemen Young Plants
[email protected]
www.bloemenyoungplants.nl
(The new website will go live next month. Meanwhile, the old website is still online at www.maartenbloemen.nl)