Last week, the cinema hall in Narpes (Finland) was once again transformed into an exhibition floor. Despite the fair's small scale, turnout was high. We spoke with Sander Zuidgeest from Steenks Service about the Finnish market. "Like the fair, the sector is also characterized by its small scale. I know that Dutch suppliers like ourselves are spoiled with large-scale projects. Nevertheless, big is not always better, generally Finnish growers make a pretty good living.
Sander Zuidgeest (Steenks Service), Jeroen de Wit (Van der Ende Group), and Paul van der Valk (Hortilux) met the Finnish sector during the Tradgard Expo Puutarha in Narpes (Finland)
When it comes to the Finish market, Steenks Service collaborates with Rob Westdijk. This Dutchman has been living and working in Finland for 17 years. He owns a business that offers greenhouse repair and maintenance business. If desired, Rob also maintains the pipe rail trolleys for Steenks Service. Finnish growers seem to have a preference for high-quality products. Sander experiences that Finish growers tend to opt for new trolleys rather than second-hand ones. "The grower often works with them too. If five carts are purchased, they prefer to have new ones so that everything is just right from the start."
Since Finland is a large country that is not densely populated, Sander does not expect the Finish horticulture sector to increase in scale soon. Recently, Sander visited a few supermarkets where he came across Dutch, Spanish, and Finish products. The Finnish products were more popular, that may be due to lower prices for local products.
However, Finland experiences an increase in LED lighting usage. The electricity costs for LED are lower than for Son-t. "That's typically the reason for switching. But beware, the Finish energy market is an unstable one, more so than the Dutch energy market. There are many wind turbines in Finland, and that energy is anything but free."
For more information:
Steenks Service
Sander Zuidgeest
Tel.: +31 (0) 174 510 266
Mob.: + 31 (0) 651 687 505
Email: info@steenks‑service.nl
www.steenks-service.nl