Thanks to the merger with Kesgro and an expansion of twenty hectares, Agro Care will grow to be 173 hectares next year. And if it were up to Philip van Antwerpen that would not be the end of it. “To us, managing a surface that big is no problem at all. We will not stop at this.”
Big news in the tomato sector yesterday: Tomato nurseries Agro Care and Kesgro merged. With branches in De Lier, Wieringenmeer, Rilland, Tunisia and Morocco, the company’s total area now amounts to 153 hectares of greenhouses. “The company’s size was an easy goal, but not the only one,” says Philip van Antwerpen of Agro Care. “It was a very gradual process. We have known each other, and each other’s companies, for a very long time already. We do many things similarly, we are members of the same grower’s association, and we sometimes bicker about who gets to cultivate which strain. All of this made the idea of a merger logical.”
Agro Care and Kesgro are already working closely with other tomato nurseries. Van Antwerpen does not rule out a further merger. “We sometimes spar about this, and this could be a start, but we do not yet have any concrete plans. A merger must be beneficial: you have to feel as if you could accomplish more together, and to innovate and expand more in future.” And according to him that is now happening. Thanks to the increased area, the peak in summer production can be further absorbed now. “We now have overproduction. Thanks to the area being illuminated, we can plant new tomatoes in summer and continue switching year-round.”
Banks also liked the sound of a merger. “We approached them beforehand. What the considerations were? The purchasing of gas, and what we could be doing more professionally. And perhaps the risks as well: it is quite a big difference whether you have eight people on the board of directors, or two or three people.” The five members of the board of Agro Care and the three members of the board of Kesgro will all remain a part of the management of the new company. “Everyone will keep doing what they are doing now. As soon as something new comes up, we will start combining tasks. We have got eight great people now, and such a large company will always have something to do.” Moreover, Agro Care wants to expand again, and Kesgro has the room to do so. The company will expand with a further 20 hectares, also filling this plot completely. “Banks also like seeing that, it is easier to make a profit that way than when the plot is empty.”
Expansion
Total area of the new Agro Care amounts to 173 hectares. Will the maximum size of a market garden be reached then? Not as far as Van Antwerpen is concerned. “To us, managing such a large area is no problem at all, and we have also not yet reached our final size. After the expansion in Wieringermeer, we want to take another step, and that will not be ten hectares either.” Whether that expansion will occur in the Netherlands or in North Africa is not yet certain. Kesgro has been working in Morocco for some years already, and Agro Care recently built phase three of their Tunisian branch. “We will first expand in the Netherlands, then we will get back to our calculators before making a consideration.” One thing is certain: a good plot is a requirement, meaning the Westland seems out of the question. “It could be possible, if you know of a good plot of about 50 to 60 hectares, with a decent connection. We just have slightly more wind and less sunshine here in North Holland. A good location does much for your cost price.”