Emsflower, one of Europe’s largest flower and plant growers, located in the German town of Emsbüren has extended its production area with approximately 85,000 square meters. A sum of around 18 million Euro was invested in the project. Recently, the new combination greenhouse, in which spring flowers are grown in winter, followed by cucumbers and tomatoes until October/November, has officially been opened in the presence of many guests. Thousands and thousands of visitors took the opportunity as part of an open day to hear the ins and outs and peek inside the large greenhouses of the company, with which it has created about 60 new jobs.
The realisation of the expansion took a mere six months. Bennie Kuipers, owner of Emsflower, had been fantasizing for a while about expanding the flower and plant production with that of vegetables. At the same time, the innovative entrepreneur however admits he does not know a thing about vegetables: “We have wonderful employees with excellent knowledge in that field.”
The cucumbers and tomatoes are solely irrigated with rainwater, approximately twenty times a day. The tomatoes are harvested twice a week and the cucumbers daily. The result: around 100,000 cucumbers and 100,000 kilograms of tomatoes each week. These quantities are sorted and packed with a sophisticated system. Only a couple of hours after the picking the vegetables are already on their way to cash-and-carry companies: ‘fresh from the area for the area’.