Between 3-4 October 2023, Fleuroselect, the international organisation for the ornamental plants industry, invited breeders and distributors of pot and bedding plants to its annual Breeders& Distributors Conference. This year, the organisation catered for a two-day programme packed with company visits and presentations in both The Netherlands and Germany.
Day one of the event focused on Energy and Research. Erik Bax from AAB provided an update on Energy Transition. In the near future, taxes will define the energy price instead of availability. The ornamental horticulture industry needs to save energy and looks for alternative sources to remain successful.
For the second day of the conference, the group hopped across the border and focused on production and distribution in the Straelen area (DE). First stop was Landgard where Director Florian Hinrichs explained how this leading grower cooperative acts as a hub between production and customers, reaching a sales volume of approx. 2 billion/year. Cees Hoekstra provided insights on the auction room with eight digital clocks selling plants to 200 buyers in the room.
After a guided tour of the auction and cash and carry store, Henning Krause explained how the sales in Germany dropped again in the first half of 2023 due to unfavorable weather conditions and insecurities at end-consumer level.
The programme continued with a visit to Europlant Canders where Tom & Marc Canders highlighted how the Belaju Group produces 150 million URC for 100 growers resulting in 65 million pots per year. Henrik Rietberg and Tjerk van Bruchem from Edens Creations shared the breeding history of Calluna vulgaris and the origins of the brand Beauty Ladies, followed by a visit to the nursery and trial field.
The visit ended with a guided tour through the facility where the group observed the order preparation and logistics, followed by a short demonstration of the packaging belt in the Dümmen Orange distribution center located in the same building.