Horticultural engineering company Ridder earns HortiQ certification

Left to right Brigitte Nugteren, Maarten-Jasper Brandts and Harm Maters.

Dutch-based Ridder, a manufacturer of specialist technical systems, has announced its manufacturing process, organisation and core products have been succesfully certified as meeting HortiQ standards.

HortiQ chairman Harm Maters presented the certificate to director of operations, Brigitte Nugteren on Tuesday 20 December 2022.

Ridder, with headquarters in Harderwijk, Netherlands and subsidairies in Maasdijk, Netherlands,  France, Spain, Mexico, the USA, Canada, and China, has become a household name in specialist technical systems for horticulture. Ridder drive units and pinions have been widely for over 60 years for operating ventilation and other drive systems in the agricultural and horticultural industry. In 2018 the company began its production of quality energy screens in Maasdijk.

The HortiQ certificate is an independent and objective quality scheme for greenhouse builders and engineers, and other technical suppliers in the greenhouse industry. The label demonstrates that their products are high-quality and that their business processes are properly set up and controlled.

To receive a HortiQ certificate, companies are tested on their internal processes, organisation and the quality of the product they offer. The demands are based on the NEN standards as recorded in three quality handbooks. These handbooks have been drafted by the ‘Stichting Kwaliteit voor Installaties Nederland’ (KviNL, the Dutch organisation for monitoring the quality of installations). KIWA/Gastec performs checks on companies, an independent certification organisation. The certificate is valid for three years, with intermediate annual checking. The handbooks are continuously updated to reflect the current level of technology and are also available in English for the international market.

Nugteren is delighted Ridder has earned the coveted certification. She says, “Thanks to the HortiQ certificate, our customers know that we take quality just as seriously as they do. We help growers and farmers to make a successful transition to more efficient and above all more sustainable production methods by sharing not only our knowledge and experience, but also our vision of the autonomous greenhouse. In this context, we are striving for a fully automated and intelligent crop production environment.”

The newly certified Ridder company, which celebrates 70 years in business in 2023, joins an already existing family of 22 HortiQ members, including Alcomij, Bosman Van Zaal, Certhon, Dalsem, Enthoven Techniek, Gakon, Hoogendoorn Growth Management, J.M. van der Hoeven, Horconex, Kubo, PB Techniek, Van der Hoeven Horticultural Projects, Van Dijk Heating, Elektravon-Haket, Snelder, Vijverberg, Svensson, Havecon, Stolze, Kemeling, Zantingh, and MK Kunststof Techniek.

For more information visit www.hortiq.nl