Florensis 75 years 3. GROWTH-EXPLOSION Period 1990-2000
Trendsetter Years of expansion From trial garden to Flower Trials
October 2016
CONTENT 1 Introduction 2 Trendsetter
3 Years of expansion
6 From the water to the land: Leo Hoogendoorn
8 Bleep, bleep... robots make an entrance 9 Catalogues 14 Fire! 16 As big as eggs 18 On a European adventure: Peter de Graaf 20 A nice bit of land 22 Limelight sees the light 23 European adventures 25 UK 27 Belgium 28 A sober approach and vision: Teun Nugteren 30 Germany 35 Poland and Switserland 36 A short history of cut flowers 40 From trial garden to Flower Trials 44 Growth in turnover
3. GROWTH-EXPLOSION October 2016 Dear colleagues, Time flies when you’re having fun and when you open this magazine, we will have celebrated our 75th anniversary during a wonderful weekend. Time flew equally rapidly throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium, as Hamer - which became Florensis during this period – saw tumultuous growth. The turnover figures for this period, which can be found in this third issue of the anniversary magazine series, demonstrate this unequivocally. As did all of the acquisitions and partnership agreements that were initiated in the 1980s and 1990s. Partnerships that are still in existence in many cases, and which have helped get us where we are today. Looking back, it is obvious that it wasn’t just turnover growth and foreign partnerships that typify the period from 1980 to 2000. We were also hit with two major setbacks. The first when a fire broke out, and two years later, when we experienced a short but violent hail storm. These two events wreaked havoc and caused a great deal of damage. But these two incidents also showed that we at Florensis are always there for each other, and ready to get everything back on track, even when things look bleak. Working day, evening or weekend, everyone pitched in to help after these disasters. No matter how big we’ve grown, these values - involvement and showing an interest - are still incredibly important to us. After all, these are what allows us to have the occasional celebratory moments together.
Partnerships that are still in existence in many cases, and which have helped get us where we are today
Turnover in guilders and growth number ha green houses
We hope you enjoy reading part three of our anniversary magazine! Herman Hamer
Wim-Arie Hamer
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SWOT analysis with a personal twist There was no Marketing department in the 1990s, but Adriaan Vonk drafted the first SWOT analysis in the middle of 1993. It compared Hamer with its three main competitors, namely Pannevis (now Syngenta), De Mos (later taken over by Beekenkamp) and Van Zanten (now part of Florensis via Ball). Adriaan looked at the assortment, brand awareness and quality. He concluded the analysis with a clear and personal recommendation which is not really part of a SWOT: ‘Following the growth and expansion in recent years, it is now time for better, not more.’ Typical Adriaan!
Innovative thinking was the order of the day
Trendsetter During the 1990s Hamer’s turnover and volume increased rapidly. Changes and investments were taking place all the time, partly to keep up with growth but mainly to improve efficiency. Innovative thinking was the order of the day, and resulted in two important investments.
Transplanter The agenda for the General Affairs Meeting – the meeting of the directors and management – on 14 February 1992 included two big investments: the purchase of a transplanter and an internal transport system. The transplanter soon arrived. Hamer was the first Dutch company to buy one of these machines, putting it well ahead of the competition as was so often the case. The investment was approximately 190,000 guilders, whereas the annual costs of manual transplantation at the time was around 625,000 guilders. The Meuleman transplanter was specially developed for Hamer and Walz in Germany. The internal transport system, or the investment in robots, remained a talking point. A serious talking point, because at that time it was already clear that this type of automation would deliver benefits.
First SWOT analysis of Adriaan Vonk
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Years of expansion
On the right of the picture: nursery of Mr Los
Growth in turnover and volume demand not only investments in innovative machinery to improve efficiency but also investments in the basic pre-requisites for a nursery: land and greenhouses. In the early 1990s Hamer bought several plots of land in quick succession.
Acquisition of neighbouring land The first move, in May 1993, was to approach the neighbour and buy the corner plot to the left of the existing nursery. In the same year, a
Hamer bought Âseveral plots of land in quick succession new 4,500 m2 sowing and gapping up unit was constructed on the site, a substantial extension which created space for the first proper washing line for washing the trays. Wim Los, the neighbour on the other side of the nursery, sneered that Hamer would have been better off taking over his nursery instead. Herman Hamer didn’t need to be told twice, and the transfer took place a short time later. Hamer then moved its cut flower breeding and trials to the Los nursery.
New sowing and gapping up hall
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1 million trays In 1994 Hamer sowed one million trays in a season for the very first time. This milestone could not pass unnoticed, and a celebration was held in the canteen with speeches by Jan Ammerlaan and Teun Nugteren, president of the staff association. The three Hamers were presented with a perspex memento to mark the occasion. Three years later (1997) one million trays seemed like nothing when 1.5 million trays were planted in a single season.
Later that year, the nursery was extended by another 3,500 m2 behind Hamer Plant 2. Together with the space which had previously been occupied by the sowing department and which had now become available, this meant that an additional 5,000 m2 of growing space was created in 1993.
Further expansion of the nursery One year later, in 1994, Hamer again expanded the nursery to provide an area of around 8,500 m2. The company also invested in a second pressing line to produce Super Seedling compressed substrate blocks, and in another hectare of lighting.
F.l.t.r. Désirée van Dijk-Groeneweg, Miranda Stolk, Jacqueline van ’t Zelfde, Anne Nootenboom, Elaine Horton and Monique Sluyter
Handover of the perspex keepsake of our 1 millionth tray
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I.a. André van Gameren, Jeroen de Visser Jan Hamer, Kees Los and Gerard Aantjes
Article in a newspaper about the growth of Hamer Plant
More land and greenhouses 1995 was the third consecutive year when expansion of the land and nurseries was necessary to allow further growth. Hamer adopted two approaches: acquisition of an adjacent plot of land with an area of approximately 6.3 ha, and negotiations with the municipality of Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht to expand the nursery. The second of these involved a lot of lobbying but in 1997 the municipality gave the green light for expansion. 1998 saw the nursery increase in size by approximately 25 percent, and around 3.8 ha of greenhouses were added with loading docks and greenhouses for the trial garden. The Los nursery was demolished.
1998 saw the nursery increase in size by approximately 25 percent The new development was only just complete when the sowing and gapping up unit was once again extended, this time to its current size.
Catching ‘flies’ Environmental awareness was becoming increasingly important but, at the same time, the annually recurring Sciara fly was a problem that was normally tackled by using a lot of pesticides. The question asked at Hamer was how to deal with the flies in an environmentally friendly way. Sticky traps had long been in common use in nurseries to monitor the insect pressure, and that gave some of the staff an idea! They developed an enormous sticky trap with a giant glue strip and carried it backwards and forwards through the greenhouses in the nursery. After a few circuits, holding the sticky trap just above the crops, they had caught most of the flies. Effective and extremely environmentally friendly!
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From the water to the land “Captain” Florensis used to sail the inland waterways
Leo takes over from Herman (Jan. 2014)
With Mrs Hamer to celebrate her 95th birthday (Nov. 2015)
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With Regina Dinkla during the unveiling of the new logo (May 2016)
It may seem like a complete 180 degree turn, from inland shipping to horticulture, but it was a natural progression for Leo Hoogendoorn. In fact, he’d completed his horticultural studies and was doing an internship at a tomato grower in England, but still managed to land on an inland waterways vessel first, for this is where his family’s roots lie. Now, he’s been standing at the helm of Florensis for a number of years. This is a role towards which he has grown, during what has now become no less than 30 years at Hamer/Florensis. “After that internship at the tomato nursery, I was ready to go abroad again, but that didn’t work out because it wasn’t the right season. So I started in inland navigation. That is, until I saw an advert in horticultural magazine De Bloemisterij in late 1985, for a job opening as a flower seed purchaser. Jan Jr., as he was known, in order to distinguish him from Jan Sr., interviewed me and I became his assistant in the Seed Department, which he managed at the time. From that first position, I quickly moved on to Sales and Export. Jan kept a tight leash on things, but Herman would allow you a lot of freedom. I was soon involved in process automation and the design of our own nursery. When that was built, we started producing our own plants, I was heading more and more towards sales in supporting the export activities. Eventually, this resulted in me taking a position somewhere between purchasing and sales, and my role became more strategic and tactical. This laid the foundation for what we now call product management. What followed from this was a more superordinate role within the company,
one in which I was kept busy with general affairs more and more often.” Leo’s career at Florensis, in which he moved seamlessly from one position to the next, appears to have advanced quite quickly and smoothly, but ultimately, it covers a period of almost 31 years. Did he never think about doing something else?
“The challenges that Herman has provided have been the reason that I’m quite happy to stay “ “I’ve always needed to work independently, but the question is then whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a little fish in a big pond. I opted for the first. The challenges that Herman has provided up to now have been the reason that I’m quite happy to stay where I am. The company’s dynamic also keeps my work exciting and the sector itself remains incredibly fascinating. The world of breeding and cultivation is continuously evolving, and the positions I’ve held within Florensis always bring new perspectives. For example, I’m a lot more involved with the psychological aspects of running a company these days. Prior to my taking on my current responsibilities, and starting in 2012, we allowed a period of two years in which I attended an intensive personal development course at training institute De Baak, which brought me a lot. You should never stop learning.” Leo now serves as the bridge between Herman and the third generation of Hamers who are now active within the family business. This is no easy feat. Can a family business survive without a member of the family on the board? “Yes, that is most certainly possible. Look at Heineken, just to name a modest example. The most important thing is that the structure is transparent and allows for something like this. Within Florensis, the HR Department, an external
advisor, and myself try to put flesh on this process of potential succession. This also ties in with the position that Florensis has acquired within the sector. We have always proactively anticipated the changing world beyond our walls. As we anticipate the succession, we also continuously focus on and adapt to market conditions. This is becoming increasingly more difficult; changes are occurring ever more quickly, and the market in which we are active is incredibly fragmented. This demands efficiency, but at the same time, you’re expected to adopt a flexible approach; a veritable balancing act. It’s not always the strongest that survive, but rather the ones that are able to adapt, and that is something that we always try to do as well as possible. Together with all of our employees. While Florensis may have become incredibly professionalised, it is still a human company. In other words, a family business.” Lastly, we take a brief look back on a few memorable moments from 1985 through to 2016. What is still engraved on Leo’s memory? “Definitely the time that Herman and I were called to task by a German agent after a problematic summer for the viola deliveries. I was still wet behind the ears, and we were received in an enormous office furnished with solid oak desks, and were confronted with, at least it seemed to me, an entire tribunal of very clever men. The discussion grew so heated that one of the Germans even got on top of the table. Scary! Or the time I was at a German breeder’s nursery and asked out loud what the difference actually was between all those plants. Apparently, it was the manager himself who accompanied us, and he asked me how a snot-nosed kid like myself got to be so impudent. Another memorable moment was the time that Herman, Jan, and I were driving Herman and Jan’s mother’s BMW, and got lost in Paris. Herman was driving and he and Jan were arguing, while I had to get out of the car to ask directions in French, which I didn’t speak. The most memorable business moment was the deal with Ball - the final negotiations took three days. Three days stuck in a room, only leaving for a bit of fresh air, and then diving back in Florensis until we had reached an agreement.” 75 years
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Bleep, bleep… robots make an entrance Computers and robots are absolutely essential nowadays but in 1993 they were an unusual and completely new phenomenon. Hamer started working with automatic tray handling. The first ‘robots’ made their entrance.
The investment and the plan On 18 June 1993 the directors announced in an internal memo that they were working on the development of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system. This project had been running for several months and was being carried out in cooperation with Holland Innovation Consultants (HIC). The total investment of around 6,000,000 guilders included three robots and an enormous number of trolleys (27 trays per trolley), buffer conveyors for feeding in and removing trays, plus related complex software. Tray handling system Vegmo The main objectives of the project were, firstly, to introduce 4-phase cultivation, which can improve plant quality, because during the growing phase, each tray is taken to the location with the optimum growing climate at the time, and, secondly, to achieve better greenhouse occupancy, save on labour requirements and reduce the amount of heavy lifting work. Some years previously, HIC had developed a tray handling system for Vegmo, now FCF. This was a simple but effective system for its time, but it still involved a lot of manual work.
Minutes of meeting General Affairs, October 1995
In March 1994 the contract to supply the first robots was placed with Flier. HAWE supplied the trolleys and buffer conveyors.
New seedling boxes The introduction of robots meant that new seedling boxes were needed so that they could be transported on trolleys. The Danish seedling box was therefore developed with exactly the same external dimensions as Speedcell trays.
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Danish seedling box
CATALOGUES
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LEGO Like Hamer, the LEGO Group is a family business and their motto is ‘inspire the builders of tomorrow’. These famous bricks inspired both HIC and Hamer! Through the Regional Innovation Fund, Hamer joined forces with HIC for the first robotisation project. When Mr Van der Hoeven of HIC arrived for one of his first visits, he brought along a box of LEGO to provide ‘inspiration’. Through ‘play’, Herman, Jan Ammerlaan and Van der Hoeven were able to puzzle out the logistics of stacking and unstacking the trolleys in the greenhouse and on the buffer conveyors.
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Once again, the Hamer family business was well ahead of its time with the introduction of robots. This led to positive reports in nearly all the trade press and a significant increase in the number of visits to the company. This period of innovation and automation ended in 1997 with the purchase of the first press plug machine. The Speedcell Super Seedling tray was specially developed for this machine.
Art The enormous number of trolleys used by Hamer since the introduction of robots may not be art with a capital A but they are certainly unusual, as photographer Ad Molendijk discovered during a visit to the company. Each trolley provides internal transport for 27 trays and the entire nursery, covering about eight hectares, uses trolleys. This gave rise to the headline Useful ‘art’ in a short article describing this very unusual photo.
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Cooperation with the Orangerie Bedding plants from cuttings became more and more popular in the late 80s. The established flower seed companies in the Netherlands adopted a wait and see approach and did not go down that route just yet. Bert de Kruijk was already selling bedding plants from cuttings for Van Veen in England and Hamer wouldn’t be Hamer if, with its keen nose for innovation, it hadn’t taken the plunge and entered this still-young market.
The cooperation was confirmed with a logo Following exploratory discussions with a number of suppliers in 1992, early in 1993 Hamer entered into negotiations with the Orangerie, which was then run by Cees Helderman. The Orangerie wanted to grow quickly and therefore liked the idea of a cooperation. The deal was sealed relatively quickly, and at the beginning of May 1993 Hamer announced that it would start selling bedding plants from cuttings on a commission basis. The Orangerie would be responsible for production, delivery and invoicing. The cooperation was confirmed with the introduction of an Orangerie-Hamer logo.
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Guinness Book of Records With the support of a number of sponsors, in May 1995 the Orangerie and Hamer made an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of Records with the biggest hanging basket. The basket measured 3.5 by 4.5 metres and weighed no less than 2,000 kilos. It had to be lifted with a crane and part of the greenhouse roof had to be removed specially. The hanging basket was then transported on a low-loader to the Efteling theme park in Kaatsheuvel where it could be admired throughout the summer. It produced some great pictures and a lot of publicity in Dutch and foreign newspapers, and even an item on RTL television.
First ripples in the water The first ripples in the water of the cooperation appeared in 1995. The Orangerie’s production site did not fully satisfy the requirements demanded by the product and as a result the plant material was not of the highest quality. Moreover, the weak financial position of the Orangerie was giving Hamer a cause for concern. And rightly so, because late 1995 it became clear that the survival of the Orangerie as an independent business was no longer guaranteed and Hamer needed to find a solution urgently. It was decided that Hamer would take over the Orangerie’s cuttings activities and incorporate those into its own nursery.
In at the deep end In August 1996 Hamer and the Orangerie agreed the takeover conditions and signed a letter of intent. The plan was to transfer the cuttings activities on 1 October 1996, with Cees Helderman providing support during the first season. The annual volume of rooted cuttings at the time was approximately 5 million and Hamer would have to start sticking cuttings in week 42 of 1996. During the previous week, the relationship with Cees Helderman deteriorated and it soon became clear that working with him was no longer an option. The only choice was to jump in at the deep end, but Hamer took up the challenge with the help of some former Orangerie employees and started up production itself.
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Fire! There was great alarm when fire broke out at 1:36 a.m. on 3 September 1996. It was an enormous fire, fought by 70 firefighters from the three brigades based in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Zwijndrecht and Heerjansdam, whereby the office and the Hamer Plant warehouse were completely lost. An investigation attributed the cause of the fire to a short-circuit. Hamer thought it was more likely that the fire started after a break-in because an initial check indicated that a cash box had disappeared from a desk drawer. Whatever the cause, the repair work had to be completed as quickly as possible.
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Luckily the fire was ‘restricted’ to the 1,000 m2 warehouse. If the shading material in the greenhouses immediately behind this building had caught fire, there would have been much more damage. The loss of the climate computer was the biggest problem initially. Drills were used throughout the day to open and close the vents in an attempt to control the climate as effectively as possible. However, the supply season was still in full swing and most of the control system for
Catching ‘flies’ 2.0 the entire nursery, including the robots, had gone up in flames. Teun Nugteren spent the whole day going backwards and forwards between the buffer conveyors and robots and fortunately was able to get the systems back up and running using system backups and floppy disks once the power supply had been restored by means of an emergency generator.
The deliveries for that day were dispatched as planned
In 1997 the once popular fly strips had to make way for a more advanced system. Even in the world of environmentally-conscious working practices, technology was progressing and so it came about that the robot was put to work as a flycatcher. A special module with giant ‘vacuum cleaners’ was installed on one of the robots and sucked up the annoying Sciara. Another extremely effective control method! Unfortunately it became less effective over the years because the Sciara also evolved and in the end the population consisted mainly of the crawling variety. As a result of ‘natural’ selection, most of the flying Sciara disappeared and only the crawling type remained. They weren’t easy to catch and unfortunately they reproduced freely.
The deliveries for that day were dispatched as planned, although admittedly with some delay. A great achievement! In the end, the total damage came to around one million guilders and, sadly, most of the Hamer Plant archive was lost in the fire.
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As big as eggs On 6 June 1998, less than two years after the fire, fate dealt Hamer another blow. A hailstorm with hailstones as big as eggs struck right above the nursery and destroyed around 8,000 panes of glass, equipment and a large part of the crops.
Enormous damage The hailstorm caused a great deal of damage. In total, about 20 percent of the greenhouse cover, around 8,000 panes of glass, had been ruined and all the twin-wall panels of the cabriolet greenhouse had been perforated. The rainwater also damaged machines, offices and computer equipment. The foil in the water reservoirs was ripped and the wires for the shading system were damaged so most of them had to be replaced. Finally, the trial garden was also badly damaged.
Combined forces
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It was ‘fortunate’ that the hailstorm struck over lunchtime on a Saturday so luckily there were no staff in the greenhouses. Around 85 of our own staff and glaziers worked long and hard to remove the glass and repair the damage. First the loose glass hanging from the greenhouse roof had to be removed because
Well insured the slightest breath of wind could create another shower of glass shards. There were already glass shards lying on and between the crops which had caused a lot of damage. It was relatively easy to brush the glass off the concrete floors, but removing it from the trays and seedling boxes was much more difficult. All the trays were sent out with a label warning customers for the risk of residual glass. The dedication of the staff was admirable. A large group started removing the debris and limiting further damage on Saturday evening, and by Sunday the group had grown.
Fortunately Hamer was well insured and both the fire and hail damage were fully compensated by the insurer Hagelunie. It’s very unusual to be struck by disaster twice, according to a full-page advert from Hagelunie, which did not mention Hamer by name but used its experiences to emphasise the importance of good insurance.
The dedication of the staff was admirable On Monday nearly all the staff turned up to help with the clear-up. Their efforts were rewarded, the most important activities were soon up and running again. And just a few weeks after the hailstorm the trial garden looked almost as good as before, and the open days could take place as usual.
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On a European adventure
Peter de Graaf
“ I started a European adventure back then which has since turned into a global one”
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Teambuilding with Herman, Leo and Martin Seijffers
Peter de Graaf read a newspaper article in which the three Hamer brothers indicated they wanted their company to conquer Europe. He wanted to be in on this, so he applied for a job and started working as Head of General Affairs on 1 August 1991. HR, Organisational Development and IT were his spheres of action. His first achievement: the organisation of the 50th anniversary celebrations, together with the opening of the new offices. “We did play around with the anniversary date a bit so that it would fall on the same day as the opening of the new offices. I was given the job of arranging several aspects. There wasn’t an action plan for this, but I was given free rein, and it pretty much continued like that afterwards. This is very typical of Florensis, the trust people get to work independently. I was already attending the MT meetings as of 1992, in order to be able to bring more structure into the organisation. To formalise this role, I was appointed Deputy Director in 1993. Leo Hoogendoorn had previously indicated that more structure was required, and with the prospect of growth, this professionalisation process was becoming a necessity. The other MT members wisely kept away from this process, so I jumped right in there, or better said, I seized the opportunity to apply some structure. Each year, we moved a step forward, and professionalised further. Herman and I set up a first business plan for the 19941998 period, which spoke of a doubling of
Opening of the office and extension of the nursery
Article on which Peter reacted
the turnover for that period. So it did, even a year earlier than expected. Not entirely autonomously, our first major acquisition, the Orangerie, played a part in this, but we made it happen. When I started working at Florensis, there were about 30 people employed. When I left in 2006, there were hundreds; and that’s not including Africa.” Just like with everyone else we asked, Peter immediately had numerous memories of the time he spent at Florensis: “Naturally, the opening of the new offices was a major event for me. Dick Passchier, who presented on that occasion, was quietly hoping something would go wrong, but everything went smoothly. Another highlight for me is the professionalisation process, which took place for all operations throughout the company. That wasn’t just a moment; it was an entire process. A process in which we were successful. The highlights here were without a doubt the establishment of a clear executive and management structure, and the transition from Hamer into Florensis.
It’s not just the business-related memories that stick; personal loss leaves an equally indelible mark. Like the time we learned that one of our colleagues with epilepsy had fallen into a ditch during an attack and passed away, or the time a female colleague was hit by a car and passed away. Still, these were nevertheless moments of intense solidarity, moments at which everyone’s involvement was clearly visible. If I had to describe Florensis in just a few key words, I’d say ambitious, innovative, determined and ‘act normal’ i.e. be modest. The latter in the sense that you don’t beat your chest. We’ve always been a little mischievous, as is evidenced in the speed at which the acquisitions were realised. I started a European adventure back then which has since turned into a global one.”
Developing the internal organisation was a part of that process: laying a good foundation and engaging our people. Ensuring appropriate labour conditions, such as a pension scheme, a management development programme, and employee involvement in the form of a works council. Florensis 75 years
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First pole nursery
Work on stones for construction of barn
A nice bit of land Opening of a nursery in Kenya Several companies had grown their flowers in Africa for many years. When the cutting activities really took off, Hamer also started to think about settling on that warm continent. In 1998 the time had come. The building of the barn
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Until then, Hamer had bought unrooted cuttings in Israel. However, during a holiday in 1997 Jaap Anker visited an old Vegmo colleague who was working for Sher, a big rose grower, and came across ‘a nice bit of land’. The idea of opening a Hamer nursery in Kenya, which until then had only existed vaguely in the heads of a small number of people, now started to become a reality at an unexpectedly fast pace. After a number of fact-finding visits, the decision was quickly taken. Hamer would produce most of its cuttings itself at a rented site that was specially developed for them. Hamer Kenya Limited was officially established on 17 August 1998.
Unloading first container with materials for the greenhouse
Jan Ammerlaan with Peter Bresser
Where are we going to expand?
Passionate team Thanks to their boundless dedication, courage and enthusiasm, Peter Bresser, his partner Katarina and Jan Ammerlaan ensured that Hamer Kenya was a huge success right from day one. The nursery quickly expanded and took on more workers.
Hamer Kenya was a huge success right from day one In 1999 Protas Kennedy and Beatrice, Peter’s secretary, joined the company. Protas is still a highly valued member of staff who tells every customer passionate stories about his work and Florensis Kenya. Beatrice now uses her Kenyan name, Wanjiku Muhia, and has come a long way. She is the women’s representative for Nyandarua County in the Kenyan parliament, a post which is comparable to that of a member of parliament in the western world. The Kenyan constitution states that women must make up at least one-third of the parliament (and the rest of the government). The parliament has to achieve this ratio by means of women’s representation. Some years ago, Beatrice came to visit Florensis in HendrikIdo-Ambacht, during a parliamentary visit to the Netherlands. Laura, Dorcas and Clifford also joined Hamer Kenya at the end of the 1990s. They have always been three loyal and highly dedicated employees.
Protas and Beatrice introduce themselves in the Company News
Protas Kennedy
Peter and Beatrice
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Limelight sees the light In 1999 Hamer launched its first ‘own’ Petunia: Limelight, supported by a highly effective advertising campaign. At the time, it was one of the first variegated Petunias and Hamer had obtained a few cuttings from an English customer.
Around two million cuttings were sold already in the first year Hamer carried out part of the unrooted cuttings production by hand, and Limelight was a great success right from its launch, particularly on the UK market. Around two million cuttings were sold already in the first year.
Special Limelight mug
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Pulling the foil
European adventures Hamer steered a clear course in the 1990s. The company’s plan was to grow in Europe through alliances with local partners who preferably did not produce young plants themselves. This allowed Hamer to remain in control so that it could follow its own growth strategy without any restrictions or agreements which would stand in the way of this growth. The aim was to achieve sales throughout Europe by using agents.
When a new extra-large water reservoir was needed, many hands made light work. Everyone who could help was asked to assist with pulling the foil into place. As the photo shows, those hands were definitely needed!
France One of the first countries that Hamer targeted was France, a large country and therefore a big potential market. In France, Hamer also proved the theory that only cooperation with a partner without its own production programme or with an independent partner would lead to success.
Difficult start During trips to Japan with François Reynaud (Ets Claude Ducrettet) the subject of sales of Hamer products in France came up regularly, but Reynaud’s response to this idea was initially reluctant. A large proportion of Claude Ducrettet’s (CD) turnover came from local young plant producers who Reynaud did not want to offend. Furthermore, he had little or no experience in selling and distributing young plants. However eventually sales started in France via CD in 1993, initially together with PrimPlant, a French young plant producer. Not ideal, but at least it was a start.
Herman with Shun Suda (Sakata Seeds), Marco Zwaan and François Reynaud
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Abrupt end Turnover developed slowly and proportionally lagged behind the growth achieved in other European countries. CD was afraid of competing with local producers and this stood in the way of an increase in turnover.
Article in Line Horticole 1998
In January1997 Hamer therefore started talks with Reynaud with a view to setting up a joint venture – Hamer & Ducrettet – just as it had done with a partner in Germany. Reynaud again showed great reluctance during these talks, and the reason soon became clear. He had sold most of his company to the David Colegrave Group, Hamer’s biggest competitor in the UK. This was a real shock to Hamer, and a re-orientation of the French market was the only remaining option. The cooperation with CD was terminated immediately and the question asked was: how to proceed in France?
Every disadvantage has its advantage A solution quickly appeared out of the blue when Serge Voltz – Graines Voltz S.A. – came knocking at the door. He smelt an opportunity when the merger between CD and Colegrave was announced, as his previous requests to become Hamer’s representative in France had been rejected until then. The fact that every disadvantage has its advantage, as football legend Johan Cruijff always said, also turned out to be true in this case. Speed was the order of the day to avoid losing sales. On 15 July 1997, less than four months after Colegrave announced its merger with CD, Hamer and Graines Voltz signed an ‘Exclusive Distribution Contract’. Serge had only started Graines Voltz ten years previously, but it already held third position on the French market. The cooperation therefore looked highly promising.
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First Hamer&Voltz catalogue
In the first year of cooperation with Graines Voltz, Hamer increased turnover by 100 percent compared with its previous performance with CD. Sales increased explosively in subsequent years, something which had never happened with CD. France is now the biggest market for Florensis after Germany.
Not amused
UK Hamer took a different approach in the UK and only operated as a sales organisation there. This did the company no harm, because sales in the UK quickly outstripped those in the Netherlands and the team of representatives expanded rapidly. Visbeen Transport, which was responsible for distribution in the UK, did so much work for Hamer that they agreed to put the Hamer Flower Seeds logo on one of their lorries. To strengthen customer loyalty, Hamer organised annual Grower Trips. One of the first trips in July 1992 already had 100-120 participants. In short: things were going well in the UK.
Visbeen transported not only the products of Hamer to the UK. Their loads nearly always combined Hamer products with products from other, smaller plant suppliers. One day the Visbeen lorry was also carrying a delivery from Eveleens of Aalsmeer for Bordon Hill Nurseries (Colegrave Seeds). When the people at Bordon Hill saw the lorry with the Hamer logo drive onto their site, they were ‘not amused’. Visbeen was told in no uncertain terms that in future they should not deliver in a lorry with the Hamer logo! The situation is very different now, as one or more loads from Florensis is delivered to Bordon Hill Nurseries every week.
Hamer organised annual Grower Trips Speedcell 594 Due to the large sales volume in the UK, in 1993 Hamer developed the Speedcell 594 tray specially for the UK market. This tray could hold 50 percent more plants than the Speedcell 405, which should give a competitive advantage in an extremely price-sensitive market. Less than a year after its introduction, the exchange rate for the British pound suddenly fell by around ten percent. The Speedcell 594 was used more widely in order to offset this drop in the exchange rate to some extent.
Phil Bailey
Booth Four Oaks Show mid 1999
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Cash & carry North Street Nurseries
North Street Nurseries Hamer did not just rely on a special tray in order to maximise turnover. The company also wanted a slice of the cash & carry market which was big at the time and only existed in the UK. Many small growers bought their young plants at cash & carries and Hamer also saw the potential in this market. The cooperation with North Street Nurseries was one of several partnerships which aimed to service also this market.
A home of their own Opening by Mr and Mrs Hamer
From July 1990, which coincided with the appointment of Philip Bailey in the UK, Hamer Flower Seeds rented an office at Sheraton House Business Park, Cambridge. They kept the office there for ten years, but then it was time for new, bigger premises of their own. Philip went on a hunt and found a new-build project in Swavesey, close to Cambridge. Remah House (a palindrome of Hamer) was officially opened by Mr and Mrs Hamer Sr at the end of March 2001. In October of that year Hamer Flower Seeds was officially renamed Florensis UK.
Jan Hamer gives a sculpture ‘Cooperation’ to Hamer Flower Seeds
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The Remah House
Caroline at work at the office
Belgium The very first partner that Hamer worked with was Okkerse from Belgium. In 1999 the cooperation ended abruptly after 58 years when it became known via the rumour mill that Okkerse was planning to terminate the partnership because of a cooperation with Hamer’s competitor Van Zanten & Co. A longterm difference of opinion with Hamer about the approach to the Belgian market was probably the reason for Okkerse’s decision. Although it was regrettable that a decadeslong relationship should end this way, this turn of events also created further opportunities.
Letter officially declaring the termination of the cooperation with Okkerse
Hamer Belgium As was so often the case, the ending of the cooperation with Okkerse meant that Hamer once again had to act quickly. Marc and Caroline Philips and Karel van der Braak followed Hamer’s strategic line and opted to work for a company which had yet to be established, because it was clear right from the outset that Hamer would set up its own company in Belgium. Following a short interim period when Karel van der Braak acted as agent, Hamer Belgium was born. Karel and Marc were responsible for sales and Caroline managed the back office, initially from home but soon from a barn which was converted into a modern office. Hamer Belgium performed very well and Karel, Marc and Caroline all still work for the company.
Office Florensis Belgium
Caroline in front of the barn which has been converted into an office
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A sober approach and vision Teun Nugteren on nature
and going digital
“My neighbour suggested that I go to Hamer”
Visit to the Floriade in 1992 with i.a. Hans Goudswaard, Marcel van Valen, Désirée van Dijk-Groeneweg, Ellen Dreesens, Janny Lagendijk and Teun Nugteren
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He started working at Hamer on 15 October 1990, after roving around the Congo and the USA, among other places. Just prior to starting with Hamer he worked in Portugal for a number of years, where he still has a home from which he can work perfectly, which is possible since he’s put all of his horticultural knowledge into digitising the nursery’s processes. “I come from a horticultural family and this fact, together with my own knowledge of vegetable seeds, led me to Portugal in the late 1980s, where they were looking for someone who knew how to cultivate vegetables. At a certain moment, things just couldn’t go any further. An old car, a dog, and five cubic metres of household goods was everything that I brought back to the Netherlands with me, and then I had to figure out what I was going to do. My neighbour suggested that I go to Hamer. Turns out they were looking for someone who could carry out trials, and things went quickly from there. We had a meeting on Wednesday, and I started work on the following Monday.” For two years, Teun carried out trials of, among others, plant growth regulators, fertilisers, and breaking the dormancy period. He then transitioned to Production, specifically the Seed and Gapping-up Department, and kept busy with the layout of the greenhouses. In 1993, the first discussions were held with
With f.l.t.r. Henri Vermeulen, Ab Flach, Richard van den Berg, Maarten Jongejan and Erik van den Boomen
“I’m not a computer nerd, but someone with green fingers who just happens to be handy with a computer” regard to greenhouse automation and Teun was one of the project team members. Hamer was one of the first growers to start using automated tray handling in 1995, and automation took flight from there. The new IT department needed someone from production, and that someone was Teun. “I’m not a computer nerd, but someone with green fingers who just happens to be handy with a computer. I started thinking about automation from a practical perspective and started saving the weekly seeding lists to disc. This eventually became a yearly list, and then the next step led to starting up a phase plan for production. Hans Goudswaard and I worked on this for two
years by collecting and putting in data, which is actually how it still works today. “The best moment was sometime in 2008 or 2009, when production was in an uproar because there wasn’t a workable system anymore. Not a very good time, but what was great was the fact that Henri Vermeulen and I were offered the opportunity to give a demo about what we thought was possible and necessary, and how enthusiastic everyone was about this. We set up Proventus in just six weeks’ time; it was a system based on the system that we’d once come up with to automate the sowing line. Proventus was only meant to be a temporary solution, but it was actually used until 2012.” About three years ago Teun became a freelancer, with Florensis as his biggest client. “The human aspect hasn’t changed because of this though; I’m still a part of the ‘family’. It is probably easier from a business aspect. Florensis has to make the decisions about changes and I’m the advisor. This comes with a new type of freedom. Literally, too, which allows me to regularly spend time in Portugal, for instance. It took a little while getting used to, but I hope to keep doing it for a long time to come.” Florensis 75 years
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First young plants catalogue of Juliwa
Germany In Germany, Hamer initially sold its young plants through JULIWA (Julius Wagner). JULIWA had a very broad product portfolio which included vegetable, grass and flower seeds, flower bulbs and seed packages. Its customers were small and medium-sized businesses, mainly in southern Germany. Mr Beijerle was appointed as head of the new young plants department and was the first point of contact for Hamer.
A 60-40 per cent joint venture between Hamer and Wagner Specialisation The broad range carried by JULIWA and the type of customer it served were not the best fit with the strategy pursued by Hamer, which was targeted at specialisation and supplying medium-sized and large customers, because the company believed that this was the best way of achieving the fastest growth. Hamer made this known and in January 1994 it held the first exploratory talks with Falk Wagner about the possibility of setting up a joint venture. Wagner welcomed this idea but at the same time found it difficult to commit entirely to selling to medium-sized and large customers as this would prevent him from meeting the needs of his smaller customers. After months of discussion, an announcement was made in September: Hamer & Wagner Saatgut und Jungpflanzen GmbH was established as a 60-40 per cent joint venture between Hamer and Wagner.
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Hamer & Wagner GmbH (H&W) The new company was strategically positioned to serve larger customers – those who took more than 25 trays per delivery on average – in order to achieve the desired growth in the German young plant market. JULIWA, meanwhile, was still finding it difficult to let go of its small customers and decided to service them itself from its depot in Heidelberg. The flower seed business also remained with JULIWA. Bert de Kruijk, who had already established a sales organisation in England, would lead the new joint venture. The place of business would still be Heppelheimerstrasse 18-20, the head office of JULIWA. The first Hamer & Wagner catalogue was published at the end of 1994, and on 30 September 1994 the company appeared in public for the first time at the Plantec trade fair in Frankfurt. H&W started with five employees: Bert de Kruijk and Karsten Schulz as sales managers, one person in the office and two representatives, including Detlef Götsche.
IPM 1995
JULIWA, with seven employees, supplied the smaller customers, mainly in southern Germany, and was also responsible for flower seed sales in that region. While H&W enjoyed rapid growth and expanded its sales department, JULIWA was struggling with the smaller customers. On 1 October 1998, four years after the establishment of H&W, JULIWA also transferred its flower seed division to H&W.
Herman and Falk Wagner
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Not done Late April 1999 Goldsmith, one of Hamer’s main suppliers, suddenly sent a letter announcing that it intended to operate exclusively. With immediate effect, Hamer and many other companies would only be able to obtain Goldsmith products via its alliance partners, including Van Zanten & Co., one of Hamer’s biggest competitors. This approach was unacceptable, as Hamer made clear in a letter in no uncertain terms. 90 percent of the Goldsmith genetics were directly transferred to other suppliers. Meanwhile, a long-term solution was needed and Falk Wagner came up with the idea of talking to Walz from Stuttgart. Walz was in the same boat as Hamer/H&W following Goldsmith’s decision, and working together might offer new opportunities for both parties.
The merger made both companies stronger Cocking a snook The two companies clicked immediately, and things moved up a gear in the middle of August when Falk Wagner announced that he wanted to sell his share in H&W. Wagner was prepared to sell his share in H&W to Hamer, and once Hamer was the 100 percent owner of H&W the deal with Walz was quickly sealed. A letter of intent was issued, stating that the two companies were working towards a merger. At the time, Walz had an annual turnover of approximately 28 million German marks (DM) and H&W around 15 million DM. Due to its origins, Walz was well represented in southern Germany while H&W was centred on northern Germany.
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The merger made both companies stronger towards the big genetic suppliers which could no longer play the same tricks as Goldsmith had, and the increase in scale made it possible to cover the German market much more effectively. After the merger, Ernst R. Walz stepped back, handing over the reins to his son Rüdiger Walz who headed the company together with Alfons Hegele. The merger between H&W and Walz in Germany officially took place on 1 October 1999.
History of Walz
Birth of the name Florensis The merger between Hamer & Wagner and Walz in Germany meant that a new company name was needed. Not an easy task! But Herbert Wehrle, at that time manager seeds at H&W, had a flash of inspiration and came up with Florensis, a combination of the Latin words ‘flora’, which means plants/flowers, and ‘ensis’, which means growing together. This was highly appropriate and the name quickly became established. The name Florensis was ‘officially’ and first unveiled in August 2000 during the Florensis Kundentagen in Bauersbach, where customers and press had been invited to meet with the new company and its extensive assortment.
The Walz company, based in Stuttgart, was founded in 1932 by Ernst Hermann Walz. Like Hamer, in those days it specialised in buying and selling flower seeds. Walz started its first breeding activities in 1950. In 1951 son Ernst Richard Walz became the second generation to enter the company and a nursery was established to produce plant material. In 1982, 50 years after the company’s foundation, the nursery covered approximately 1.2 ha and Walz employed around 75 employees. In 1989 a new nursery was built in Bauersbach and Rüdiger Walz, the third generation of the Walz family, joined the company. By then the nursery covered approximately 3 ha and Walz employed around 130 people, achieving a turnover of 28 million German marks.
F.l.t.r. Herman Hamer, Rüdiger Walz, Ernst Walz
Brochure concerning the merger Hamer&Wagner and Walz
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Will I be called Florensis too? Early 2000, the change of name from Hamer to Florensis was naturally a regular topic of conversation in Herman’s home. Thomas, Herman’s second youngest son who was then about ten years old, heard the discussions and one day he came home from school and asked: ‘Mummy, will my last name be Florensis too?
Article in the local newspaper on the new name Florensis
Florensis – the new name for Hamer During the months after the new millennium, when the internet was really taking off, it was decided in a Strategic Development Meeting (SDM) held on 19 October 2000 in Colmar that Florensis would be used as the brand name in Europe. The rise of the internet was one of the reasons for this decision, but the key factor behind the choice was the desire to present the company under one, recognisable name throughout Europe, possibly even at consumer level. Changing the name in this way was an enormous step for a family company which had been operating under the family name for sixty years. Initially, the parent company and all its subsidiaries would officially still be called Hamer. Florensis was the trading name which would be used for communication purposes. However, in subsequent years new areas of the business and subsidiaries were officially named Florensis and the Hamer name became less and less visible. In 2012, just a few years ago, the last business units that were still operating under the Hamer name were also renamed Florensis.
For the record: The Strategic Development Meeting in which the decision was taken to change the name on 19 October 2000 was attended by Hamer Bloemzaden, Graines Voltz, Hamer Flower Seeds and Florensis Deutschland.
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Poland and Switserland In the mid-1990s Hamer also set foot on Swiss soil when it started working with Samen Mauser. Initially just on the cut flower and summer programme, but ultimately on the complete young plant package. However, turnover in Switzerland stays limited, as were sales in Poland which started during the same period. In 2000, when Hamer & Wagner was planning its merger with Walz in Germany, a solution which would raise limited sales in Switzerland and Poland to the next level also emerged. Walz had been well represented in both countries for many years and brought two solid local partners into the merger process. Fuxflora – owned by Krzysztof Banas – in Poland, now Florenis Polska, and Implantex – owned by Helmut Heilig – in Switzerland. Florensis would work exclusively with these two partners, and this proved to be the right strategy. Florensis Polska and Implantex were recently taken over to become full Florensis subsidiaries.
First Van der Haak catalogue
For the record: The slogan ‘Florensis. If you want to grow’ was introduced in 2001.
Pelargonium – the link Is it chance, or something else, that brings the best players in the field together unexpectedly? Where Pelargonium is concerned, a bit of both. In 1999, before the merger had taken place, both Hamer & Wagner (H&W) and Walz were looking for a Pelargonium producer and both, ignorant of each other, entered into contact with Silze. Some years previously Silze had started its own highly promising Pelargonium breeding programme in cooperation with Ilse and Uwe Fischer. Even before the merger was complete, H&W and Walz had entered into a joint agreement with the Silze family. In the Pelargonium field, Hamer was also working with Van der Haak from s-Gravenzande on a small scale because of the activities that had been recently started up in Belgium. Silze and Van der Haak were also already collaborating to a certain extent. It was a small world, and the cooperation would intensify further over the years.
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Fleur-In 1997
A short history of cut flowers After the flower seed packets, Hamer at first focused mainly on the young plant market for a long period of time. However, sales of cut flowers young plants gradually came to represent a larger and larger share of its portfolio. In the end, they became so important that specialisation was the logical next step.
Cut flower breeding In the mid-1980s Hamer started breeding a few cut flower crops – Matthiola, Trachelium and Tanacetum – at the Bruïnelaan site in Zwijndrecht. In 1993, when Hamer took over the nursery belonging to its neighbour Los, this assortment was expanded and Antirrhinum and Delphinium, among others, were added to the breeding portfolio. Marjolijn Schipper managed the breeding programme.
First cut flowers catalogue
Specialisation Ultimately, the main products in the cut flower programme were Lisianthus, Matthiola and Antirrhinum, as well as a whole range of smaller products. Own breeding and comparative trials formed the foundation of a high-quality assortment. With the enormous growth in cut flower activities, alongside the own breeding programme, it was also essential to employ specialist representatives and a separate cut flower catalogue was added from 1994. Hamer also attended cut flower shows.
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Breeder Marjolijn Schipper at the Matricaria breeding
Fleur-In 1997
Introduction of Lisianthus Mariachi In 1995 Hamer exclusively introduced a unique new series: Lisianthus Mariachi from Sakata in Japan, a double-flowered Lisianthus in three main colours – blue, pink and white. The Mariachi even had its own, ‘marketing programme’. Promotional campaigns were conducted among purchasers waiting to bid at flower auctions, who were presented with a brochure in three languages and a Mariachi mug. Hamer also visited the main wholesalers in person. A scoop for Hamer, and a fairly unique approach, was regulated sales spread across auctions and during specific periods in order to achieve a higher market price for the Mariachi. The launch was highly successful and the launch strategy is now regularly cited as an example of good practice. Article in the ‘Bloemisterij’ on the Mariachi, July 1996
Mariachi mug
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Turnaround of the breeding programme Young plant production was the most important business area at Hamer Bloemzaden and the production machine was running at full speed. The investments in expansion, quality improvement and equipment were all focused on the young plants. Marketing and breeding were more or less of secondary importance and were not given much attention. This all changed in 1998 when two opportunities arose to take breeding to a new level.
Cooperation with Kieft Seeds Holland BV The first meetings between Hamer and Kieft Seeds on cooperation took place in 1992 but nothing happened until 1998. Hamer took a 38 percent share in Kieft Seeds Holland BV and transferred its own breeding activities to Kieft Seeds. Signing cooperation Kieft / Hamer
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This is the start of a long-term partnership in breeding, particularly of cut flowers and perennials. PanAmerican Seed & Kieft Seeds is still a major supplier of these two product groups.
Press release on the cooperation between Hamer and Kieft
Head breeder Mr Kleinhanns
Petunia selection trials
Quedlinburg The second opportunity to take a more serious approach to breeding activities arose from the partnership with Wagner in Germany. In October 1998, about four years after the creation of Hamer & Wagner, JULIWA decided to transfer its flower seed division, including its own breeding programmes, to H&W. The two most important ranges were Viola and Primula (bred by Gütscher). Falk Wagner of JULIWA announced that H&W was planning to launch its own breeding activities. During their first joint visit to Quedlinburg in 1998, Falk Wagner, Serge Voltz and Herman Hamer decided that breeding activities would be started there. At the time, the old Quedlinburg town nursery ‘Altenburg’ was the best option for a low-cost start-up. Falk Wagner conducted the negotiations on behalf of H&W, as a result of which the company took over the breeding programme of Saatzucht Quedlinburg GmbH and the ‘Altenburg’. Mr Kleinhanns, the head breeder, and some of his closest colleagues, including Mr Krause and Mrs Heilex, joined H&W. The main programmes at the time involved vegetative propagated Petunias, Verbenas and Osteospermum, plus the Viola programme that had been transferred from JULIWA (generative).
The ‘Altenburg’
The ‘Altenburg’ developed into a magnificent breeding site
Over the years, following countless renovations and innovations, the ‘Altenburg’ developed into a magnificent breeding site.
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From trial garden to Flower Trials
Visits to the trial garden in August 1994
The first Hamer trial garden dates from 1983 and was located at the Munnikensteeg in Zwijndrecht. In 1984 this was followed by the trial garden at the BruĂŻnelaan. The trial garden increased in size over a number of years and a wide variety of plants were trialled to assess their practical value. In 1992 Fleuroselect, the European trade association for flower seed crops (and nothing else in those days) also paid a visit. However, customers visited the trial garden less and less as the years went by. They were increasingly likely to choose their range from spring trials. This was long before the Flower Trials, but Hamer experimented with new concepts to replace customer visits to the trial garden.
Fleur-Garden was a success right from the start Fleur-In and Fleur-Garden
Fleur-Garden 1999 Article in the regional newspaper
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One of the concepts resulting from the experiments with open days were Fleur-In and Fleur-Garden – open days for, respectively, the cut flower range and annual/perennial garden plants. Fleur-In trials were planted in the greenhouse and for Fleur-Garden, the
plants were displayed in the traditional trial garden, supplemented by a large range of annuals and perennials in pots and containers. Fleur-Garden was a success right from the start and the concept was developed further in subsequent years. The trial garden became smaller all the time, while the pot and container trials expanded. More and more growers visited Hamer, including from abroad, and Hamer Flower Seeds organised an annual Grower Trip to the Netherlands. Fleuroselect visits Hamer in 1992
Customer information session during Fleur-Garden 1992
Trial booklets
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Summer Inspirations In 1997 Hamer introduced Summer Inspirations, a completely new concept with a balanced mixture of annuals and first-year flowering perennials which can be brought into flower outdoors within a very short time.
A completely new concept
This concept was also very well received and sales in Europe increased accordingly. As a result, Autumn Inspirations was launched in 1999.
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Shareholder resolution
Abracadabra! At first, nobody knew what the Japanese newspaper article from 1993 said, but it is clear who is in the photo and where it was taken. From left to right and from top to bottom: Jan, Herman, Hans Veenstra, Marco Zwaan, Adriaan Vonk, Simon Eekhout, Johan van den Boom, Leo Hoogendoorn, Janny Lagendijk and Wim-Arie. An English translation, featuring Mr Hermen (Sledge) Hammer, later shed light on the content of the article. Herman Hamer had told the Japanese journalist, who liked to get some flower bulbs or flower seeds as a token of thanks for the article, about Hamer activities and strategy and the logic behind them.
Herman Hamer was appointed CEO at the management/shareholder’s meeting of 14 January 1999.
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Growth in turnover Turnover at Florensis grew exponentially during the period 1990-2000, increasing often by more than twenty percent year on year. Year Sales in millions of guilders 1990 12.4 1991 14.8 1992 16.9 1993 20.9 1994 25.8 1995 30.2 1996 35.1 1997 43.3 1998 52.2 1999 71.3 2000 86.3
Growth in greenhouse area
Sales increased tumultuously, year after year
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Year Growth in ha 1986 0.7 1987 0.5 1988 0.5 1989 0.5 1993 0.8 1994 0.85 1995 3.8 1999 3.8 Totaal approx. 11 ha
Curious what happens next? This year, we will publish four magazines, describing Florensis’ 75 years of history. The next edition will appear at the end of 2016 and will cover the period from 2000 until now.
Curious what happens next? EDITORS Regina Dinkla (managing editor) Herman Hamer (editor in chief) Wim-Arie Hamer Anne Nootenboom (design) Hortitaal (translation) Carola Aardenhout (Beebuzz)
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