NL: Pepper nursery 4Evergreen adds 27 hectares

The peppers at this location are cultivated without making use of fossil fuels. Cultivation is done as CO2-neutrally as possible, with the residual heat and CO2 from the Yara fertilizer factory being used in the production. These are transported via a piping network to heat the greenhouses and to supply the plants with CO2. CO2 stimulates the growth of the pepper plants and is hereby converted into oxygen. In this manner the most sustainable peppers in the Netherlands can be cultivated. Green electricity is purchased for the required electricity. For its efforts in the sustainable cultivation of peppers, 4Evergreen has obtained a Milieukeur label certificate.

For the expansion of the company, Twins Bouw will build a new industrial hall of 306 meters in length and approximately 9,000 m2 in size. Such a large roof area naturally offers many possibilities. 4Evergreen intends to fill this new roof and the roof of the existing company building of 8,500 m2, in total 17,500 m2, with solar panels. In this way, about 2.3 million kW of green electricity can be generated per year. This is not only sufficient for the company's own needs, but also for delivery to the grid. This creates a situation in which the company does not consume external energy but instead generates energy.

Innovation can also be found in the greenhouse. The greenhouse will be built by Havecon and will be equipped with the latest techniques. This includes a double screen installation to be able to work flexibly with the light incidence, outfitted with the ‘slip-in’ system of Peter Dekker Installaties. The VB Group will install the heating installations to distribute the residual heat all through the company. Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics will ensure that the internal transport of the peppers is fully automated.

At 4Evergreen, the time between cutting the peppers off the plant and delivery to the customers is minimal. This is because 4Evergreen cultivates, sorts, packs and delivers the peppers themselves in the final packaging. Peppers hanging on the plant today, can be in the supermarket by tomorrow. Through Harvest House, 4Evergreen sells the block peppers to retailers in Europe.