Svensson hires Account Manager and Climate Consultant
Mark van Dijk (left) and Nelson Perez
Svensson is an exceedingly international family business. The climate screens are developed and manufactured in Sweden and are sold throughout the world. With offices in the United States, China, South Korea, and the Netherlands, Svensson's offer is worldwide. It is at Svensson's office in Hellevoetsluis, the Netherlands where Nelson Perez (35) and Mark van Dijk (30) serve their customers.
‘I’m going to be working from the southern Spanish city of Almería’, explains Nelson Perez, who will be advising growers in Spain and Portugal. Almería is Spain’s largest continuous market gardening region, with a surface area of 31,000 ha. ‘What can I advise growers? If they’re going to start using Harmony in their greenhouses, for example, then production will increase 20 to 25%.’
Born in Venezuela, Perez studied at the Central University of Venezuela in the capital city of Caracas and completed his master’s degree in Greenhouse Production at the University of Almería in Spain. ‘I’ve got dual nationality due to my mother being Spanish. I ran my own business in Venezuela for a few years, Plantulas la Majada, but I’ve been working in Spain since 2014.’
Greenhouse-building runs in the family
Mark van Dijk will be working closely with Perez. He is the new account manager for several greenhouse builders and installers throughout Holland as well as for installers in Spain and Portugal. ‘The Iberian peninsula is an important sales market for us, because there are endless opportunities.’
Van Dijk made the move to Svensson because, as he says himself, he needed a new challenge. It is also a familiar field for him: ‘I’m from the Westland region, and used to earn my keep working in the greenhouse. What’s more, my dad has been working as a greenhouse builder for 40 years now. He taught me that it’s an international sector. He specializes in building garden centres.’