Schoone grew up working in the family greenhouses and after college he spent three years getting experience in non-family horticultural operations before he returned to Floricultura. Although Schoone and his brother Rene share the oversight responsibilities of the business, Kees was given the job of getting the new Salinas greenhouse up and going.
The decision to create an American presence was based on the fact that Floricultura was shipping more and more plants to the country. “It just made sense to have an operation here,” Schoone said in The Californian. The Yoder Brothers’ former greenhouse operation was selected as the site of Floricultura’s new facility. All but the office building of the original series of greenhouses were demolished to make room for a new 400,000 square foot, state-of-the-art complex.
A leader in greenhouse automation, Floricultura’s 10 acres of greenhouses is staffed by about 35 employees. The firm grows only phalaenopsis hybrids in Salinas. The breeding is done in the company’s greenhouses in the Netherlands and then the very young plants are shipped to Salinas.
With the start-up phase pretty much behind him, Schoone is looking to develop the next element of the operation. Eventually he’d like to see the propagation of the plants done in Salinas and not have to rely on the company’s lab in the Netherlands.
There is plenty of room left on the property to add a state-of-the-art lab and additional greenhouses. Schoone wouldn’t commit to a definite timeline but he said this is definitely on his “to do” list.
With the growth of the orchid industry and more consumer interest in the colorful plants, the Central Coast has become a major supplier of the plants. Floricultura joins large wholesalers Matsui, Rocket Farms and McLellan Botanicals producing a wide variety of orchids which are shipped all over the country.
Source: Written by Robert Walch For The Salinas Californian thecalifornian.com