"Specialised customization generates growth"

The horticulture sector is going through some difficult times, but fortunately there are still examples of companies that indeed report increasing sales and abundance of work. Batist Aluminium Constructies, a Dutch company specializing in aluminium structures for both horticultural and many other applications and purposes, is one of them.

Batist Aluminium Constructies focuses on the development and production of repair- and maintenance facilities, allowing work in and around the greenhouse to be conducted safely and efficiently. Batist Kassenbouw, another branch of Batist Westland, focuses on the construction, expansion and renovation of particular garden centres and wide-spans.

The projects are often carried out domestically, but the marketing of services and products abroad is also growing. The aluminium structures find their way to all corners of the world. "Greenhouses for us are mainly a European affair, partly consisting of contracts from other greenhouse builders and partly of small in-house projects," says CEO John Berghman. "Which at the moment is more than enough."

Growth
Growth isn’t focused on one sector or product, it is noticeable across the board. In addition to the horticultural sector, Batist is also active in the consumer segment with sales and construction of luxury ornamental greenhouses and carports. "This is mainly because we provide a lot of custom-made work. There is a good synergy within the various activities of Batist. Because we already believed that we had to broaden our scope years ago, our people are now able to provide very diverse customization in all kinds of segments."

International
The sale of the Repair Shuttle is satisfactory. Batist Aluminium Constructies developed this repair system some years ago, in collaboration with TST and van der Waay, under the name Glass Handling Technic (GHT). In 2011, GHT (for its work on the Repair Shuttle) won the first prize as best maintenance facility at the Good Practice Award in Budapest.

IPM Essen
In January next year, Batist will again be present at IPM Essen. According to Berghman, Germany is of great importance. "We’ll be attending for the second time. Germany is for us an important growth market."

More information:
John Berghman
H. Batist Aluminium Constructies
Naaldwijkseweg 5b
2291 PA Wateringen
T: 0174-290717
F: 0174-518341
E: alucon@batistwestland.nl
www.batistwestland.nl/aluminium/