Prominent, 20 years strong in collaboration

Prominent celebrated its 20th anniversary last week in bright sunshine, in a festive event for growers, employees, customers and business partners of the tomatoes on the vine specialist. In 1994 a group of six tomato growers started collaborating for the first time and a year later the cooperative growers' association Prominent was established. "A group that has grown through collaboration," stated the director, Arne van Aalst.

Twenty years ago six entrepreneurs decided to start growing tomatoes on the vine, instead of individual tomatoes, to try and resuscitate the image of Dutch tomatoes. "This was an experiment, because tomatoes were not widely grown in the Netherlands," explained Arne. "We also stopped providing tomatoes in 'Holland' boxes and we started using our own brand name 'Prominent'.

From 67 acres at its inception in 1995, this growers’ association has expanded to a group of 26 leading producers that together grow tomatoes on the vine on an area of 271 hectares. "We grow various kinds, including coarse, mini plum and red and yellow cocktail tomatoes. Packaging and distribution is done centrally in our packing centre DC Prominent in De Lier in the Netherlands, where we pack 40 million kilograms of tomatoes on the vine every year," said Arne. "Some of the loose tomatoes that remain after weighing or packaging are put in an oven and processed on behalf of La Place (food service company) into tasty oven-dried tomatoes."

It goes without saying that Prominent has also focused on sustainability over the years. "Fresh water storage, underground energy storage in Hoogeland residential area and energy efficient cultivation in the Terneuzen greenhouse area are a few good examples," said Arne. Prominent also has its own Research and Innovation Centre at Groeneweg in 's-Gravenzande in the Netherlands in addition to the operations of the growers' association. "Here we focus on sustainability and on working efficiently. We are also gaining experience with the latest cultivation techniques. Valuable information is then shared with our members."

"Looking back on 20 years of Prominent we note that the sector has changed dramatically and it is still changing," said Arne. "We are transforming from a pure product and production mind-set to a market-oriented mind-set. It takes courage to change, also within Prominent. Horticulture is not limited to only 'Westland' or even the Netherlands. We live in a globalized society where different rules apply. We are busy with change management within Prominent as the older generation makes way for the younger. We also ask ourselves critical questions. "Can we compete against advancing economies of scale? Is the strategy that we have been using for the last five years also the right one for the future?" If we can find the right answers to these questions, Prominent will definitely be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025. I am looking forward to that!"