I am a real family man, happily married to my darling Diana, father of seven children, three of me and four of Diana, and proud grandfather of Cindy of two and Nick of five years. I prefer to walk around among the tomatoes. I can't imagine a better job than being a tomato grower. It never gets boring. My work is also my hobby. Our family business RedStar has grown to 70 hectares. We grow tasty tomatoes and on 'Poortcamp' in De Lier we sell and pack everything. I think it's great that my sons Ronald and Patrick and daughter Louise have chosen to work in the family business. I am a born Westlander and have been living in Prinsenbeek for over a year. It is fantastic here with lots of forests and nature. And I am very central to our locations.
2. Can you talk about the background of the company?
My parents are the founders of the company. In 1953 they started at the Vijverberglaan in Honselersdijk with a few hundred meters of greenhouses. My crib stood there, 60 years ago. My younger brother Dirk was also born here. The passion for tomato cultivation was transferred to us by my father. Under his leadership, the company grew gradually to 25,000 m2 in 1980.
Already at a very young age, when I was 16, I felt how it was to have responsibility in a company. My father got sick and stayed in the hospital for three months. Together with my mother and brother Dirk we were 'alone'. With the help of neighbour Vollebregt we succeeded in guiding everything in the right direction. In 1989 we decided to move to Voorne Putten so that we could continue to grow the company. That was our first step outside Westland. Now in 2018 RedStar has ten branches, six of which are at Voorne Putten, one in Dinteloord, one in Bergschenhoek, one in Luttelgeest and one in England.
With the company growing, my role changed. In the beginning I did everything: cultivation, sorting, and driving to the auction. Now we have a team of experts for every aspect that deals with that specific field and we also have a CEO. The work is like a big cake, divided into pieces: those are the teams. The teams are managed by the management, which consists of 12 people. I myself join the management meeting, together with three more directors. But I also join the cultivation team every two weeks. That's where I feel most at home. The team talks to each other about the ins and outs of the cultivation. I think it's great to think about this and to get new insights about tomato cultivation. As a growing team, we are getting better at reducing the cost price of a kilogram of tomatoes, without compromising on quality. For us, quality is number 1. Our team also carefully reviews the cultivation plan. With RedStar we have been producing in a market-oriented manner for 22 years. The trick is to produce the kilograms as accurately as possible every year that the sales team expects to need.
4. What is your main motivation? Where do you get your motivation from?
I admire the courage and entrepreneurship of my father and mother. They started with nothing. In 1953 they had 800 m2 with some lettuce and endive. First with small steps, later with larger steps they made the company grow. It was, as it were, 'on a silver platter' when my brother Dirk and I took over from them. We continued in the same way. In the first years we worked very hard, really day and night. We have further expanded and developed it to keep it up to date.
I feel like a privileged person that at age sixty I still think it's great to do. If you do what you like and what you are good at, then it costs little energy. If you do something that is beyond your power or you do not enjoy it, it costs energy. I could be content just growing tomatoes. Yet I also get relaxation from riding my motorcycle and cycling and I enjoy the forest and nature.
5. What makes you proud? What do you like to look back on?
On Saturday I take all the time to walk through the greenhouses. I love to inspect the crop and to follow the growth and flowering of the tomatoes. Then I think ahead of what I can expect from growth in the coming week.
There have been many important and defining moments in my life:
I feel like a privileged person that at age sixty I still think it's great to do. If you do what you like and what you are good at, then it costs little energy. If you do something that is beyond your power or you do not enjoy it, it costs energy. I could be content just growing tomatoes. Yet I also get relaxation from riding my motorcycle and cycling and I enjoy the forest and nature.
5. What makes you proud? What do you like to look back on?
On Saturday I take all the time to walk through the greenhouses. I love to inspect the crop and to follow the growth and flowering of the tomatoes. Then I think ahead of what I can expect from growth in the coming week.
There have been many important and defining moments in my life:
- 1974, 16 years: Management of the company.
- 1981, 23 years: Married to Gerda.
- 1982, 24 years: The first crop on stone wool. For us it was a jump off the deep end, completely new and unknown. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I had always maintained that we would never grow on stone wool. That was until we were on ground that was so wet, that steaming did not make any sense. Then we decided. Huub Seelen from Grodan helped convince us.
- 1982 to 1985, 24 to 27 years. The birth of my three children Ronald, Patrick and Louise.
- 1990, 32 years old. Oostvoorne, start new company in Oostvoorne.
- 1996, 38 years. Creation of RedStar.
- 1997, 39 years. Agricultural entrepreneur of the year 1996.
- 1999, 41 years. Spain, start-up company, together with Jos Linthorst, Evert van Geest and Rinus van Nieuwkerk.
- 2006, 48 years. Married to Diana.
- 2008, 50 years. - England, start-up company, with Rainbow, Wim Grootscholten and A & A Komkommers and also started construction of packaging and distribution center Poortcamp in De Lier.
- 2012, 54 years. - Dinteloord, start company and birth of first grandchild.
- 2015, 57 years. Birth second grandchild.
6. What is your ultimate goal?
Staying healthy. The challenge is to keep my weight at 75 kg. I will cycle a lot in the forest and ride my motorcycle on the roads around Prinsenbeek. As long as I can, I will continue to make a contribution to make RedStar even better. When we were still growing in the field, the rule was: from soil to mouth. In a figurative sense it still applies.
7. In which areas do you see opportunities for the future for horticulture?
The Netherlands will always remain at the frontline of horticulture. Climate change has the positive result that accelerated innovative developments have been set in motion to be able to grow more energy-efficiently and with less natural gas.
8. At what level do you see threats to the future of the sector?
It's a pity that so few young people are attracted to horticulture. It is difficult to find people with green thumbs. And although more and more big data is becoming available, and robots are replacing human hands, everything can't be replaced.
Staying healthy. The challenge is to keep my weight at 75 kg. I will cycle a lot in the forest and ride my motorcycle on the roads around Prinsenbeek. As long as I can, I will continue to make a contribution to make RedStar even better. When we were still growing in the field, the rule was: from soil to mouth. In a figurative sense it still applies.
7. In which areas do you see opportunities for the future for horticulture?
The Netherlands will always remain at the frontline of horticulture. Climate change has the positive result that accelerated innovative developments have been set in motion to be able to grow more energy-efficiently and with less natural gas.
8. At what level do you see threats to the future of the sector?
It's a pity that so few young people are attracted to horticulture. It is difficult to find people with green thumbs. And although more and more big data is becoming available, and robots are replacing human hands, everything can't be replaced.
9. What is your most important tip to other horticultural entrepreneurs?
I have four:
- Stay true to yourself.
- Use your strengths.
- Follow Darwin's law: Not the fastest, not the best, but the one who adapts, survives.
- Work together with others: for more capabilities in the broadest sense of the word.
10. Finally: to whom would you like to pass on this interview and why?
Who: Cock van Overbeek, tomato grower in Beetgum, Friesland.
Why: Grower for Albert Heijn.
Who: Cock van Overbeek, tomato grower in Beetgum, Friesland.
Why: Grower for Albert Heijn.
For more information:
RedStar