For Agrolux, the market for assimilation lights in horticulture offers tremendous growth opportunities. To expand its leadership team and drive further growth, Agrolux has therefore recently appointed Nick Boelen as its new international sales director.
Shift toward LED lighting
"Agrolux plans to grow rapidly especially in export countries. “I really want to contribute to that exciting growth plan," Nick states. Last year, he switched from the substrate industry to the horticulture lighting industry, after having been approached by the American Hawthorne Group. "The interesting thing about assimilation lighting is the rapidly improving technologies that unlocks new market potentials. It is very exciting to be involved in the current shift to LED and the challenges that come with it for growers and all other actors in the industry. This change and challenge amid a world-class global company is what really got my juices flowing.”
Within this dynamic sector, he also has to deal with strong competition, as especially in the LED market new players seem to emerge every day. "Competition is necessary and also makes us better and smarter. Agrolux, with more than two decades of experience together with significant investments in research and development, is determined to expand its leadership position in the Global Professional Horticulture market."
International growth
As international sales director, Nick will now be involved in all markets outside Europe. "My focus is mainly on North America and Asia, as they are now the most important growth markets for us. Obviously I have colleagues who serve the European and other markets.”
In a year marked by COVID, when travel is virtually impossible, a task like this comes with interesting challenges. "Despite COVID, I was able to visit some interesting companies in Canada with my experienced colleague Denis Dullemans who is introducing me properly to the international lighting industry. The ProHort market is clearly growing strongly in North America and growers are recognizing Agrolux quality products, consistency, personal service and commitment to the professional horticulture industry," he says. The company has recently also opened an office in Canada. "However, we will continue to work from the Netherlands to ensure that we can bring the latest technologies and insights in growing practices from the cradle of the global greenhouse food and flower production to other parts of the world. We have also added an American colleague to be our team member on the ground in North America in order to strengthen our global ProHort team and plan for future growth.”
Nick in a greenhouse with Agrolux fixtures. "Quality is something we put first."
Asian market full of potential
"In recent years, Agrolux has also been able to deliver its first projects in Asia. We did this mostly with our partner Signify, and we are also planning to put a person on the ground to better support local activities," Nick continues. "Fortunately, the market in Asia is increasingly willing to pay for quality."
He explains that Agrolux has gained a great deal of knowledge and experience over the past twenty years and is strongly committed to R&D, together with its parent company Hawthorne. Besides the research department at the parent company in the US, Agrolux also has a research and development department in the Netherlands. This department is located in the new building, which opened in December this year. “The new facility is a reflection of our ambition toward the future and enables us to expand our activities in R&D, production and sales/marketing,” Nick explains.
"Apart from the fact that we are located in a beautiful spot very near Schiphol airport and that the building is very comfortable to work from, we can also act more flexibly in terms of production and logistics. We operate globally, but certainly due to the increase in scale in the sector, there is still a peak in production. The new building in Rozenburg, near Schiphol offers us more flexibility and capacity to meet market demand," he adds. "Together with our parent company Hawthorne Inc in the US, these plans have been realized to reflect our vision, ambition and commitment to the ProHort sector. I am convinced that we will be able to expand our place in the market and continue our offerings and service to the ProHort growers."
For more information:
Nick Boelen (e-mail)
Agrolux
Naritaweg 8,
1437 EL, Rozenburg.
Phone: +31 174 - 61 08 20
FAX: +31 174 - 61 08 12
E-mail: info@agrolux.com
www.agrolux.com