Tuinderij J. van den Berg, a horticultural company from Ridderkerk, is working on an investment plan. The modernization started in 2014, and Albert-Jan van den Berg hopes to have it completed in 2024. By then, the new Phormium screens and the corresponding installation will be hanging everywhere, there will be a new water basin, a section of the greenhouse roof will have been replaced, 200 solar panels will have been installed, corridors will have been renewed, and the yard will have been replaced.
Albert-Jan van den Berg
22 year old screen
The screen has been there for 22 years. That was possible because his crop is a bit colder than the regular crops of leafy vegetables, but the end was nigh. The polyester threads had become rough over the years and therefore holes were easily pulled in the fabric. The holes, gaps, and flapping fabric combined with pollution meant that Albert-Jan decide to have it replaced.
Albert-Jan van den Berg: "We now have energy-saving screens with high light transmission, that's what I was looking for. We don't heat much in the winter. We do want it to be a little warmer than freezing, so energy saving is important to me. I also had Westland Scherming connect the profiles to the trusses again. That also saves energy, so it really was a total renovation of the screen installation."
Arjan van der Veer, sales manager Phormium, adds: "Albert-Jan's choice fell on Phormium's bright energy fabric PhormiTex Crystal. It has a light transmission of 90% and an energy saving of 47%. Thanks to the brightness and high energy savings, the grower can now use his energy screens for longer without losing much light."
Three phases
Wim van Dorp from Westland Scherming was, as mentioned above, the installer in this screen project. He tells us that this is a project which is being carried out in three phases. This year was the second phase, and next year will be the last.
Each phase covers about 7000 - 8000 m2. "We are quite proud of this. We have been able to update an existing installation that is 22 years old. We have adjusted the tension wires, renewed the polyester wires (both above and below), and installed new fabric and new strips. We worked hard on this with three people, and we finished in a fortnight. A month ago we were able to deliver the second phase."
Leafy vegetables are grown in the ground at Albert-Jan's cultivation company. The total area currently under cultivation is 4 hectares of glass. The products grown are lamb's lettuce, cabbage lettuce, lollo bionda, herbs, lollo rossa, endive, and Chinese vegetables. Vegetable seed is also grown in collaboration with Rijk Zwaan BV for a variety of crops, such as kohlrabi, spinach, radishes, beetroot, endive, and carrot.
For more information:
Arjan van der Veer
Phormium
arjan.vanderveer@phormium.com
Te: +31 (0) 6 1177 8796
Wim van Dorp
Westland Scherming
info@westlandscherming.nl
Tel: +31 (0) 6 5376 7284
Albert-Jan van den Berg
Tuinderij J. van den Berg
info@tuinderijberg.nl
www.tuinderijberg.nl