"The number of greenhouse horticulture samples at Eurofins Agro has grown significantly in recent years. As Business Unit Horti, we have invested heavily in professionalization, so it's time to continue as an independent business line under a recognizable name," says Theo Aanhane, director of the new business line. He launches the name of the independent division: 'Eurofins Horti'.
Aanhane says: "The main office of Eurofins Horti is and will remain located in Wageningen, as that is where the laboratories are located. From Wageningen, the Horti customer support department supports growers at home and abroad with all kinds of practical matters. A finely meshed network of samplers and couriers takes care of sampling in the Netherlands and transporting the samples to Wageningen.
Jan Hardeman, Joris Driessen, Annelies Mosch, Theo Aanhane, and Kal Subramanian
"Internationally, Eurofins Horti is also working hard. A dealer network has been set up and there is close cooperation with a growing number of Eurofins service labs. In most cases, samples are still transported to the Netherlands by couriers. In China, samples are analyzed locally, after which advice is linked to the data in the Netherlands - a great example of a fast, modern, and automated service."
Ready for the future
Theo Aanhane: "Over the past four years, we have worked very hard to 'put our house in order' and to respond to new developments in the sector. We have invested in modern equipment, new systems, and new analysis packages. Research packages, such as PlantsapCheck, and the analysis of organic fertilizers are good examples of our response to changing and new customer demands. We also have the research package BodemlevenMonitor, as attention to soil life and resilience is increasingly important with the reduction of chemicals. Finally, we have entered into a partnership with the data platform 30MHz, thus offering growers the opportunity to get more out of their analysis data."
"It's not just equipment and methods that have been invested in," he says. "We've also paid a lot of attention to our Horti team. We have hired a number of new people, and we also spend a lot of time building new knowledge through training our employees. That way, we have a knowledgeable team that knows what's going on in the field."
"We are ready for the future, and that includes a new name," Aanhane concludes. "Worldwide, food production in glass and plastic greenhouses is growing, and in open cultivation, precision fertilization via an irrigation system linked to an A- and B-bucket is becoming more and more common too. Such investments require regular analyses of the water, soil, and crop. Eurofins Horti provides these analyses and the associated advice. In the coming years, we will continue to grow, certainly internationally."
For more information:
Eurofins Horti
088 876 1014
horti@eurofins.com
www.eurofins-agro.com/en