Agrolux and Gavita have been part of the Hawthorne Gardening Company for many years. The American owner has given the companies a new impulse, a new team, and a new portfolio. Nick Boelen, Global Sales Director, has been working for Agrolux/Gavita for two years now, and tells us about his experiences and expectations.
Moving forward together
"Six months ago, we started to merge the companies Gavita and Agrolux. Before that, we worked together, but in the past year, we have strengthened our cooperation with our American colleagues. We have joined forces and that has given us a great selling season."
Nick speaks of a 'strong portfolio', which is an asset in an era where a switch from HPS to LED is strongly visible. "Thanks to the bundling of Gavita and Agrolux, but also certainly thanks to the collaboration with parent company Hawthorne, we've gone into the selling season with an insane portfolio. We're still in the midst of it, but we can already say that the selling season is going very satisfactorily."
Development and delivery
Agrolux and Gavita receive support from their parent company. "There are bright minds there to help us, and we can also switch quickly." The cooperation between the Dutch and the American R&D team contributes to high-level collaboration.
Joining forces also plays an important role in strengthening the supply chain. "We have been able to lift the entire supply chain to a higher level, and we have been able to greatly expand, or rather 'stretch', our capacity. As a result, we are perfectly capable of delivering projects all over the world."
Dutch design
What has not changed is that the assembly takes place largely in the Netherlands. The company likes to speak of 'Dutch design', because the design of the luminaires was also conceived here, with the necessary input from the Westland. "It's true that this was done in co-creation with the Americans, but it's smart, enthusiastic young people in R&D and in the design team who are at the controls here. We are proud of that."
Teamwork
As mentioned, the sales team plays an important role within the Gavita-Agrolux combination. Nick introduces them to us. "Mario Taal has been with us for many years, and is still going strong in Benelux and Southern Europe. We have also strengthened our team with Sunny Smit, who will be working for clients in the Westland and Northern part of the Netherlands. And we have Naomi van der Linden in a combination function, with sales support and account management for the Westland region." And it doesn't stop there, three more new colleagues will soon be joining the sales team.
Buying a lighting installation is a big investment, and Nick has noticed that customers tend to stick to one brand. "After a successful installation, customers don't switch so quickly. So we listen carefully to what the customer wants."
Agrolux and Gavita have become big because of their HPS portfolio, so they cherish that. "But we are also as proud as a peacock of the introduction of the Wega family, our new LED fixture. That product line consists of three pillars: Eco, Plus and Max."
Wega luminaire
Different output levels
The three different lamps in this new product family have different wattages, giving you different output levels - the Max goes up to 3700 µmol/s. The Wega lamps are also dimmable and available in different spectra.
"We are also proud of the compact design, which is really focused on use in the greenhouse, with a very low shadow effect. With the passive cooling it has become a very efficient LED line," says Nick.
This diversity of spectra makes the Wega family suitable for a range of crops, from ornamental to vegetables. "The LED lights are already enjoying great popularity worldwide. Our Wega finds its way from strawberries and high wire crops like cucumber and tomato to cut flowers and pot plants. The first big order was made this season in October, and since then it has really taken off."
But what makes the new lamp so desirable? Nick compares it to a new iPhone; just like the smartphone, the new Wega lamp has a compact design, combined with high output, i.e. efficiency.
"The lens technology is another strong point. It ensures that the light is better distributed through the greenhouse and the crop, resulting in a uniform light display. This is very important for chrysanthemums and other cut crops, but also for high-wire crops."
For more information:
Nick Boelen 
Agrolux
+31 (0)174 610 820
nick.boelen@agrolux.com
www.agrolux.com