The Strawberry Day got underway at the 1931 Congress Centre in Den Bosch this morning. Despite the winter weather, which made travelling to Den Bosch a challenge, the event is going ahead. The early birds arrived ahead of the snow, but from 8 a.m., when the fair opened, it was snowing in Den Bosch as well.
© Andrea van den Hoven | HortiDaily.com
Numerous speakers from cultivation (including specialists such as Klaas Walraven of organiser Delphy), marketing (Gijs Heineke of Albert Heijn) and technology (Kaz Vermeer of Voltiris), along with around 100 exhibitors, are ready to welcome visitors in Den Bosch. Not everyone managed to make it, however. For example, Adri Bom-Lemstra opened the event with the help of a video link, having got stuck en route and returned home.
© Andrea van den Hoven | HortiDaily.com
In his opening address, the chair of Glastuinbouw Nederland highlighted the familiar themes of labour, crop protection and energy, as well as the success of the promotional campaign for soft fruit. According to Bom-Lemstra, this campaign is an example of supply-chain collaboration aimed at increasing consumption.
© Andrea van den Hoven | HortiDaily.com
Compared with previous editions, the programme features one fewer block of presentations. There is always a balancing act between conference and trade fair, and this approach provides an extra hour to walk around the stands without missing any presentations. The coffee-break small talk is easy to imagine: "Best wishes! How was it with the snow?"
© Andrea van den Hoven | HortiDaily.com
Colleagues Andrea van den Hoven, Martijn Haas and Thijmen Tiersma are present at Strawberry Day
More updates will follow later, once we have made it out from behind the snowplough or off the train and completed our first rounds of the exhibition.
