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We are excited to kick off our 2024 series 'In conversation with. In this series, we share inspiring conversations we have had with people from horticulture industry, who help determine the course of this fascinating sector. For the first edition, we had the honor of interviewing Steven van Schilfgaarde, CEO of Royal FloraHolland. 

In our 2024 guide, we've gathered a list of essential rebate programs available to greenhouse growers across 14 states and provinces in North America. Download the guide for your region here and learn more about how you can upgrade your greenhouse equipment while putting money back in your pocket.

Sustainability is an important theme for Paul Buysman. Of course it is imperative to save energy, but Paul's motivation goes a step further. “I think it is important to be involved in the world. We all have our responsibility to our community.” That is why Paul recently chose the premium climate screen Luxous 1147 Eco FR , which is partly made from recycled material. Learn more about his motivations and experience, as well as that of Aad Alsemgeest from Dutch installer, Alweco.

Agro Orchids Costa Rica, a family-owned company dedicated to the production of Phalaenopsis Orchids, has successfully overcome climate challenges through the strategic implementation of Svensson's climate screens: Tempa, Luxous, Obscura, and Harmony. With over 15 years of experience, these screens have become key elements in creating an optimal climate within their greenhouses and growing orchids of the highest quality.​

If you want your customers to have the best possible growing climate, and products that perform flawlessly in that climate, you’d better be into research and development. And you’re going to need a weather machinist.

For the past two years, growers of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have been rapidly switching to a double climate screen solution, influenced by higher gas prices and government tax incentives. Growers can choose from various options: a double energy screen, a combination of a blackout screen and energy screen, or a solution with an extra summer screen. The energy savings can be up to 70%.

Behind the screens at Svensson there is a library of samples of knitted shade screens stretching back over the decades. Magnus Hallin carefully curates each sample, which may represent a breakthrough or a misstep, years of work and testing, and vital knowledge to apply to research and innovation.

Rob Baan is a key figure in the Dutch horticultural sector and the founder of Koppert Cress, a leading company in the cultivation of microgreens and edible flowers. He calls for greater pride and awareness within the sector and highlights sustainability and energy efficiency as crucial areas of innovation. Rob shares his vision on the energy transition, with a focus on ambitious goals and the potential of hydrogen.

In the world of orchid cultivation, Satter Orchids is a name known for its commitment to innovation. They recently replaced 3 out of 5 hectares of greenhouse space with new climate screens. The majority of this 3 hectares is equipped with three Svensson screens, with PARperfect as an important part of the screen installation. The installation was carried out by Huisman Screen Systems.

For many years, the Neurath power plant was the second-largest lignite-fired power plant in Europe in terms of gross electrical output. When the two power plant units F and G were commissioned in the fall of 2011, the Neurath growers in the shadow of units A to E were already a few months into the tomato harvest in their new, 11-hectare greenhouse.

"I love visiting greenhouse operations," says Svensson's Paul Arena on a visit to the Swedish HQ of the company. It was a chance to see the tradition, the polymer science and the knowledge behind Svensson shade cloth, energy screens, nets and ventilation systems in Netherlands and Sweden.

Kicking back and switching off in his retirement is not for Peter Klapwijk. Horticulture is his passion. He loves it. Klapwijk calls himself a people person – an attentive observer, listener, creative thinker and strategist. “I look, think and feel along with an organization, the market developments affecting it, as well as innovations and the cultivation processes,” he says.