Dutch bell pepper producer 4Evergreen is considerably expanding its acreage in the Zeeland Smidsschorrepolder. The company of the brothers Grootscholte has asked the BOM Group to add 18 hectares of greenhouses to the existing 10 hectares of 4Evergreen in the same polder.
BOM Group is responsible for building the greenhouses and provides them with the newest technologies. One of these technologies is the double screen installation with the slip-in system from Peter Dekker Installaties. The expansion in the Zeeland-Flemish polder brings the total acreage of greenhouses of this pepper grower to 80 hectares. This makes 4Evergreen one of the largest producers of bell peppers in Europe. In addition, the company owns another several dozens of hectares in the Smisschorrepolder that can be built on in the future.
Residual heat and CO2
The reason that 4Evergreen has chosen to expand in the Smidsschorrepolder, near Westdorpe, is mainly because of the availability of residual heat and CO2, which is generated by the fertiliser plant Yara. The supply of these energy flows initially gave the horticultural area an energetic start. However, these developments were interrupted by the crisis, until the area started to revive again a couple of years ago.
Tomato grower Van Adrichem Nurseries established itself in the polder with 9 hectares of greenhouses, and the possibility to expand another 20 hectares. The Belgian United Vegetable Growers (VGT) is also building a company in the Autrichepolder with a total acreage of 30 hectares, which means that the polders in and around Westdorpe, except for some parcels, are nearly sold out.
Source/photo: BOM Group.
