Van Uffelen Flowers held an open-doors day to show off its newly delivered four-hectare chrysanthemum greenhouse at Herenwerf in Maasland on Saturday 16 April, together with its builders and installers.
The newly designed Greenhouse was built by Technokas. The greenhouse cover was executed in diffuse glass, with a haze factor of 70. Another interesting detail is the double screening system by Svensson (Harmony 2515) and Bonar (energy-saving blackout cloth), executed by Huisman Scherming. The lighting system was provided by Hortilux Schréder (1,000 Watt SON-T narrow-angle lighting fixtures, 10,000 lux), and the other water and electrical systems were by Stolze.
Next Generation Cultivation
The greenhouse is prepared for the installation of air handling units for mixing the air in the greenhouse with air blown in from outside, in accordance with the basic principles of Next Generation Cultivation. ‘This system allows the entire air content of a greenhouse to be complete renewed approximately once every hour,’ explains Hans van Tilborgh of Technokas. ‘It will not be replacing the air vents, but will comprise a useful addition to them.’ Before the outside air is blown into the greenhouse through a large hose, it is heated to the greenhouse temperature. This is to prevent climate differences in the greenhouse.
However, the system does not provide in heat recovery, like tomato grower Ted Duijvesteijn’s ID Greenhouse. ‘That would mean installing a much more complex system. It also saves energy. In combination with a double screen this greenhouse will allow us to save 30 to 40 per cent more energy than in a conventional chrysanthemum greenhouse,’ continues Van Tilborgh.
Production halls
In addition to the greenhouse, Technokas also supplied Van Uffelen Flowers with hoistable heating frames and production halls, designed by the Poortinga & Zwinkels architecture firm. According to architect Hester Poortinga, Van Uffelen aims to have its new building reflect the brand identity and values of Zentoo: transparent, unifying and innovative. Zentoo is the trademark under which Van Uffelen chrysanthemums are marketed. The chrysanthemum varieties are supplied by Fides and Deliflor.
Other technical tours de force at Van Uffelen Flowers are the Robur fully automated spray boom, the ISO Group peat block planting machine and the Bercomex harvester. Once harvested, the flowers are transported to the shed on underground conveyor belts. The cooling facilities with pre-cooling units were supplied by Hamelink Koeling.
Text and images: Mario Bentvelsen
