Trayplant Netherlands

This interview details Trayplant Netherlands, a technology company working in the indoor farming industry based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Peter van Hulten, Head of Sales of Trayplant Netherlands.

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What is the origin story of Trayplant Netherlands?

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The company was started in 2002. At the time, most people propagated raspberries by rooting them in soil. We discovered that we could also propagate them in a tray in growing media. We named his company Trayplant because they were planted in trays.

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The company has grown significantly over the past 20 years. Trayplant has changed the seedling industry in the Netherlands and also in Europe.

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As the Head of Sales for Trayplant, I am responsible for all sales activities. I also work on our projects related to indoor farming. For example, I helped plan and research our indoor farming project, which we just recently completed. 

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What's the benefit of the process for a grower if they use this indoor farming process versus the normal propagation?

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The efficiency is much higher. For example, one hectare of an indoor farm can replace 240 hectares of outdoor raspberry seedling propagation. 

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This is a big step forward in reducing land use. It also gives us the opportunity to give some space back to nature. It holds great importance not only for our relatively small country, the Netherlands but also for the rest of the world.

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Lastly, when you consider external factors such as changing weather patterns or the ability to produce high-quality crops consistently throughout the year, it becomes apparent that the benefits outweigh the costs. Indoor farming allows us to provide our customers with a reliable supply of seedlings, ensuring a stable value chain.

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‍What are some of the biggest challenges facing your team in the future?

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Our primary challenge is to maintain a balance between intelligence and simplicity. We noticed that during the construction process of our indoor farm, people tend to overcomplicate things unnecessarily. They believe they must incorporate extensive climate insulation within the system to achieve precise control over factors like humidity or temperature, with accuracy down to 0.1%.

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What is unique about Trayplant Netherlands compared to competitors? How do you measure the impact of your company so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc?

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We have just completed the construction of an entirely enclosed farm facility. The total expenses for incorporating the lighting system and a basic climate control system need to be included in the overall building cost. We have 1,800 square meters of grow space. Normally, to produce the same amount of seedling tips that we get from this space, you would need to build between three and four hectares of greenhouse.

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The cost of a hectare of greenhouse is quite high, requiring a substantial investment. In a six-week cycle in an indoor farm, we can produce approximately 7 million seedling tips. This means that we can produce a lot of crops, and potentially completely replace greenhouses.

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We can build this system in Abu Dhabi, Morocco, Mexico, or anywhere else. In Abu Dhabi, for example, I know companies are growing raspberries in a greenhouse using cool fans, and it is working quite well.

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What have you learned that you wish you knew when you started the company?

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Our goal is to maintain a balance between intelligence and simplicity. Over the past year and a half, we have collaborated with numerous companies in search of an optimal solution. However, each time we were presented with examples and ideas, we realized the need to simplify rather than complicate matters. It is crucial to remove complexity and make things easier, as we often tend to overcomplicate them. Learning from these experiences is vital. Currently, everyone is focused on accessing forms and reviewing quotations, but the process seems impossible and overly complicated. We need to reevaluate our approach. Looking at what we have accomplished thus far, we aim to make it even easier and less intricate in the future. Here's what we have learned from our journey so far.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Trayplant Netherlands?

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There are a few ways that people can connect and learn more about Trayplant Netherlands.

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Website: Trayplant has a website where we share information about our company, products, and services. People can find our website at: https://www.trayplant.nl

If they have any questions or would like to learn more about Trayplant, they can contact us directly. Our contact information is available on our website https://www.trayplant.nl/en/contact

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Social Media: Trayplant is active on social media. People can follow us on Facebook, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on our latest news and announcements.

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Email: info@trayplant.nl 

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