TTA Netherlands (2024)

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Click on the below link to read the initial interview‍

https://www.urbanvine.co/blog/tta-netherlands

This interview details TTA, an indoor farming technology provider based in the Netherlands. The interview was conducted with Peter Rietveld, Business Development Director at Eurogroep, and with Renko Schuil, Sales Manager Indoor Farming at TTA.

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How did 2023 go for TTA?

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The year 2023 treated us well. As TTA, we are active in a range of markets, so whenever one faces more challenges, the others make up for that. We saw the horticulture and floraculture market picking up quickly after the events following the energy crisis in 2022. Forestry is also a rather steady factor for us, so that’s good. And concerning ‘indoor farming,’ we all know the sentiment in that specific market. It hasn’t been too bad, but there is much room for improvement within that focus area.  

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What were the biggest challenges and successes?

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Obviously, the biggest challenge is the investment climate in the whole CEA and vertical farming landscape. The market has been hit hard, and many of our customers and potential customers are re-focussing, shifting business models, or even failing to succeed. Besides the personal drama of staff laid off, this has big consequences for the industry. Now you see an industry working hard to become more resilient, and it will get there, is our belief. 2024 will be better, and from 2025 onwards, the market will pick up at full scale again.

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The biggest successes we achieved concern our portfolio. We introduced the harvest, our harvesting machine for indoor-grown crops, after its announcement in late 2022. The first ones have been shipped, and many more to follow in 2024. During the Vertical Farming World Congress, we won an award for this development as ‘Best Technology Development,’ which made us incredibly proud. We even had a second market introduction with our CuttingEdge, a sticking robot for unrooted cuttings. Installation of the first projects is completed now, and it is amazing to see how much more will follow in 2024; the market is picking this up rapidly. The vision software we use in this machine is developed in-house, which is a fantastic achievement.

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What are some of the latest relevant metrics of the company (client quantity, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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We exist for over 27 years now, so we have a steady growth of all the metrics mentioned in your question. The most important one, or one of the most important ones, is our retention rate. I don’t want to brag, but seeing so many customers returning to us with their business is great. We have seen this for many years already in the horticulture and floraculture segment, and we see it now in indoor farming as well. This valuation of our equipment, staff, service, and what we stand for as a company is what we wake up for every day and keeps us going.  

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for TTA?

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R&D lies in our DNA, so coming up with new products or adding features to our portfolio is high on our agenda. I can’t say anything about it now, but there’s more to come from TTA! Further, contributing to making the CEA and VF market more resilient is one of our goals as well. We provide our customers with equipment that makes a difference in their business case. But also, the position we take in the industry, connecting like-minded people, looking out for each other, participating in discussions concerning the future of the industry, and keeping the shows and events on a high level is certainly an important goal as well for the coming year.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about TTA?

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First, reach out to us; that’s the easiest way. Just mail me at renko.schuil@tta.eu or call me at +31 6 8209 2785. In case you want to check out what we do first, visit our website, www.tta.eu, and follow us on LinkedIn, which keeps you up to date on market introductions, events we attend, and customer stories. Always welcome for a coffee and a good talk on our booth during industry events or at our HQ in The Netherlands as well. Plenty of opportunities to meet us and to get to know what we do, or simply catch up!

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