Van Dijk heating

This interview details Van Dijk heating, a company based in the Netherlands. The interview is with Freek van Rijn, Managing Director at Van Dijk heating.

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What is the origin story of Van Dijk heating?

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The turbulent 1970s: Following the oil crisis in 1973, the price of gas increased significantly and growers started to become more interested in saving energy. It soon became clear that the installation of retarders in boiler flame tubes yielded savings of 2-3%.

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Mr van Dijk recognised this fact and it was this that gave rise to Van Dijk heating in 1975. Today we are still producing large numbers of retarders, primarily for boiler manufacturers in Europe, at our current premises in Bunnik.

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Further growth

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At the end of the 1970s, the development of a flue gas condenser kick-started the next phase of our growth. This equipment also enables growers to save a lot of energy. During and after the oil crisis in the 1970s, this flue gas condenser helped us gain a significant market share, thus strengthening the foundations of the company.

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At the beginning of the 1980s, the horticulture industry made a cautious start with dosing CO2 from boiler flue gases. By supplying guaranteed high-quality products and by advising on and producing calculations of systems tailored precisely to customers’ needs, we were able to secure our position as a market leader in CO2 dosing systems in the greenhouse horticulture industry.

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New introductions

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In about 1990, a demand for disinfection systems for excess drainwater arose as a result of the increasing pressure from environmental requirements and the introduction of substrate (hydroponic) cultivation. In response to this situation, we developed the ECOSTER series of drainwater disinfectors. Our heat-based drainwater disinfection system is a simple one and the only system to guarantee 99.9% disinfection.

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Conditioned cultivation facilitates energy savings, improves the greenhouse climate and delivers better crop results. One of the aspects in Next Generation Growing is dehumidification of greenhouse air with relatively dry outdoor air. In response to this, in 2008 we developed the Active Ventilation System (AVS). This system makes an active contribution to an improved greenhouse climate, resulting in energy savings and greater efficiency. In 2012, this product group was extended to include the AVS WTW, the AVS-C and our very own climate greenhouse.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Van Dijk heating in the future?

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As a company in the Netherlands, we are facing the challenge of attracting new talent, so far we are succeeding. In the long term, we strongly believe that with our energy and water-saving solutions we will be able to serve the industry, on the short term we see a decrease in high-tech innovative horticultural projects. 

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What is unique about Van Dijk heating compared to competitors?

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Over the past few decades, Van Dijk Heating has earned a reputation as a supplier of high-quality equipment for the greenhouse horticulture industry. For us, high quality means products built to last, outstanding reliability, good service and of course, customer friendliness.

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We safeguard this quality by having all the disciplines we need in-house, from draughtsman to marketer. Our Development department brings together scientific knowledge and customer-specific requirements to create tailor-made products and advice. From air dehumidification to flue gas condensers and from drainwater disinfectors to CO2 dosing units, Van Dijk heating equipment is ideal for everyone from specialised niche growers to owners of large-scale, modern greenhouse businesses. We transform every customer’s wants and needs into an appropriate design and equipment that can be easily integrated into any system.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area sizes, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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In 2024 we have 16 FTE, We have a real international focus our products are supplied  to literally all continents  The air handling units (AVS- systems) are becoming an increasingly important product group and their market share is growing every year

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Van Dijk heating?

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IN 2024 we want to successfully introduce our newest product range, the SoRem sodium removal system. The SOREM sodium removal unit removes sodium from a closed fertigation system. This sodium is subsequently discharged to a sewer system as a harmless solution without nitrate (a nitrogen component). The process is based on ion exchange technology and requires additives that are already used for fertigation such as nitric acid, potassium hydroxide and carbon dioxide. The majority of these additives remain in the system as fresh fertilizer, which minimizes net consumption of additives. SOREM is an innovative technology that allows growers to maintain optimal fertilizer concentrations without the loss of valuable nutrients and in compliance with nitrogen discharge legislation.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Van Dijk heating?

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People can connect through our website:

https://www.vandijkheating.com/en

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LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/uas/login?session_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fvan-dijk-heating-b-v-%2Fabout%2F

Or call us at +31(0)30 656 38 44

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