"By allowing growers to adjust their spectrum to the natural daylight entering the greenhouse, growers are not only able to save energy but can also tailor their lighting to their cultivation goals. Do you want a shorter stay for young plants in your greenhouse, do you want a different plant architecture, do you want a greener plant, or more buds? Or is your goal of maximum production for minimal energy consumption? We help growers further optimize in these aspects," says Regnier ten Haaf when asked what RED Horticulture's lighting solutions have to offer growers in the Benelux. Regnier started at the French company this year and will further develop the Dutch branch.
Regnier at Sival 2024
Dynamic light as a cultivation tool
"Light. Initially, I thought - there are 100 companies offering light," Regnier says candidly, and a bit disrespectfully, about his transition to the lighting market. "You see that HPS is in the past and that there is pressure in the replacement market. In LED, you see many providers, also from countries with lower production costs. With dynamic LED, you can already offer more. RED goes even further by listening to the customer: what do you want, and what possibilities does the light offer?"
"Then you also need a total solution to answer this. That consists of a fixture, software, and sensors. All of this not only has to work but also be user-friendly. That combination, with the agro-service we can offer thanks to our photobiologists, means we have a unique proposition in the market. It's still LED, of course, but we go further than dynamic LED. Smart LED comes closer: that's the total package we offer, in which we connect the possibilities offered by the light spectrum to the business objectives together with growers."
Variable spectrum
He clarifies that there is no ideal spectrum to be found. "That is customer- and plant-specific. What do you want in a greenhouse, what do you want in a section, what light do you get inside?" he lists. "In a greenhouse, much is known about fertilizer and water, but you also don't give the same recipe for 10 months. Photobiology is still relatively underexplored, but that is changing quickly. I expect that in a few years, Dutch customers will create their own spectrum for their crops and cultivations."
With this story, RED Horticulture, originally a French company, has been making strides for several years. This includes both food horticulture and ornamental horticulture. "We now see a lot of reaction from propagation companies because the greenhouses have a large turnover, and often various breeds and varieties are grown. The added value is high, and you can see and measure the result in the short term. Furthermore, there is a lot of focus on vegetables because there is much to be gained in terms of sustainability, but also cut flowers, potted plants, and orchids have our attention." Internationally, RED also focuses on the medicinal cannabis market.
Benelux
Regnier will focus on the Benelux with the rapidly growing Dutch-speaking team. "We have vacancies for business developers, sales, and administrative and commercial assistants. With further development, we want to ensure that RED becomes a clear presence in the Dutch market, from where we approach the entire Benelux."
For more information:
Regnier ten Haaf
RED Horticulture
Word Horti Center, Europa 1
2672 ZX, Naaldwijk
Mob.: +31 6 24 14 34 11
Office: +33 4 87 91 24 00
Email: regnier.tenhaaf@horticulture.red
https://www.horticulture.red/