After three decades of mushroom farming, Frans Van Schie and his wife, Hilda, have not only built a strong family business but have embraced the mushroom farming lifestyle. Van Schie had never seen an operational mushroom farm before deciding to put an offer in for what is now Quality Mushrooms in Ōhaupō, but he wasn't deterred.
In the early 1980s, Van Schie was running a refrigeration business and took on the job of designing and constructing the mushroom farm facilities at the Ōhaupō property. When the previous owners decided to sell, Van Schie saw an opportunity and asked his wife what she thought about taking it on. The answer was "why not," so they put in an offer and took onthe business in 1988.
Van Schie said initially he thought "it can't be that hard," but he quickly realised it was going to be a challenge. He did some research, "read a book" about growing mushrooms and dived into it, quickly learning through trial and error. In the end, he said all the hard work has been worth it, although he has regretted the decision "plenty of times" over the years.
"It's really rewarding, so it's a way of life ... don't do it if you want to make heaps of money, but it's a nice way of life." Van Schie has started to step back from the business with his three sons, Bobby, Maarten and Daniel running the day-to-day operations.
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