Next Generation Substrates

Our industry visit today saw us travelling some 150 kms to the Grodan factory at Roermond, which is about 5 minutes away from the Dutch / German border.

The purpose of the visit was to gain a broader idea of the issues surrounding the use of Grodan as a growing substrate, and also to see the production of the various products first hand.

So after leaving the hotel at 7.10am we eventually got to the factory at 09.25am, and were greeted by our hosts Rens and Rick. Even better was that they had laid on morning tea with a local cake called Fly (there probably is a better Dutch spelling but we don’t know it!) which was a delicious cream type cake. So with cake and coffee consumed, we had a brief presentation on the history of the Grodan company, and a general overview of the Grodan products and how they are utilised within the glasshouse industry.

In order us to tour the production facility we had to wear safety shoes and hard hats, and just when we thought we had dressed up for the last time in white suits etc, we were issued with some very loud red coats.

The Red Coat Brigade

Owing to Grodan’s security policy we were unable to take any pictures of the production facility, but the sheer size of the factory would actually have made it almost impossible to capture any images that would have portrayed the large scale of the operation.

What we did see was a highly automated process that operated at a very high speed in terms of production and output. The Grodan slabs were cut from large sheets of stonewall, before being wrapped in a plastic sleeve. These sleeves were then periodically tested for air tightness, before the final products were placed on a conveyer, where a laser cut out the holes in the plastic for the plants.

During the tour we learnt that Grodan has approx 70% of the total market share for the Controlled Growing environment  industry, and are aiming to hold that percentage of the market share.

We were also able to discuss the composting trial that Catherine will be undertaking in conjunction with Grodan and the Nursery Industry Association of Australia when we return to Australia, and how we can work collaboratively together as partners as this project develops.