Big 10: International Inspiration

When you want to do something well, it’s wise to look to those who are already accomplishing that. For Ontario Plants Propagation, those would be greenhouse companies in The Netherlands.

“[We] focus on best practices coming out of other parts of the world, primarily The Netherlands,” says General Manager Steve Vanderkooy. “We put a lot of effort into trying to maintain good relations with colleagues in The Netherlands.”

The practices Ontario Plants Propagation looks for are the ones that will help them propagate high quality vegetable transplants, which is the company’s sole focus.

“We really made a leap of faith in the beginning, and made a decision to exclusively focus on high quality,” he says. “We were of the belief that our client base would benefit from that and seek out that higher quality. That’s what we did in the beginning and that really remains our focus to this day.”

Ontario Plants Propagation hasn’t had any trouble turning to companies in The Netherlands for inspiration in keeping that focus. In fact, Vanderkooy says that people in the industry are often willing to share information.

“People are — in this greenhouse industry — remarkably open to meeting new people and sharing information,” he says. “If you put some effort into making contacts in other countries, then people are even more open, I find. And that may be, in part, because of the distance; we don’t compete directly with people who are in other countries or overseas.”
 

Ontario Plants Propagation also tries to reciprocate sharing information with those companies whenever possible.

“Once you achieve that mutually beneficial relationship, that’s when things really become entrenched,” Vanderkooy says.

While looking to Europe for the best practices to implement has been very beneficial to Ontario Plants Propagation, the company’s true success lies in its clear focus on high quality vegetable transplants. As it moves forward, the company is dedicated to continuing that.

“What we are focusing on in the future is to continue that focus on quality, but to do it in the two following ways: first of all, to continue to look for improved growing tools and strategies,” he says. “Secondly, we’re also investing more in mechanization to reduce product variability and also reduce variable labor costs.”
 

For more: Ontario Plants Propagation, (519) 637-2119 or www.ontarioplants.com