Peter Hendriks

Believing in a new philosophy

Hendriks points out that, when you start something new, you never know how it’s going to do. “But we believed in the Plant Empowerment philosophy and found some people who also did. And I could never have dreamed of how well-known the Plant Empowerment philosophy would become. It gained recognition really quickly and it’s beautiful to see the enthusiasm that growers all over the world now have for Plant Empowerment.”

In fact, its worldwide recognition is one of the key milestones of the Plant Empowerment Foundation to date, asserts Hendricks. “I’m so proud of the fact that, wherever you are in the world, you say the words ‘Plant Empowerment’ to people in our sector and they know what it is. That’s a phenomenon that did not exist six years ago. It’s unbelievable, right?”

He continues: “People perceive the Plant Empowerment philosophy as something that can really help their business. That’s our biggest achievement so far and it could never have happened if we were not organised the way we are. One company could not have achieved this on its own and it really demonstrates the power of community – of multiple companies and consultants working with multiple growers. Ultimately, this shows the power of cooperation.”

“And then we asked if this way of working is also feasible in other climate zones,” recalls Hendriks, who is also managing director of LetsGrow.com and the chief executive officer of Hoogendoorn Growth Management. “Here in the Netherlands, we have a moderate climate and high-tech greenhouses. But what if we applied this approach to other types of greenhouses, or to other climates? And then we saw that, yes, if you apply the basic principles properly you can get the good results everywhere in the world. And that’s when Plant Empowerment was born.”

It was at this point that the Plant Empowerment’s implementation partners, including Hoogendoorn, LetsGrow.com, Ludvig Svensson, Saint-Gobain Cultilene, Koppert acknowledged the need to really organize themselves to generate traction for the Plant Empowerment principles. Now world-famous, this Plant Empowerment “bible” has sold an incredible 8,000 copies around the world. But Hendriks does not attribute the Foundation’s success only to the publication of this book. Crucially, he puts the success of this not-for-profit organisation down to the unique way in which each of the Plant Empowerment implementation partners united to “make some noise” about the Foundation.

In fact, bringing these companies together has been, asserts Hendriks, his proudest achievement in his role as chairman. However, it has also been his greatest challenge.

The power of cooperation

Hendriks recalls: “Implementing that level of cooperation between multiple corporations was quite a challenge at first but it also makes us very unique in our industry. When we first started working on projects together, we had to learn how ‘step over our own shadow’ and talk about the Plant Empowerment philosophy in an aligned and holistic way – rather than discuss our companies’ individual products.”

“And now the feedback we continually get is that having all these companies working together for a common cause is what’s so special about Plant Empowerment. It just creates trust. People trust our organisation.”

Empowering growers worldwide

Certainly, the Plant Empowerment Foundation has gained international recognition and has evolved into something even greater than Hendriks had originally envisioned. And observing the crop improvements that the Foundation has helped growers to achieve continues to be one of the most rewarding aspects of his role – not less because he’s mindful of the courage it takes for growers to let go of old traditions.

He explains: “Growers put everything they have – their time, their capital, for example – into their greenhouse. And so, changing the way they grow is quite a big thing for them. But the Plant Empowerment philosophy is sustainable, and it works. We see good results. However, we also know there are multiple ways to do it of course. But being able to think datadriven and in a science based way, really helps companies advance to a next level.”

Moments that matter

Hendriks notes that customers often approached him at GreenTech Amsterdam, to tell him that, without the help of the implementation of the Plant Empowerment principles, their company probably would not be here anymore. Because they now are really controlling the entire growing process in a data-driven, sustainable, repeatable and profitable way.

“It’s during these moments that you think ‘wow – this is what we do it for,’” says Hendriks.

And the GreenTech Amsterdam trade show was, in fact, the event at which the Plant Empowerment Foundation officially launched, some five years ago.

“That is one of my most cherished memories,” recalls Hendriks. “The number of people who came to our launch event was really mind blowing. And from that moment on, the Foundation grew, and we quickly realised that – after putting so much time, effort, and money into making sure that everybody knew about the philosophy and its launch – we had something special, and we were on the right track.”

Looking ahead: the future of horticulture

Mindful that there is more work for them to do within the dynamic and everchanging horticulture sector, the Plant Empowerment implementation partners and member companies are continuing to work together to support growers.

Hendriks predicts that plant health is an area that will become a key focus for the consultants – not less because strict pesticide legislation is continuing to reduce the range of chemical crop protection chemicals available to the industry. To that end, growers are increasingly using (and experimenting with) alternative ways of protecting and strengthening their crops. “How does the use of biostimulants relate to the climate settings?” asks Hendriks. “And how does the use of insect nettings in the glasshouses’ windows affect the exchange of air between the inside and the outside the glasshouse? These matters are resolvable if tweak your climate strategy.”

The chairman also acknowledges that – with a burgeoning worldwide population – the organisation’s expert intelligence will guide the horticulture sector into a future in which we will likely see the formation of larger horticulture companies (and, therefore, larger glasshouses).