Bosch Berries Takes on Strawberries and Operational Efficiency
Netherlands-based Bosch Growers captured the CEA industry’s attention last fall when the sixth-generation business took over a 30-acre Kentucky greenhouse facility as part of AppHarvest’s highly publicized bankruptcy.
Contrary to some reports, the facility has remained operational throughout its rebirth as Bosch Berries. Operated by Wouter van den Bosch and his brother, Tijmen, the greenhouse facility and its operational management have undergone dramatic changes, still underway.
Bosch Berries Strawberry Facility | Photo: Bosch Growers
Moving into Strawberries and the U.S. Market
When Bosch Growers was first approached about the Kentucky farm, they had already focused on expanding into the States. Wouter shared that, while the Netherlands greenhouse industry is highly developed and rich with knowledge and knowledge sharing, it’s also very crowded.
“We considered first the whole world, and then we started to dig down on the places that we thought were most interesting to us,” he explained. “We came to the conclusion that in the U.S., the amount of greenhouses is very low, while the market opportunity, the quality of the produce, and the availability of produce offers a lot of opportunity.”
While Bosch Growers is well known for outstanding greenhouse production of bell pepper and blackberries in its Netherlands operations (overseen by their father, Jaco), the team had also settled on strawberry as the next crop where they’d apply their expertise.
Previously used for cucumber and strawberry production, the Kentucky greenhouse seemed a perfect starting point.
“It completely fit our ideas of how a strawberry farm needs to look — or at least in potential,” Wouter said. “We’re making quite some changes, at the moment actually. After these changes are done, then we think we have the perfect combination of greenhouse and location.”
Retrofitting Facilities and Running Lean
One aspect of the Kentucky greenhouse’s overhaul has been retrofitting the facility for strawberry production throughout. Wouter shared that the team determined the previously existing setup could not be profitable.
“We see that growing cucumbers and strawberry, you need to compromise. It’s a constant compromise between two crops. The result of that compromise is that you’re not optimally growing cucumbers or optimally growing strawberries,” he explained.
As a result, everything related to cucumbers has been removed as part of the massive strawberry retrofit and a quest to streamline operational efficiencies at the Kentucky farm.
“What people tend to forget is that a greenhouse is a farm, and if you want to make money with a farm, you need to be very efficient. Your costs need to be under control, and production needs to be optimal. If you don’t, then you won’t make money,” Wouter said.
“So that was very important for everybody to understand, that we can’t spend money like it’s a fancy startup. It’s a farm. You need to be lean. Very simply said, that was the big transition that we had to make to make it successful.”
Retrofitting Operational Management
A second primary challenge to the transition has been retrofitting the organizational structure that came with the business. That includes “creating efficient processes, taking out waste — waste of time, waste of efforts, waste of layers, complexity in the organization,” Wouter said.
Moving forward with change, while still being operational, added challenges. Inevitably, some people and positions no longer fit. Saying goodbye with production in full swing made for some difficult months. But for the most part, people understood and conversations were good. That time has passed, and the team doesn’t expect to eliminate any more positions.
“There were big changes needed. Inefficiencies needed to go. With that, certain layers and positions of the company shifted. So, that’s always painful, making those hard decisions,” Wouter explained.
“But the benefit is that everybody knew the urgency of it because everybody knew AppHarvest didn’t run well and wasn’t profitable because of these inefficiencies. So really everybody was conscious of the necessity of making these moves.”
Developing the Soft Fruits Industry
As a greenhouse company, Wouter stressed you need to keep developing, especially in a rapidly evolving area such as CEA soft fruits.
“That development needs time, and that is what we do. That’s also what we’re good at,” he said. “You need to build your company, your processes, so they’re lean. At the same time, make sure that you have time enough to keep developing, keep looking at new developments, new knowledge and innovation, and try to apply those.”
He added that Bosch Berries has an advantage in bridging the Netherlands and the U.S.: “There’s so much knowledge development in the Netherlands happening that is relevant in the U.S. context. If you are able to translate it from one environment to the other, I think that really helps and we also value that.”
That perspective helps differentiate Bosch Berries from greenhouse companies more focused on marketing than growing expertise. More than 100 years of growing in greenhouses as a family helps, too.
“It’s a very complex industry. It’s not a food mill. It’s not like plug-and-play,” Wouter said. “I think everybody’s getting that right now, with everything that’s happening around us the past year or two years. It’s very important to know what you’re getting into. You need to know greenhouses to be able to be successful in it.”
Prospering Through Sharing Knowledge
Wouter shared that a different background and different perspective define their work at Bosch Berries and their ambitions for continuing to strengthen the industry and add to the advancement of CEA in the United States.
“What is very important for us is we are real growers. … How we work is different,” he said. “We are constantly looking for innovation, good discussion, open discussions. That’s something that we value a lot in the Netherlands — to have good discussions with suppliers, with breeders, with fellow producers, fellow greenhouse growers.”
Tijmen, Jaco and Wouter van den Bosch | Photo: Bosch Growers
Bosch Berries hopes to contribute and help create the same kind of environment here in the U.S., so the whole greenhouse industry can prosper by sharing knowledge more freely.
Wouter shared, “The kind of message that I would like to send out is, ‘Reach out. We are open.’ Let’s exchange information. Let’s see what kind of benefits, what kind of opportunities, we can create through collaboration and transparency.”
In closing, Wouter added that Bosch Berries would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to all employees for their hard work and dedication: “Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and your commitment is greatly appreciated as we continue to navigate these changes and move towards a prosperous future. Thank you for your unwavering support and perseverance.”