Mastering Lily Cultivation at Dutch Lily Masters
Years of dedication, knowledge, and craftsmanship in Lily cultivation have come together in Dutch Lily Masters: the collaboration between Paauw, Imanse, and Dutch. We take a look inside the impressive company in Rijnsburg and have a conversation with co-owner Wim-Jan Paauw.
When we arrive, we are greeted by Wim-Jan, the third generation of the Paauw lily-growing family. "Shall we take a tour first? That way, you'll get a good sense of our business right away," he suggests. We eagerly agree!
Main Player in Top Quality
Wim-Jan opens a door, and we immediately find ourselves in a vast hall. He explains, "We have about 18 hectares of production capacity, where we produce around 20 million Lilies annually."
We follow him further into the processing area and are amazed by what we see. Slowly moving rolling tables filled with crates of Lily plants, conveyor belts carrying empty trays as well as trays filled with Lilies. We see people among the green sea of plants, both around the rolling tables and at various bunching machines. A series of carts pass by. What a hive of activity; we've arrived at the heart of the company.
"We use about 17,000 rolling tables that move through the company during the cultivation process." – Wim-Jan Paauw, co-owner of Dutch Lily Masters
<Master in Automation
"We have actually automated the entire process surrounding Lily cultivation here at the company," Wim-Jan says. "Normally, you have a lot of people going into the greenhouse. People to plant, people to harvest. We turned the process around. We don't have any production staff in the greenhouse; everything happens in this hall. We use about 17,000 rolling tables that move through the company during the cultivation process. It takes about twelve weeks from planting to blooming. But of course, they’re not all ready to harvest at the same time. Each table passes by the production staff every day during that week so that each stem can be harvested at the optimal moment."
We ask Wim-Jan how they came up with this system. "Well, we wanted to expand production but not staff," he explains. "It takes real expertise to see which Lilies are ready to be harvested. You don't just find those people easily. By reversing the process and having the Lilies come to the harvesters instead of sending them into the greenhouse, we can manage with fewer people. This greatly benefits the quality and uniformity of our product. Another advantage of working this way is that each stem is placed in water within one minute of cutting, so the quality loss is negligible."
The Bigger, the More Buds
Wim-Jan walks over to a stack of crates and picks up a Lily bulb. "We get our bulbs from various bulb growers. These bulbs are grown in the field, just like tulip bulbs, for example. It takes about two years for these bulbs to produce flowers. Then the bulbs come to us and are placed in the cold storage. Every week, we take a portion out to plant. This way, we can have year-round production."
But what distinguishes their product from the competition? "The larger the bulb, the more buds the Lily will have," he explains. "Look, see this stem?" He holds up a stem filled with large Lily buds. "This stem has seven buds. We always look at the average number of buds in a batch. Another stem in this batch might have six buds. We label this batch as '6+', meaning each stem has at least six buds."
Conscious Footprint Management
Wim-Jan then takes us to the greenhouse. Once inside, we indeed see that it's very quiet in terms of staff. In the distance, we see someone maintaining a machine; otherwise, we are the only ones walking around. We regularly see a rolling table being moved by the system. Due to the rolling table system, there are no walking paths between the sections. The greenhouse is very efficiently laid out. What a unique company!
"You don’t see much color in our greenhouse," says Wim-Jan. Lilies in bud are only green, a big difference from, say, a greenhouse full of Gerberas." We note that it's not very warm in the greenhouse. "That's right," confirms the grower. "Lily cultivation is essentially a cold crop, which means we don't need to heat much. Our plants need a minimum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius, which is fine now in the summer. This benefits our energy footprint."
Wim-Jan tells us that the company is FSI certified. "At Dutch Lily Masters, we are very focused on becoming more sustainable. In the colder months, we need to light the plants. We do this using our full-LED system. And when it gets too hot in the greenhouse during the warmer months, we regulate the climate with the various screen systems hanging from the roof. This process is also fully automated." As we walk further, he adds, "We also use almost no chemicals; we try to tackle pests with natural enemies. This allows us to grow almost 100% organically, which is very important to us."
We head back to the processing hall. We say goodbye to Wim-Jan and take our experiences with us on the return journey. A wonderful company to visit!
"Need flowers for hotel lobbies, large weddings, or other events? I gladly work with our Account Managers to find the right varieties for our customers!" – Rob de Groot, Lily buyer at Holex Flower
High-end Lilies from Holex Also Popular in Emerging Markets
Back at Holex Flower in Aalsmeer, we meet Rob de Groot, the Lily buyer at Holex Flower. "Yes, Dutch Lily Masters is a fantastic company," he agrees with us. "For our North American customers that we serve with Holex Flower, and also for those in emerging markets like the Middle East, they are a perfect supplier. Huge stems, many and large flowers: these Lilies are truly high-end. Need flowers for hotel lobbies, large weddings, or other events? I gladly work with our Account Managers to find the right varieties for our customers!"
Lilies in the Holex Webshop
In the Holex webshop, the daily updated selection of Lilies can be easily found via the main menu at the top of the page under Lilies. Once there, you can further split the offerings through the side menu into various types, such as Oriental Lilies, Asiatic Lilies, and Longiflorum Lilies. Are you looking for a specific color or have another question? Then contact your Holex Flower Account Manager.
- Uniformity in stems is achieved by having the rolling tables come to the processing area.
- A system of belts ensures efficiency in the processing.
- The company uses over 17,000 rolling tables.
- With the distinctive packaging, customers can easily find the brand.
