Sercom regeltechniek BV
Heereweg 9
2161 AB Lisse, Nederland
T: +31 (0)252 41 65 30
SERCOM End-user "Ter Laak" start cultivation in Guatemala
Ter Laak about to start phalaenopsis cultivation in Guatemala
One of the largest Dutch orchid growers, Ter Laak Orchids, is almost ready to put its first phalaenopsis plants in
their new 1ha greenhouse in Guatemala. "The greenhouse is currently being manufactured and in the second week
of August, we expect to start growing the first plants", says Richard Ter Laak, one of the owners of the company.
Their aim is to supply the retailers in Guatemala and the surrounding countries with top quality finished plants, and
growers in the US, Mexico, Central America and the north part off south America with top quality half finished
plants.
The greenhouse of Ter Laak in Guatemala.
Going abroad
At the end of 2011, Ter Laak started to consider going international and establishing a company abroad. "We
appointed a student who mapped all the continents with the best opportunities to cultivate but especially sell
phalaenopsis. Following the results, we decided to visit several countries and eventually we ended up in
Guatemala. It has a favorable climate and we met valuable business contacts, who are now our partners, namely
HFT Seedservices and Agro Orchids in Costa Rica. HFT is not only manufacturing the greenhouse with all the
installations but will also manage the operation in Guatemala", says Ter Laak.
1/3
Sercom regeltechniek BV
Heereweg 9
2161 AB Lisse, Nederland
T: +31 (0)252 41 65 30
Finished and half finished plant
According to Ter Laak, the aim of Ter Laak Americas — as the project is known- is to supply a plant in a country
where there is an increasing demand for this plant. "In Central America, the demand for phalaenopsis is still very
small but we expect it to increase. However, not much phalaenopsis is being cultivated. Almost everything is
imported and the quality is moderate. And if we talk to the retailers in Guatemala, they indicate that these plants
are hard to come by", he says.
And not only in Guatemala and the surrounding areas, is Ter Laak eager to increase the quality of the
phalaenopsis. They are also planning to supply growers in the US, Mexico, Central America and the north part of
south America with half finished plants. About 20 percent of their production will be flowering phalaenopsis and
about 80 percent half finished plants for growers. "The first part of the cultivation of an orchid is the most difficult
part. It’s not only the longest part of the cultivation but you can have all kinds of risks and problems and you need
a very good greenhouse with good heating, screens, fogging and of course a good cooling installation to induce the
spikes. So, we will take most of the risks and cultivate the plant till it has a small stem and then we supply it to the
growers to finish it. This process is much easier and will take about 10 to 12 weeks. Also one of our added values
is our experience of growing phalaenopsis for more than 30 years. Over these years we were able to compile a
very good selection of big flowers.''
Greenhouse
2/3
Sercom regeltechniek BV
Heereweg 9
2161 AB Lisse, Nederland
T: +31 (0)252 41 65 30
Currently, the greenhouse is being manufactured. It will have a size of 1ha and the first plants will be placed in the
second week of August. It is a plastic greenhouse with a height of 6m and a roof width of 12.80m. The greenhouse
is equipped with all necessary techniques that are mainly imported from the Netherlands. "It will have double
screens, fogging, CO2, irrigation, container systems and heating. Good heating is very important as they are
located on an altitude of 1,750 meters above sea level", says Ter Laak. Another important technique used in the
greenhouse is the climate computer. ''We want to achieve a high quality product, so a perfect climate is crucial.''
In general, Ter Laak decided to keep the greenhouse as simple as possible. ''Unlike our greenhouse in the
Netherlands, nothing is being automated in this greenhouse - with some exceptions like the climate computer. The
container systems, for example, are all manually controlled. We made this decision for two reasons. One, the labor
costs are lower in Guatemala compared to the Netherlands and if there is a technical issue, someone from the
Netherlands needs to be flown in."
The greenhouse of Ter Laak in Guatemala. This photo comes from their recently launched Ter Laak Americas
Facebook page. They will become more active on this page soon.
Future plans
Are there more international projects in the pipeline? Ter Laak: "We like to do one step at a time. This will be our
first big adventure abroad and this will take another type of controlling for us. We think we have a great team with
our two partners and hopefully this will be the start of something beautiful!"
For more information
Ter Laak Orchids
Richard Ter Laak
Email: [email protected]
www.orchidee.nl
3/3
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)