Step by step is the approach we like to take

Personal motivation

“If you`ve worked for the same company for over 25 years, as I have, you need to have a high degree of personal motivation and I continue to be motivated as we are always looking to improve. This has meant the implementation of many new systems over the years and I am always open and enthusiastic to adopt these systems and see how they benefit not only me but the continued growth of the company and the relationship with its partners.”

Open and honest

“When Rijk Zwaan first started in the UK we felt that we were very pioneering, despite working from a portacabin with 4 employees. Lunchtime seemed to be the busiest time of the day when both growers and our sales force stopped for refreshments and phoned through their seed orders. These were the days before mobile phones when the guys on the road relied on phone boxes.”

“Our sales team was formed mainly from ex growers and many of them have been working for Rijk Zwaan ever since. This has given us the opportunity to form long term relationships with our growing partners, they look to us for advice and value our opinion. We maintain an open and honest philosophy and our partners respect that. This has meant step by step we have grown in the market, introduced new crops and varieties and increased our market position’’

Quality of information

"My personal challenge is to always have the right products on our shelves, on time and in the right quantity and quality. Efficiency is getting more and more important. There is still a lot of potential in the UK market and we remain very ambitious. We will not depart from our own growing strategy: step by step and with a personal approach.”