New construction of LVG Vermako

LVG Plants, the company owned by the van Geest family and the largest plant grower in South Africa, has seen its business grow in recent years. It has therefore been able to invest quite a bit in more sustainable energy supplies, new construction and, next year, expansion. Soon, with the help of the Belgian greenhouse builder Vermako, another 5 hectares will be added to the 11 hectares of greenhouse over the next 3 years. This expansion is partly intended for the production of plant material for the pharmaceutical industry.

On October 9, 2017, things looked a little different. A tornado - quite exceptional, they don't normally occur at all - passed over the company and flattened a large the company. "All departments were affected, only on the part built by Vermako we had little damage," says Geert van Geest. "That's why we contacted them immediately after the storm and it was settled in no time. Since July 2018, we have been fully operational again."

LVG grows a large assortment of tropical plants, bonsai and orchids. In the winter, heating is required, which is a significant expense. Partly for this reason, significant investments were made in solar collectors in 2016. The field, at 1 hectare the largest of its type in the southern hemisphere, was built by Bosman van Zaal and now heats all the greenhouses. The grower is at the forefront of sustainability and also plans to invest, also in cooperation with Bosman van Zaal, in PV panels, which in turn should supply the company with electricity.

Conversely, it is important for the grower to have good ventilation in the summer. With Vermako's Poly Ventilation greenhouse, in which the greenhouse opens left and right from the ridge and not from the gutter, thus creating continuous ventilation, Geert says this is perfectly possible.

In the greenhouses to be built, says sales manager Peter Wicke, the superstructure (gutters - ridge profiles) is made entirely of aluminum and the substructure (posts and lattice trusses) are hot-dip galvanized, guaranteeing a long service life. Furthermore, one builds in such a way that the whole structure can withstand rough handling. "We calculate the greenhouse construction so that it will remain standing at wind speeds up to 125 km/h. Others will just have to say whether that's true, but the event at LVG proves that they don't take to the air at a little wind."

Vermako is one of the major players in foil greenhouses in Africa. In addition to its flagship, the largest rose greenhouse in the world, that of Sher in Ethiopia, it has customers in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa, among others.