Anyway there were many doubts about the real commercial possibilities of such a tool, as it was so different to the previous clipping methods
“I just said: why shouldn't we try it? It looks interesting!” In fact, Dirk-Jan Haas, known in the horticulture sector as “Mr Clip”, has been working for more than 25 years in the Dutch greenhouse sector, first as a grower himself, and later on in several seed and distribution companies
Dirk-Jan Haas
So during two years, many trials were run to check whether it was really an alternative to plastic clipping. “From the beginning I realized that there were many advantages, so I just wanted to show to the market the real possibilities of the product”
“First, it is much faster than plastic clipping. It is possible to clip 1200-1300 plants per hour in tomatoes and up to 1500 plants per hour in cucumbers. Second, you avoid the problems of twisting the plants, so you do not need skilled labour and the plant does not suffer any stress. And third, it is not a problem for composting, like the plastic clips”
The current season of 2014 has been the confirmation of the system, with more than 60 hectares of crops using the Tom System, and speculating to increase a lot for the coming season. “In the beginning we were more focused in the tomato crop, but now we can say also that it is a very suitable system for sweet pepper and cucumber. And I think it could also work for eggplant”
At the same time, this year has been the first one for Dirk-Jan working for his own company. “I was very excited about creating my own company and working in my way. Sometimes it is hard, but at the end I can organize myself better and have more flexibility to serve the clients. To have the exclusive distribution of the Tom System is a good opportunity to grow”
Agrifast, on the other hand, can see DJ Products as the perfect partner for distributing the tool in Holland: “definitely Holland is the most important and high tech greenhouse market of the world, and we just needed a partner who knew the product, the market and the customers. Dirk-Jan believed in the system from the beginning and he is the perfect partner for us”
DJ Products and Agrifast will be together in the Tuinbouw Relatiedagen show in Gorinchem, at the beginning of the next season.
Here's a video on how the Tom-System works: