“We started this company in January of 2019, as a subsidiary of Houweling Group and Dutch Plantin, specializing in water treatment and coconut coir,” tells Jake Houweling, 28-year-old manager of Houweling Dutch Plantin in Ontario, Canada. Compared to 2019, the company has grown over 400%. “There’s a lot of demand for our products, and I am excited to meet those demands.”
Upon asking him how he managed to grow by a factor of four in his second year being the only employee, Jake says that alongside a great support team in the Netherlands, he sees that to develop a company in this sector it is all about building relationships with growers, and not pushing anything on them. “I’m not going to twist their arm to buy a product, I am here to assist them in making the right choice for their crops. For a young guy like me, I need to prove that I am someone they can trust. It is all about networking. One grower may not need my products, and that is fine with me, because in the end a simple relationship can lead to future opportunities.”
Jake Houweling
Products
The most popular product Jake
sells is Hydro Pure. This is an Intracare product, consisting of 50% hydrogen peroxide, stabilized with silver. It serves as water treatment for irrigation systems, effective towards lifting and removing biofilms. “More and more growers are learning about the benefits of stabilized hydrogen peroxide,” states Jake, “We believe that the popularity of silver peroxide is going to continue to grow very quickly.” The global pandemic has not affected the sales of Hydro Pure, as it can be used as a disinfectant for crates, tables, and other hard surfaces. Some growers even fog rooms with Hydro Pure when doing clean outs to disinfect before new crops are put in. Hydro Pure is currently sold in 20 litre jugs, but drums and totes will be introduced in the upcoming months.
Next to that, Jake sells coconut coir from Dutch Plantin. “The demand for organic growing increases every year, so the demand for substrates do too.” Dutch Plantin is one of the most recognized names in the industry across the globe and owns 15 factories in Asia, Africa, and The Netherlands. “Many growers struggle with the quality of their coir substrates and we pride ourselves by having our coir produced from coconut to substrate done in-house with no outsourcing.”
To add to the excitement, Jake recently received the opportunity to become a dealer for Signify (formally Philips) LED lighting products. “It will fit in with our current portfolio and is good for the future, as more growers will continue to turn to LED solutions.”
Upcoming addition
Lastly, Houweling Dutch Plantin is in the works of introducing a new product. Eco Shield is a Bio Stimulant containing plant available Silicon. This product is designed to help plants as they grow in stressful environments; making the cell walls stronger to lower the effects of fungal diseases as well as benefit crops in many other ways. Silicon-based products are known in the market but is often added in forms that are difficult for plants to uptake. Eco Shield contains silicic acid which is 100% plant soluble and can be dosed as a foliar spray or through drip irrigation. The product has already been launched in many countries and trials are currently underway in Canada. Eco Shield is expected to be officially launched by 2021.
Future of Houweling Dutch Plantin
What does the future hold? “It has been a crazy ride so far. It took some time to find our groove, but we have started something amazing that will continue to grow. With carefully selected products, fair pricing, and a positive reputation, I believe we will continue to live up to the ‘Houweling’ name.”
For more information:
Jake Houweling
Houweling-Dutch Plantin
+1 (905) 598-0146
[email protected]