Gakon Netafim celebrates one year anniversary

April 1, 2021, marked the beginning of a new era: the establishment of Gakon Netafim as the new Greenhouse Unit of Netafim. During the past year, Netafim has made strides in facilitating effective collaboration between Netafim's local teams worldwide and Gakon Netafim's teams in the Netherlands, Poland, and Israel. The collaboration was successful, proving its value on several projects.

Yume Cyber, Japan
One of those projects is the Yume Cyber project in Japan. In the Gunma prefecture, Gakon Netafim is constructing a 0.6 ha Venlo glasshouse, which will be used for the cultivation of vegetables. “For this project, good collaboration between the different teams was crucial,” says Shahar Yanai, Head of Project Management at Gakon Netafim. ''The Dutch expertise of high-tech greenhouses was highly desired by the customer. But it was precisely the approach and support at a local level that made the project run smoothly.”

LST AGRO, Kazakhstan
Another project which benefited from the cooperation between the different teams was the LST AGRO project in Kazakhstan; a turnkey project of 4 hectares of a glass greenhouse, which is used for the cultivation of tomatoes. The project was sold by Gakon Netafim and was completed within 6 months under the professional guidance of the local Netafim team. 

‘’This project is a good example of our great teamwork’’ said Lyudmyla Martynyuk, Sales Manager at Gakon Netafim. ‘’It was started before the acquisition of Gakon by Netafim and of course we were in the middle of a pandemic. This made it challenging from the very beginning. Nevertheless, due to the joint expertise and collaboration of the Gakon and Netafim teams, the project has been completed successfully and met the tight schedule.’’ 

Vermillion, Canada
Gakon Netafim's most recent project is for the Canadian company Vermillion Growers. This project is under construction in Dauphin, Manitoba, and will be the province's first large-scale vegetable greenhouse. ‘’The factory in Wateringen is now in full production and the first containers are already on their way to the construction site,’’ says Arjan van der Meer, Sales Manager at Gakon Netafim. ‘’In three weeks, the foundation for the 4.8 ha greenhouse, which will be used for the cultivation of tomatoes, will start. This project is being carried out under the technical guidance of Gakon Netafim and Netafim USA who join forces to ensure its successful and timely completion.”

The new LST AGRO greenhouse built by Gakon Netafim, which produces around 320 tons of tomatoes per month

GreenTech 2022
The dates circled in red in all Gakon Netafim employees' calendars are June 14-16. That is when GreenTech 2022 will take place in Amsterdam RAI, where Gakon Netafim will present itself for the first time on the international stage. Olaf Mos, Business Development Director at Gakon Netafim, is looking forward to participating in GreenTech: ''We are looking forward to meeting everyone again, talking to professionals from the sector, and introducing ourselves to the industry as the new Greenhouse Unit of Netafim.”