To meet the requirements in the Middle East, Hortispeed has obtained the HortiQ certificate. Under the brand names ECOfilter and O2solutions, the company has been supplying cloth filters and nanobubble technology to the greenhouse industry worldwide for about 15 years. 'We mainly develop products that do what the greenhouse industry wants: proven technology without fuss,' says founder Cees den Haan of Hortispeed.
The foundation for Hortispeed lies with another company, Agrozone. It specializes in water and air treatment for the agricultural sector. Agrozone supplies, among other things, ozone applications for water purification. By chance, founder Cees den Haan came across cloth filters when he also set up a branch of Agrozone in Canada. 'The neighbor of my Canadian partner turned out to be the developer of the cloth filters. We then started producing those cloth filters in the Netherlands under the brand name ECOfilter.'
The emission-free filter is 'robust and simple,' as he himself says: 'It is a product that suits the entrepreneurs in the greenhouse industry: down-to-earth, with both feet on the ground.' The filter operates without pressure and without moving mechanical parts. Because no organic dirt is ground up, ECOfilter claims 80% more effective filtration compared to other systems.
Working with dealers and installers
Hortispeed also includes O2solutions, which develops equipment for making nanobubbles. The microscopically small gas bubbles in the water increase the oxygen supply to the water. The result is better plant growth and the elimination of pathogens in the water. For both ECOfilter and O2solutions, entrepreneurs in the greenhouse industry are not the end users. 'We work worldwide with dealers and installers. For example, if maintenance is needed on an O2solutions installation, the grower contacts the installer. We, of course, stand behind our installers.'
Certification is a necessity
Hortispeed already organized the information provision and documentation for dealers. 'This made the certification process go quite smoothly.' Certification is now a necessity in international greenhouse horticulture, acknowledges Cees. 'We are a supplier to a greenhouse builder that delivers a lot in the Middle East. There, the HortiQ certificate is required.'
Further expansion
Hortispeed has plenty of plans for further expansion. 'I am a technician, I want to focus on further product development in the coming years. And we are closely looking at expanding the international dealer network, now that the situation in the American market has become uncertain.'
For more information:
Hortispeed
www.hortispeed.nl/
HortiQ
info@hortiq.nl
www.hortiq.nl