Koppert Cress winner of Ranking the Grower 2016

The horticultural business Koppert Cress, the growers' association Addenda, Greenco, and Energie Combinatie Wieringermeer (ECW) have the honour of being able to call themselves the winners of the growers' prize Ranking the Grower 2016. Each of these businesses and organizations are at the top of their game in terms of collaboration, as was announced yesterday in the town of Monster in the Dutch province of South Holland. For this reason, they all deserve first place in their categories in this contest in which KAS TuinbouwCommunicatie went in search of the ‘most cooperative grower(s)’.

The winners and the ranking of Ranking the Grower were announced yesterday afternoon at the sunny beach hut of Bondi Beach Club. Thirty-two companies were nominated for the prize. Koppert Cress took first place in the ‘Individual’ while Addenda took the top spot in the category ‘Collective ornamentals’. Greenco topped the list in the category ‘Collective vegetables’. Energie Combinatie Wieringermeer (ECW) shone in the category ‘Collective miscellaneous’.
A top five was announced in the category ‘Individual’. After the winner Koppert Cress, KP Holland took second place, while VDE Plant, Gerbera United, and Star Orchids finished in third, fourth, and fifth place in this category respectively. In the category ‘Collective ornamentals,’ Decorum finished just behind the winner Addenda. Zentoo was awarded third place, Paletti Growers was fourth, and Colours of Nature took fifth place.

Besides the twelve companies that gained top ranking places in the voting, the jury considered two collectives to be so special that they were worthy of a ‘Special Award’. Ondernemers Vereniging OVAL (an entrepreneurs' association) and the initiative Dutch Specials were given this special accolade by the jury due to the jury's great admiration for their activities.

Working method of the jury

The first-placed companies and organizations in the four categories as well as the other companies in the rankings were ranked by a jury. The jury for this seventh edition of Ranking the Grower assessed questionnaires that had been filled in by all the candidates themselves. The jury determined the ranking on the basis of this information. The jury was composed of the following members: Jolanda Heistek (project manager at Greenport Westland-Oostland), Jan Willem de Vries (team leader within Facilities & Services at Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture), and Marco and René Hendriks (Opti-flor, winners of Ranking the Grower 2015). Marc Grootscholten was also involved in the assessment as a jury member, but as a result of his leaving Delphy Improvement Centre he was replaced by Aad van den Berg.

The guests attending the Ranking the Grower event yesterday in Monster will determine who ultimately wins the overall title ‘most cooperative grower(s)’. They voted for their favourites yesterday once all the winners had delivered their pitch. The winner of the ‘Holland Contracting Wisselbokaal’ trophy and the honour of displaying that trophy for a whole year will be announced this autumn at a special event.

Holland Contracting has been the main sponsor of Ranking the Grower for many years. The other sponsors are AgroEnergy, Hermadix, and Speax.