FLTR Alex van Duijn, Hugo van Duijn and Guido van Duijn.

Alex on sales and marketing
Alex was the first of the three brothers to join their father’s company. He can regularly be found in the greenhouse, showing customers the company’s wide range of plants. “We have several different kinds of customers. Some of them come to us for one specific plant type, whereas others are interested in our complete range. That keeps our work very varied.” The broad customer base results in many different wants and needs, but almost nothing is too much to ask for Duijn-Hove: “We do everything in our power to keep our customers happy, and ‘no’ isn’t in our vocabulary. I think that’s mainly because we ourselves are such big fans of beautiful plants and wonderful products. So it’s definitely not a problem for us to go the extra mile. In fact, we’re happy to.”

Hugo on purchasing and general matters
Hugo is responsible for general matters and sourcing the plant material, which is a sizeable challenge for such a large assortment. “I’m continuously looking for new plant types. We’re keen to offer people something different and unique. Actually, we’re known for that.” So Hugo scours the world looking for new products that he can add to the existing collection to keep things fresh. “Our company has been around for some time, of course, and we’ve built up a large network of suppliers over the years. It can take some organising to ensure that everything arrives as planned.”

Guido on production, personnel and planning
Guido is the brother who is mainly focused on the company’s workforce, the production activities in Maasdijk and the planning. As a grower, Guido’s top priorities are quality and certainty. “Rather than taking risks, I prefer to opt for a tried-and-tested approach. That way I know for sure that our products will be good. Everything has to be perfect.” In terms of personnel and planning, Guido maintains contact with various employment agencies that supply a large part of the labour requirement. “Our capacity is relatively constant. We have a stable team of our own employees plus dozens of temporary workers.”

The future of Duijn-Hove
“We’re less focused on growth and more focused on safeguarding our product quality and the continuity of our offering. That’s what’s most important to our customers,” says Alex when asked about the future of the family business. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t on the lookout for chances and opportunities at Duijn-Hove. “Quite the opposite. We’re continually pushing ourselves and seeking out new challenges,” states Hugo. The key strength of the family company lies in its broad range of high-quality products, both now and in the future. “We’ll always remain focused on niche products. We’re not interested in bulk production,” comments Guido. “We just want to keep doing what we love the most: growing beautiful plants.”