By John Peeters Jeune premier arrivé


Guido Stevens is one of the relatively new young faces to enter the world of the international mushroom industry in recent years. With his youthful appearance, understanding of business and way with words, he has quickly grown into a member of the in crowd in the sector. He is now making a move from Havens/MCSubstradd to Lambert Spawn Europa.


‘The mushroom sector needs to be more accessible for young people’


I really felt your work was appreciated at MCSubstradd. So why this career switch now? “I was absolutely very much appreciated at Havens/MCSubstradd. I had the chance to learn what mushroom growing and composting is all about, and I find it a fascinating industry in its own right. I owe a great deal to Havens, and especially Bart De Leeuw, and am very grateful for the opportunities they granted me to learn and gain experience. At MCSubstradd, your main focus is compost and composting companies because compost is mixed with a supplement. The opportunity was then presented of learning more about mushroom growing, at grower level, because Ies Hooglugt of Lambert Spawn asked me to join the team here in Venlo. I gave it some thought, and decided it was definitely a route I wanted to take, especially because it allows me to deepen my knowledge. Spawn is much closer to growers than supplement, I think.”


What is your background? “My parents have an arable farm, so the agricultural sector is my natural habitat you could say. I studied commercial eco- nomics and worked on a mink farm to earn some money. I also spent six months in China as an account manager for an inspection company. But my first real job after graduation was at Havens.” You can’t have failed to notice that the mushroom world seems to be an exclusive reserve for middle-aged men – to put it kindly.


What do we need to do to attract young blood? “Those older men have children older than me when I joined the mushroom sector. As a young newcomer to the industry – I was 23 at the time four years ago- you have to prove yourself. I saw this as a challenge, and I think I am now ‘one of the gang’. That’s also because everyone behaves normally in this world, you’re accepted and tre- ated more like an equal, even if there is a signi-


14 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


ficant age difference. Bringing down the average age in the sector is difficult, because it is so spe- cific, and because there are limited opportuni- ties to train in mushroom growing. Fortunately, there are special courses, but if you are not already active in the sector you aren’t aware of them. The sector needs to be more accessible, not so much of a closed shop but with a far more open profile. The young generation needs men- toring. Mushroom Valley has launched an initia- tive, and there’s also a study group at Mushroom Office that targets younger people.”


What attracted you to the sector? “It’s incredible all the stages involved in the process from straw or horse manure to produ- cing the saleable mushrooms. It’s something that outsiders just can’t comprehend. And if you work for a Dutch supplier, the range of interna- tional contacts contribute so much valuable experience for a youngster like me. It can be a little daunting finding your feet at first, but once you feel more at home it’s great.”


What role will we be seeing you in at Lambert Spawn?


“I’m going to take over some of the commercial activities from Ies to free him up to concentrate on other things. Sales in Germany and Poland will play an important role for me. Due to my experience at MCSubstradd, my advisory work will be restricted to compost companies initi- ally, but later I hope to advise on our products in the mushroom growing sector. Another part of my challenge will be logistics, getting the right product to the right place.”


How is Lambert Spawn doing in Europe? “Things have started to pick up since Q4 of 2020, I have to say. Since the opening of the plant in May 2019, the main focus has been on new contacts and markets, but corona


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