By John Peeters CASING SOIL
Kekkilä-BVB on the river Maas
Near the Dutch village of Wanssum, a large, terracotta coloured building strategically located next to the local harbour on the river Maas immediately stands out. This is the new production site of Kekkilä-BVB, still known to many people as Euroveen. Unlike the old site in Grubbenvorst, this plant is solely dedicated to producing casing soil.
‘The advantages of the new
location will
ensure a more consistent
quality of the final product year-round’
T
he Finnish company Kekkilä-BVB is a major player in Europe when it comes to commercial horticulture. The trade names used for professi-
onal growing are BVB Substrates and Kekkilä Professional. Many years ago, BVB Substrates acquired the activities of the former Euroveen, and until recently a wide range of substrates and casing soils were produced at their Grubbenvorst site. Now there is a separate production site for casing soil, a state-of-the-art factory in Wanssum. Hans Nendels - the public face of BVB for casing soil for many years - is thrilled with the new premises. “At our Grubbenvorst site the raw materials were always stored outside, lite- rally exposed to the weather conditions. The weather has an immense influence on this raw material for casing soil. The peat was supplied
and then stored outside for a few weeks. Being exposed to rain and snow or sun and wind makes a huge difference. Our storage capacity was also limited. What we wanted was to relocate the casing soil activities to a separate location so the employees could focus on one product only, in different mixtures. The exis- ting site in Grubbenvorst is still in operation, but it doesn’t produce any casing soil.” Locating the factory right on the river Maas also makes a big difference. Nendels: “It boosts our sustainability credentials, as the final stage of transporting our raw materials no longer takes place by road. We can unload directly from the ship into our hall, from where the various types of peat are conveyed to the right places. That is a huge advantage. This will certainly ensure a more consistent quality of the final product year-round.”
The location at the harbour means raw materials can be unloaded directly from ships into the hall.
Data driven “Our aim is to rely less on intuition and more on data,” continues Nendels, “As the materials are fully sheltered indoors, our recipes will become more consistent. And thanks to the 22,000 square metres of space, we have a higher storage capacity. If needed, we can create a buffer in winter to guarantee the qua- lity. We unload directly from the ship onto a conveyor, which has an integrated screen to remove the worst impurities, which is often wood. The material is then transported into the hall and stored per batch over the entire length of the building. There is a mixing line from 10 different bunkers so we can create more uniform, basic mixtures. We had to adjust the recipes used at this site, which gives an indication of the difference indoor or outdoor storage makes.”
8 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
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