'If you want to be a top player, lighting is a must'

Dutch Lighting Innovations from the Dutch town of Aalsmeer is a young, fast-growing player in assimilation lighting and in a short time managed to become the market leader in the Netherlands. Before that, the lamp manufacturer was already active in North America. “Now it is time for us to also explore the market in Central Asia and the Middle East,” says sales manager Denis Dullemans. Together with his colleagues Dennis Janmaat and Manel van 't Hoff, he was therefore at Growtech in Antalya, Turkey, to establish new contacts and strengthen existing relationships. The Dutch company offers a range of LED lamps as well as HPS lamps. LED lamps are more energy efficient, but that is not the most important issue for every location, which is why HPS or hybrid lighting is still of interest to many growers, Dullemans points out. DLI manufactures the lamps itself in the Netherlands, making them an exception. “Because of our own production, we can switch quickly and monitor quality well,” Dullemans explains. He is an experienced sales manager with more than ten years of experience in assimilation lighting.

Well liked

The Growtech in Antalya is pre-eminently the gateway to this part of the world, including the Turkish market itself. During this year's edition, the huge agricultural and horticultural fair attracted visitors from as many as 135 countries to the Turkish resort. Organizers reported the presence of 684 exhibitors from some 26 countries and spoke of a “grand gathering of the global greenhouse sector.

“It has been good for us to be here. We are here with the goal of finding customers as well as partners for distribution in this region and networking in general. We will definitely come again next year,” Dullemans says enthusiastically.

The team spoke with investors, growers and suppliers from Turkey and many other countries, such as Iraq, Egypt, Mongolia and the Stan countries. These fair days gave the men from Dutch Lighting Innovations a good idea of what opportunities lie ahead and also what not to expect.

Advantage

Lighting in vegetable growing is certainly not a given here as it is in Northern Europe and North America, Dullemans acknowledges. “But it can certainly also be an advantage here. Investors who want to get as much yield from their greenhouses as possible can use lighting to extend their harvest season and bring vegetables to market during periods when supplies are low and prices are therefore higher.”

For entrepreneurs who want to produce at the top of the market and do so as sustainably as possible, lighting is a must. That can be equally true in this part of the world, argues the salesmanager.

“The choice of whether to light or not depends in part on energy availability, energy price and possible subsidies. Because LEDs are energy-saving, governments in Europe and North America provide subsidies for investments in them. This is different in Turkey and surrounding countries. By being here, we get information about such local aspects, which also makes this fair useful,” Dullemans concludes.

Author: Koen van Wijk

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