Innovation continues to drive success at G.C.G.

Added on 09 January 2023

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Innovation continues to drive success at G.C.G.

Green Circle Growers is always ahead of the game. It has grown significantly from its humble beginnings as a vegetable producer in 1968. Now a multigenerational family business that leads the industry in its use of technology, Green Circle finds new ways to innovate every day while holding its Dutch heritage close.

The leadership team at Green Circle Growers works together to make every day better with plants. All photos: Green Circle Growers

John van Wingerden founded the business, and his sons, David van Wingerden, CJ van Wingerden, and son-in-law, Scott Giesbrecht, are the current generation of owner operators. Green Circle has been in Oberlin, OH, for more than 50 years and now ranks at No. 8 on Greenhouse Grower’s Top 100 Growers list.

“The business is primarily about people and assembling a world class team to compete in the space,” the Co-CEOs say. “We’ve always believed this is critical to accomplishing our mission of making every day better with plants!”

Now, Green Circle offers high-quality bedding, seasonal, tropical, and indoor foliage plants. The business serves many regional and national grocers, in addition to home improvement and big box stores.

Automation Leads to Efficiencies

Eric Mitchell, Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain, says Green Circle uses automated systems on many of its production and assembly lines. For example, growers use mechanized systems to fill the soil and add inputs in an automated fashion, which leads to efficiency in the production process.