Hoogendoorn celebrates the 50th anniversary of TUCO

Reflecting on this milestone, CEO Peter Hendriks says: "With the introduction of TUCO, Hoogendoorn took the first step in the digital revolution of horticulture 50 years ago. Today, we carry on this tradition with IIVO, continuing to pioneer in technology and sustainability. It is inspiring to see how far we’ve come and what the future holds."

The anniversary was celebrated at Hoogendoorn’s headquarters with cake for all employees. A specially designed TUCO backdrop offered an opportunity to capture memories and highlight the importance of this technological heritage.

Hoogendoorn is proud to have three colleagues still on the team who worked with TUCO in its early days. They shared their unique memories of this groundbreaking product and reflected on the remarkable technological advancements since then.

One of the first engineers, Leo van der Hoeven, recalled how he helped assemble and test TUCO, even making it shock-resistant by conducting a “drop test” on a table. Klaas Valstar reminisced about the early TUCO models, which were operated using a telex-type machine and loaded programs via a cassette recorder—a revolutionary technology at the time. The system, with its 19-inch racks and circuit boards capable of remote communication, was already enabling precise climate monitoring and adjustments. Colleague Anton van der Linden also shared his experiences: "In the early days, everything was printed out, from outdoor conditions to settings, because screens and laptops didn’t exist yet. Many of the control principles we use today, like adaptive regulation, were established back then. It’s incredible to see how those innovations remain relevant even now."