Elstgeest Potplanten | Many steps forward from Economic to IIVO

At Elstgeest Potplanten they grow sustainable, market-oriented and year-round. The company is ahead in the industry by responding to the latest green, home and lifestyle trends. Their wide assortment includes green, air-purifying plants such as Dieffenbachia, Trifolium (clover) and Ludisia (nature orchids) and over fifteen different types of hanging plants where each product group has its own sales concept. With more than 75 years of cultivation experience, they really are the cream of the crop when it comes to potted plants.

When the time came to exchange their current climate computer, a Hoogendoorn Economic, for a new, more modern version, they initially planned to choose the iSii of Hoogendoorn Growth Management. A logical step, since this was the most modern climate computer in the assortment at that time. Through our Area Manager Sales, Johan Kodde, they were informed of a new development. Namely, that of our recently launched process computer, IIVO. At the time of switching, the IIVO was running at a number of test customers. Joris Elstgeest, Managing Director and Rob Wubben, Operations Director of the organization, were given the opportunity to try out the IIVO under the guidance of the specialists of Hoogendoorn.

Rob Wubben tells: “At Elstgeest Potplanten we strived for more depth in our strategy. We wanted to know better how a plant grows. For example by analyzing leaf juices and working with LED lighting. We wanted to collect data and use it in our cultivation. The IIVO fits in seamlessly with that vision. Partly because of this, Elstgeest Potplanten was a very suitable candidate for a test case. Together with them and Hoogendoorn, their cultivation process was optimized.

“The IIVO has a very clear dashboard. Because of the flexible layouts we can optimize the arrangements and because of the visualization we can switch quickly and clearly. Compared to the Economic, this is certainly three steps forward. The settings of the IIVO are more accessible. For example, when setting the VIPs. The Economic was for us like a book with many pages, the IIVO is a dashboard that takes you to the desired destination”, says Rob Wubben.

When we ask Rob about which functionalities of IIVO he is most enthusiastic about, we get a clear and comprehensive answer: “If you have set something up to your satisfaction, then you can easily copy it to another department. This, of course, works very nicely. In addition, I can use four or five influences. Before, I had to choose between influences, but now I don’t have to compromise. At the moment we are not yet using all the influences that IIVO covers, but the possibility to do so in the future gives a feeling of freedom. With IIVO we are future proof and there is room for even more development in our greenhouse”.

Rob Wubben indicates that it is also very nice that the VIPs in the IIVO are very easy to approach. He explains: “If you are working on, for example, the screen settings based on the graph settings and you see in the greenhouse that the screen is open or closed, then of course you want to know why. In the dashboard of the IIVO you easily have all influences in view”. He continues: “In addition, the flexible layout for watering is a fine addition. This is especially so because we have several people in the greenhouse operating the IIVO for watering. You can see exactly what is ready in the IIVO. This is because we can indicate the reason for starting with several people. I can then see, for example, that someone else has already set the taps and when that setting will be made. In IIVO we can start the taps separately and it is easy to switch between crop recipes.” These capabilities prevent mistakes that did happen in the past. This was very unnecessary.

“In the future, we would like to work with a personal login per employee so that we can look back in the system when something was set. We then have insight into this in the dasboard of the IIVO”. Elstgeest Potplanten wants to work even more with data and possibly link sensors to the system. In time, they want to use these measurements in their regulations. A clear vision of the future which can be made possible with Hoogendoorn’s IIVO. In any case they are ready and set to grow!

Of course we are happy to take a compliment. Rob Wubben emphasizes that the service of our colleagues from Hoogendoorn and our partner Kandelaar Elektrotechniek pleased him very much. He explains enthusiastically: “In the first weeks it is very nice to be able to switch quickly. If I sent Ron van Vianen, a specialist at Hoogendoorn, an email at a quarter past six in the morning, I often got an answer at half past six. We also had a lot of personal contact about the visible developments in our greenhouse. At the moment I don’t need much direct support anymore, everything works well and is easy to operate!