Signify helps Kwekerij Loos make the switch to full LED lighting

16 June 2022

• Following a successful first installation, the strawberry and asparagus grower Kwekerij Loos will equip both of its cultivation sites with 100% LED lighting from Signify for its strawberries.
• The installation provides considerably more light in its greenhouses, more efficient plant growth and energy savings of around 40%.

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – Signify, the world leader in lighting, is set to provide Kwekerij Loos with 2.1 hectares of LED lighting this autumn. At its sites in Moerstraten and Lepelstraat – both located in North Brabant – the grower has opted for Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact in combination with flowering lamps. With this investment, the nursery is switching over to a full LED installation in less than a year, enabling it to achieve energy savings of around 40%. It already made the partial switch to LED lighting last year, which has been a success. With the current high energy prices, the Brabant-based company didn’t need long in deciding whether to take the next step.

With this investment in grow lights, Kwekerij Loos is consolidating its position in the market. “You have growers who want to be on the market early and you have growers who want to supply all year round,” says owner Arno Loos. He himself falls into the latter category, making him one of the few year-round strawberry growers in the Netherlands. “We sell large quantities of strawberries via machines,” he explains. “This is something we do in sixteen different locations in cities and hospitals.”

As a supplier, it’s important to have these machines filled. As a result, in 2005 Kwekerij Loos decided to focus on year-round production, making the company one of the pioneers in strawberry cultivation. At the time, it was still done entirely with the aid of SON-T lighting. Over fifteen years later, together with Signify, Kwekerij Loos has made the switch to Philips LED in one cultivation area. “In this greenhouse, covering 9,000 square meters, we had a much lower light output. That meant we were able to take an important step in the right direction by introducing Philips LED, all the while saving energy at the same time.”

In the other cultivation compartments, Kwekerij Loos already had a higher light output. “With the current energy prices, you start looking at how you can make your cultivation practices as efficient as possible,” says Loos. “You’ll quickly discover that LED lighting is the best solution. In our case, we will be making energy savings of around 40% compared to our previous set-up. If current energy prices persist, which is of course not to be hoped for, we can recoup our investment in three to four years.”