Tielemans can now light his plants according to the needs of the crop and be more flexible with the costs of electricity consumption. "Less energy goes in and more light comes out," René explains. "Even when electricity prices are high, we can decide for ourselves to temporarily use the grow lights less. That way we also save even more on our energy bills.''
Year-round production means that the supply is more spread out within our grower's association. "Winter cultivation doesn't necessarily yield more cucumbers per square meter, but the market supply is more limited, which means the products can be sold at higher prices during the winter months. That higher yield is also needed with the rising labor and energy costs associated with this change in cultivation."
The plan to grow cucumbers year-round did not come out of the blue. The demand for this comes from Dutch supermarkets who want cucumbers with a stable quality and security of supply from their own region throughout the year. Tielemans took up the challenge with a project group of a number of cucumber growers within Kompany, a fruit and vegetable sales organization in Venlo, the Netherlands, which also provided a significant part of the financing.
Tielemans, for example, sees growing cucumbers under LED lighting as a mutual learning process that still needs to mature. "The experience of the growers is also very important for Signify to make the light recipes even better. We learn a lot from and with each other and that creates a win-win situation.”
About Signify
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 38,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.
For further information, please contact:
Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify
Daniela Damoiseaux
Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69
E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com
Signify PR Benelux
Roel Dekoninck
Tel: +32 477 252356
E-mail: roel.dekoninck@signify.com
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