International construction project during Corona brought to a good end
We recently completed a wonderful project in Herten in Germany, a project that was faced with corona measures. But Olsthoorn wouldn’t be Olsthoorn if everything was completed according to plan.
It was a great start to the project at the beginning of 2020. This entrepreneur grows and sells bedding plants from his company. That is why this project consisted of two different greenhouses, a 3,500-m2 cultivation greenhouse and a 750-m2 sales greenhouse. A partially used and partially new greenhouse was chosen. The structure of both greenhouses is new, the entire aluminium deck of the greenhouses is made from recycled material. Our own side wall air system is also integrated into this greenhouse. This system provides a great climatic advantage. When the side walls are open, the plants can harden off better, among other things.
This greenhouse is also a so-called 'green label' greenhouse. A subsidy has been awarded for this greenhouse under the German energy-saving programme, because this greenhouse meets several energy-saving applications. Both the greenhouse itself and the interior of the greenhouse must be energy-efficient for this. We have achieved this by means of, among other things, insulated façades and a double screen system.
During the final construction phase in March, the coronavirus caused Europe, including Germany, to go into complete lockdown. All hotels were closed and to guarantee everyone's health, all our colleagues had to return to the Netherlands. The work was not yet finished, but had to be discontinued immediately.
In Germany, everyone had to work from home as well. The rules differed per province in Germany, but the grower in his province was lucky that his garden centre was allowed to stay open. Many bedding plants were ready to be sold to consumers, but customers stayed home en masse during the first weeks of the lockdown. We all know the images of masses of flowers and plants being dumped, it did not look good. There were many concerns about this in the first weeks. However, demand turned 100% in April. Working from home in the spring meant that people wanted to make things look nice in and around the house. This subsequently resulted in an enormous demand for, among other things, bedding plants. In May and June, demand was enormous, which was of course very positive for the garden centre.
Ultimately, after the lockdown, we were able to complete the work and the sustainable and energy-efficient greenhouse and sales greenhouse were completed and ready for use.
