Demand for liquid shading in North America continues to grow.
Twenty years ago, flower grower Peter Heemskerk began importing pallets with coatings for his Canadian colleagues. Since that time, demand has risen exponentially. Today there is a distribution network that covers North, Central and South America.
The interest in the ReduSystems coatings has spread from British Columbia like an oil stain. Heemskerk: “We got here at precisely the right time. A good local alternative to protection against high levels of radiation did not exist. The coating concept was born of need. In many areas it is impossible to effectively grow plants due to the heat. That means you need to protect your crop in order to keep production up to par. ReduSol has gained wide acceptance over the last twenty years. It has an excellent reputation and we are benefiting a great deal from word of mouth advertising.”
ReduFuse IR
ReduSol simultaneously reflects visible light and heat. It is still the most used product in the Americas. However, ReduFuse IR is quickly gaining ground. This coating makes the light diffuse, thus enabling it to better penetrate the crop. At the same time it reflects heat rays that can cause the crop to heat up too much. “This unique coating will become the product of the future,” Heemskerk believes.
Sales occur via local distributors. Mardenkro, the producer of the ReduSystems products, has carefully screened the distributors in terms of their professional knowledge and service. “We support them with advice for their customers. Mardenkro is increasingly adding products that control incident light in specific ways. We offer technical support, so that the products are used the right way. Only then can you achieve maximum results with these products.”
Expanding the Team
Due to the expeditious growth, Heemskerk fairly quickly terminated his own crop cultivation business to fully focus on the sale of coatings. The branch in the Americas has grown steadily. First, Yosef Giles was hired as an advisor for the Spanish countries. He was followed by Romy Keizerwaard to elevate marketing to a higher level. Mike Eaton was appointed more recently. Mike lives in Ontario and will be supporting distributors in Eastern Canada and in the Eastern US.
Continued Growth
“We constantly focus on the needs of growers: what do they need to improve their production and quality under local climate conditions? For that matter, interest is not only coming from hot regions. The sudden transition from dark cold weather to sunny days in spring in moderate regions also creates major stress for crops. We now have coating solutions for any conceivable situation,” says Heemskerk.
“Sales have doubled over the past four years. Due to the corona crisis, we were unable to attend any trade fairs. Yet, growth is constantly increasing. This is an indication that there is a major need for solutions to the challenges of today’s climate.”
ReduSystems® is a brand of Mardenkro BV
