Now one of the leading companies in Europe for the production of subtropical ornamental plants, Vivieros Vilalonga was set-up by Hans Stolk in Portugal 20 years ago. His career began at the age of 17 in Boskoop (NL) with the production of Ilex plants, this operation expanded later to include a greenhouse operation in De Kwakel (NL) for the production of Carnivore plants. Hans visits his company in Portugal every second week to stay on top of production and marketing. He is highly passionate about what he does and takes pride in sharing his considerable know-how and experience with the staff.
Five years ago Hans built a shading hall for better protection against frost and excess solar radiation. “My main goal was to protect the crop against frost. Previously a shading net producer gave me screens free of charge – in various colors. However, the only benefit with those was that I could spot my nursery when landing in Lisbon”. The screens were replaced in 2009 with the aim of finding a better solution. “From a comparative test between the standard green shading nets and FLS 60, we soon saw that the summer temperature was lower under the FLS screen – while the light transmission was higher. But more importantly, we had no problems with frost under the FLS. We have 30 hectares of field crops – without reliable frost protection this adds up to a serious risk.’’
Read more...