During the festive opening of the new greenhouse of Koppert Cress in Monster on Saturday, March 7, collaboration took center stage. KUBO built this new greenhouse and marked the special occasion with a sustainable gift: the adoption of a beehive for Koppert Cress.
With this so-called “Adoption with Honey,” Koppert Cress will receive honey regularly for two years. The gift includes a certificate, updates about the bees, and two jars of honey per month during the active season.
The honey comes from a beehive that KUBO has adopted at Holland Bijen in Gouda. The hive is located at the Holland Bijen site and is professionally managed there.
This hive produces the honey that Koppert Cress receives during the season. In this way, a tangible and tasteful way is created to mark the opening of the new greenhouse.
The collaboration between Koppert Cress and KUBO goes back generations. Both family businesses share a strong focus on innovation, quality, and sustainable food production.
The new greenhouse in Monster is another step in this long-standing relationship. With the construction of this greenhouse, KUBO once again contributes to a modern and efficient growing environment for Koppert Cress. It is a symbolic gift that aligns with the sustainable ambitions of both companies.
While technology and energy efficiency come together in the new greenhouse, sustainability at Koppert Cress also takes shape in another way. In addition to large-scale innovations and system integration, impact is also found in small, tangible initiatives. This connection between high-tech solutions and natural ecosystems highlights how broadly the sustainability ambition is interpreted.
With the commissioning of a new, hyper-modern greenhouse, Koppert Cress is taking another major step toward fossil-free cultivation. The greenhouse, where specialty products are grown, was developed in close collaboration with Division Q and various partners. The result is an integrated energy system in which technologies focused on insulation, climate, heat, and CO₂ come together intelligently. With this new greenhouse and the recent connection to geothermal energy, Koppert Cress strengthens its position as a frontrunner in future-proof, sustainable greenhouse horticulture.
The new greenhouse aligns with the ambition from the covenant between greenhouse horticulture and the government to achieve fossil-free cultivation by 2040. The greenhouse supports an extremely stable and precisely controlled cultivation process, where quality, uniformity, and continuity are central.
The development of the greenhouse is the result of intensive collaboration between Koppert Cress, Division Q, and a broad network of technology suppliers, construction partners, knowledge institutions, and governments in the Westland region.
The greenhouse of approximately 1.2 hectares has been designed as a cohesive whole. Some of the innovations are still under development or validation. By continuously testing and adjusting, the greenhouse remains aligned with its goal: maximum energy savings and minimal emissions.
Elements of the concept include:
Low-E glass for structural heat reduction;
Use of drones for mechanical crop protection;
Airflow floor system for heating, dehumidification, and air movement;
Insulated facades for maximum energy efficiency;
Low-grade heat, suitable for geothermal energy;
Direct Air Capture for CO₂ from outside air.