SO Natural is the largest orchid grower in the world. The company is located in Moerkapelle, South Holland, and has never stopped working with flowers since the 1950s. But now, as reported by Dutch television RTL nieuws, the company finds itself forced to abandon everything due to the instability of the gas price. In fact, orchids need light and a lot of heat to grow in the high-temperature greenhouses in which they are grown. This requires a large amount of gas and, with the explosion in prices, cultivation has become too expensive.
The history of the company
The first two letters of the SO Natural company name stand for Smaal Orchids. It is a family business founded in the late 1950s by Hendrik Smaal and continued in the 1990s by his five children. The merger of two of their companies in Moerkapelle and Bleiswijk in 2008 gave birth to SO Natural, which, growing and selling 14 million orchids per year, is the largest producer of these plants in the world.
In 2021, the SO Group largely passed into the hands of a wealthy new owner and the investment firm Watertoren Hazerswoude acquired an 80% stake, although founding son Martin Smaal remained CEO and other family members. remained employed.
No rescue: orchid cultivation is no longer possible
However, not even the new owner managed to save the company, according to the annual accounts that Watertower Hazerswoude presented to the Chamber of Commerce a fortnight ago. “In August 2022, the shareholders of the SO Group decided to stop the cultivation activities, as the cultivation of orchids is no longer possible with the current and expected gas prices,” the report reads. “The company will be liquidated in the next few years.”
It is not yet clear what the impact of the decision will be on the company’s 200 employees and what will happen to the land and greenhouses. A spokesperson for SO Natural confirmed that the grower will stop growing orchids, but the director Smaal did not respond to requests for an explanation. Watertoren Hazerswoude director Jacques Teelen also did not respond to calls from RTL nieuws, after a request for comment.