UserGroup

By: Rik Kursten – managing director of Teboza

Teboza is a leading Dutch grower which aims to stay ahead of the game when it comes to innovations in the sector. Having established itself as one of the top producers on the Dutch market, it would be unthinkable for Teboza not to be intensively involved in an innovation which the industry had been keenly awaiting for years, namely, an automatic selective harvester. By taking full advantage of the UserGroup, Cerescon manages to combine its know-how of high-tech machinery with the hands-on expertise of asparagus cultivators. Teboza sees this as a unique combination which has great potential.

With the arrival of the Sparter, much will change at Teboza: a lot of the work that goes into finding seasonal workers for manual picking will be replaced for a large part. Of course, in their place there will have to be other qualified workers, but they will be considerably fewer in number. Another key change which the Sparter is likely to bring about as a result of the underground detection system is quality improvement. For example, the expectation is that there will be much less violet discoloration and fewer open heads: this will have a positive impact on the quality of the product. Something which Teboza wholeheartedly supports.

Cerescon is a forward-thinking, innovative and solution-driven company that really does listen to the views and opinions of people in the asparagus sector.

By: Ron Martens – co-owner of Martens Asperges

Martens Asperges was involved in the Cerescon UserGroup from the very start. At the time in 2015, plans were at a very early stage, but I was glad that I was able to follow all the developments. I have seen the UserGroup expand over time to become properly representative of the market, participated in by innovative growers who are all keen to have their say.

Ron: finding workers to do the job is increasingly difficult. Having a first class product is one thing, but it all comes to nothing if you can’t get hold of the right personnel to pick it. So the Sparter gives us the guarantee that we can harvest the product without losing any quality.

Cerescon is determined to press ahead with the development of this asparagus harvesting robot. They have a single-mindedness that gives me every confidence they will succeed. They are an extremely professional team and one which the market takes seriously.

By: Jos van Maaren – managing director of Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw

Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw is a familiar player in the world of asparagus and is only too willing to be involved in innovation in the sector. Cerescon’s Sparter is a unique invention. In the past, attempts have been made to produce a selective harvester for white asparagus, but they all ended in failure. However, with the development of the Sparter, the long-awaited machine appears to be becoming reality. Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw is only too happy to help in its development.

Nevertheless, the Sparter will bring about changes in the way Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw works. In whatever case, we expect it to deliver genuine improvements in quality. For example, the underground detection system means that violet discolouration and open heads will become a thing of the past. And better quality means better prices! Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw also expects that it will prove ever more difficult to get hold of personnel and the one thing that the Sparter needs is fewer manual workers.

Van Cranenbroek Tuinbouw looks on Cerescon as an innovative company. We have every confidence in Ad Vermeer and Thérèse van Vinken. They coordinate a team of 20 or so staff who are working full-time on the product’s development. I’m sure the machine will succeed because the whole Cerescon team stands full square behind it.

By: Marc de Wit – managing director of Aspergekwekerij De Wit B.V.

Aspergekwekerij De Wit once won first prize for the “best asparagus in Brabant”. A business that places quality centre stage. But so too innovation. Marc de Wit became a UserGroup member because he wanted to know about all the latest developments first hand. Cerescon is keen to share all developments and ideas with like-minded growers who wish to stay ahead, but who also wish provide useful feedback which may be of help to Cerescon.

If it’s possible to introduce the Sparter at De Wit in the not too distant future, this will give the company some valuable breathing space. Every year, dozens of hand pickers have to be taken on. This is a time-consuming operation and gets more difficult as the years go by. With Sparter however, that’s all in the past.

Cerescon is a company which has a team of highly motivated staff who are rising to the exciting challenge of developing a selective harvesting machine for white asparagus. It has been tried several times before, but at no point was a workable and viable machine produced. The fact that Cerescon is now on the point of succeeding where others failed, tells you all you need to know about the size of that challenge!

By: Stefan Vermeer – son of Marc Vermeer, Vermeer Asperges

My father was Marc Vermeer, one of the founders of Cerescon. Marc was an innovator in the asparagus-growing sector who wanted to bring about automatic selective harvesting. It was a logical step for Vermeer Asperges, once Marc died, to take its place in the UserGroup. Vermeer Asperges hopes to be one of the first businesses in the Netherlands to harvest asparagus using the Sparter.

For Vermeer Asperges, harvesting with the Sparter not only means reductions in cost price and better quality, but fewer headaches too. Organizing seasonal labour is an extremely time-consuming exercise, for example, arranging accommodation for pickers. Not only that, legislation in respect of seasonal work is becoming a lot stricter.

Cerescon is an innovative, forward-looking and extremely dynamic business, which is focusing on the development and production of a quality product.

By: Harry Hesen – managing director of Maas-Kessel

As an innovative agricultural contractor, it goes without saying that Maas-Kessel takes a keen interest in new technology. Maas-Kessel performs a complete range of activities when it comes to asparagus cultivation, from the sowing, lifting and planting (fertilizing, levelling, tillage, etc.) of asparagus, to the cutting and preparation of sand beds, the laying and rolling of film, crop protection and fertilization of asparagus fields. For years we have been participating in the Cerescon UserGroup so that we can share our know-how of agricultural machinery in the development of the Sparter.

Automatic selective harvesting provides Maas Kessel with a fantastic opportunity to expand its services in the future to the picking of asparagus for growers. It goes without saying that it must be a viable option on the part of growers to have a contractor come in and do the picking. The grower must have confidence that this kind of work can be contracted out, in a not too dissimilar way as for preparation of the sand beds.

Cerescon is a business that shows real technical innovation when it comes to asparagus cultivation.

By: Andreas Löbke - production manager at Spargel und Beerenanbau Winkelmann GmbH & Co. KG

Winkelmann became a member of the Cerescon UserGroup in order to support the development of the machine with technical know-how from asparagus growing and harvesting and to learn about the current status of the machine.

In the future, automated harvesting can offer an alternative for manual picking and improve the planning and the reliability of the harvest.

For Winkelmann, Cerescon represents an innovative, professionally managed high-tech company with the potential to really help the asparagus industry and to make a contribution to the future viability of its activities.

By: Fritz Förthmann – Productie manager at Thiermann

Thiermann has been a member of Cerescons user group for several years, as Thiermann is very interested in automation of the asparagus harvesting.

Since the introduction of the minimum wage, seasonal workers have become increasingly difficult to find. With automation, we can make ourselves more independent of foreign seasonal workers.

Cerescon is a young, innovative company with an eye on the future.

By: Tobias & Heribert Ahlbrand - Owners of Früchtehof Ahlbrand

Ahlbrand is an innovator, especially when it comes to new technology.

A selective harvesting robot is a high-tech machine and new concept in the marketplace. The company is a firm believer that the technology will work.

The business is keen to support its development by sharing its views in the UserGroup. At the end of the day, selective harvesting with a machine is many times more effective than manual picking.

Ahlbrand believes that the Sparter can deliver major cost savings because fewer hand pickers will be required. Dependence on seasonal workers is becoming more and more of a problem for the business because they are no longer available in sufficient numbers any more.

Cerescon is an innovative company with an extremely motivated and highly qualified workforce. If something isn’t working as it should, Cerescon is always quick to come up with new suggestions for improvements.

It is both a pleasure and an inspiration to work with Cerescon because they are constantly making strides forward.

By: Henning Hoffheinz – Owner of Spargelhof Hoffheinz

Spargelhof Hoffheinz participates in the UserGroup because we think that asparagus harvesting needs to be further mechanized and we want to promote and participate in this development. Participating in the UserGroup of Cerescon is ideal for this.

With labour costs continuing to rise, Spargelhof Hoffheinz sees the future of asparagus harvesting in automatic selective harvesting. The Sparter is the most suitable machine for this.

Cerescon is an innovative company that realizes a future idea.

By: Markus Seidel (commercial manager workshops & service) and Thomas Eckardt (AMS-specialist) of LVA Landmaschinen

As a modern company, LVA is open to the introduction and implementation of innovations. The development of new market segments naturally plays an important role in this.

We see Cerescons selective asparagus harvesting robot as the most innovative harvesting concept on the market at the moment.

For LVA, participation in the UserGroup means further development of the company and its employees.

For LVA Landmaschinen, Cerescon stands for innovation, passion and creativity.