In This Issue
"Every single thing we do is driven at the moment by trying to manage the risk to customers and staff"
Four tips to maximise your garden centre on a budget
Hillier to Open New Garden Centre at Syon Park Estate
British nurseries are amongst the most eco-friendly on the planet, not that you’d know from watching Gardeners’ World
Restaurant gets star billing at redeveloped centre
GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards are back!
Change at the top for family-run Highfield Garden World
Sales jump by 20% to record mid-November levels
Plants are selling at record levels during Lockdown 2
Container issues continue to escalate at UK ports 
HTA launches Sustainability Roadmap to guide UK horticulture towards leading edge of sustainable business practice
The Most Jumperful Time of the Year Fundraiser starts tomorrow!
Work starts on site for largest Dobbies in South West
Possible Christmas tree shortage due to Danish mink cull
Henry Bell clinches deal with Future Marketing Group
Janssens Greenhouses – over 70 years of heritage
Garden centre gets new appearance thanks to Smiemans
GTN November issue now on-line
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Garden centre customers find happiness in houseplants in October
Two-thirds more gardening this Autumn – Wow!
End of season pot bargains and houseplant care star
HTA reacts to new December tier arrangements
Gonks fly through tills as Christmas sales jump up
A Christmas feast for your garden birds
The best of last week's
A Perfect Storm Hits the Garden Market
Sales fall by 5.5% in Lockdown 2
“The Smart Show must go on…line!”
Five creative ways to enhance your takeaway service during lockdown
Profits up at Notcutts in year to February 2020
Garden Centre Photo Tours
Haskins Snowhill re-opens after £15m re-vamp
British Garden Centres open their 58th centre at Thatcham
Barton Grange Christmas 2020 - Exclusive GTN Xtra Photo Tour
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Buy your subscription to the GTN Bestsellers printed weekly newsletter
All the latest news from the world of pet products
Back to business for industry exhibitions
Tong donates stock to South Yorkshire dog rescue charity
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Janssens Greenhouses – over 70 years of heritage

 

Vitavia is the UK distributor for Belgian company Janssens Greenhouses. Here Andrea Wells of Vitavia interviews Peter Janssens, owner and CEO of Janssens Greenhouses...

 

What made your grandfather start Janssens?  Do you know where he drew inspiration in order to start and build this business?

My grandfather Constant Janssens founded the company in 1946. He was a carpenter and started a construction company.  He established a strong reputation in building sports and factory halls, using traditional wood and laminated wooden arches. There were no glass greenhouses at the start. A few years later, the link came through by building storage-space at horticulturalists and so slowly a shift came to professional greenhouse constructions.

 

Your father then joined the business years later, so what were his visions when he joined the company?

My father strengthened the business in the 1970s and made the switch from wood to aluminium. Professional greenhouses became the main business. Slowly there was an increasing demand for hobby and cultivation greenhouses outside the professional environment, in people’s backyard.

The development of an extensive range of hobby greenhouses became his main motivation. He has more than succeeded in this by entering the international market.

In the 1980s as the company grew, the focus shifted to this B2B story and exports became the most important pillar within the company. I suspect this has certainly exceeded many of his expectations before.

 

When did you join the business and how have you and your father grown Janssens over the years?

After finishing school I started working in the family business.  At the start I supported sales, afterwards I moved to the technical department. For 12 years I was responsible for production preparation, drawings and technical developments.  I worked closely with my father who was in charge of the company.  A few years down the line we managed the company together. In many ways we hold the same opinion and so in practise we really complement each other. In recent years there has been a gradual, organic shift in which he has passed the torch.

 

What do you see as the biggest accomplishments since Janssens began?

It is difficult to speak of “the greatest achievement.” In any case, we are very proud of what we have developed over the years: the company itself, but also the relationship of trust we have built with our customers and the steady growth.

 

What is the most favourite part about your job? What excites you the most?

I’m a technical person so everything to do with that (such as new developments) fascinates me.   In daily challenges, we try to make ‘overarching’ decisions and share insight, experience and knowledge.

 

What makes Janssens stand out from its competitors?

Where Janssens distinguishes itself from others in my opinion is in quality and trust!  We try to offer the “better” hobby greenhouses.  When it comes to developments, we will always start from a certain “need” or “demand” for a product where we try to provide the best possible technical solution to. When making new designs we never start from a price point of view.

 

What made you choose Vitavia to become Janssens’ UK distributer?

The collaboration with Vitavia has been a choice to be complimentary. Vitavia has an existing distribution network and its own greenhouse range.  We don’t see this as competition but we strongly believe that both products and ranges can be complementary to each other and ensures to offer a full range.

 

In what ways would you like to grow the business in the future?

The company has grown strong in recent years! A further continuation of this will be felt in a further spread of the distributors and the opening of new markets (Russia, Australia…)

 

Click here to discover more about Janssens and take a tour of their incredible showroom and warehouse in Belgium.

 

 

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