RZ-100-wt4-E-flipbook-240702 - Flipbook - Page 44
Retrospective
At a time when conditions are developing
favourably, in 1951 the company looks back at the
past. The company Rijk Zwaan now has its most
difficult years behind it, with a turnover of around
800 thousand guilders and profits of 80 thousand
guilders in that year. The breeding nursery in
Bergschenhoek is still the biggest expense, and
the products that sell the most are, in order of size,
beans, cauliflower, spinach and carrots. The range
is obviously much wider. Around thirty employees
keep the entire company running smoothly. A fact
of which Rijk Zwaan is well aware. For example, he
writes in the 1951 catalogue:
‘A man’s capacity for labour is limited,
and I could not have succeeded without
Fields and flat glass on the
With regard to the subject of costs incurred for
breeding farm in Bergschenhoek.
breeding activities, it is immediately evident why
Rijk Zwaan needs a financial expert such as
Arie Vijn at his side. Rijk Zwaan’s comments are
the co-operation of all those who were and
still are connected with my business,
barring no-one. A word of public praise
should not be omitted here.’
badly received by some members, including
Mr Veldhuijzen-Van Zanten:
In 1951 Rijk Zwaan also appears to have a
perceptive view of the future:
I have known Mr Rijk Zwaan
for a number of years,
‘What the near future will bring is not ours to know.
and at times he has been bigger than
However, whatever it may be: I hope that
in this last airing of his views,
I will be given the life and strength to work in full
when I found him to be at his smallest.’
freedom – I use this word in a truly Dutch sense –
for a long time to come so that I can make
Although the financial contribution remains a
Rijk Zwaan speaking to chief clerk
thorny issue, most of the discussions at the
Arie Vijn during the celebration of his
convention are about the competitiveness of
25th anniversary with the company, 1949
Dutch seed companies. The conclusion is that the
42
my company perfect, and that I may receive
the same degree of cooperation from both customers
and personnel as I have in the past.’
competitiveness is best guaranteed by intensifying
At this stage, the breeding nursery is equipped
co-operation with the various institutions and by
with simple but functional resources. Besides the
producing the highest possible quality. Quality
flat glass – around 4,000 m2 in total – on which
has always been a top priority for Rijk Zwaan, so
reed mats can be laid in winter, the breeding
according to the experts, he doesn’t really have
nursery has a large greenhouse with a surface area
to worry. The issue of the financial contribution is
of 2,300 m2, two smaller cucumber greenhouses
settled to the detriment of Rijk Zwaan. In the 1950
and a warehouse. A boiler house is used to heat
accounts, we find a contribution of 50 guilders
the greenhouses. There is also a small shed for
under the heading ‘Contribution IVT 1949’.
storing materials.
Rijk Zwaan | Moving forward together
