"Who knows where I can grow in the coming years."

Starting as a trainee and growing into a cultivation specialist. At Schenkeveld it is possible, as Daan proved. In a relatively short time, he was given major responsibilities within the company. He doesn't run away from that, it makes him grow. Every day again.

He is only 27 and already he is responsible for the cultivation of Kas Noord at Schenkeveld's Schiphol location. As a cultivation specialist, Daan controls, among other things, the climate in the greenhouse, where millions of kilos of tomatoes are harvested every year. He also deals with labour, a bit of energy management and monitoring and controlling diseases and pests on the farm.

As a youngster, he is well supervised, but he does more and more things independently. Of the great responsibility he carries, he does not shy away. "Of course it is bizarre that the choices I make affect that huge tomato production. Everything has to be right, the last few percent can just make the difference. But that responsibility is the challenge in my work, that's what makes it so much fun!"

Expanding considerably
But how did Daan end up in this place and position? He takes us back in time. "At home, we had a flower nursery and as a child I used to work in it. But I didn't know whether I wanted to continue in that later," Daan points out. He therefore initially chose to study Commercial Economics. "But that wasn't it for me. I did hear very positive stories about the HAS in Den Bosch and, knowing that horticulture does have something to offer, I made the switch." He did not regret it, as Daan had a great time, he says. It was a college friend who pointed him to Schenkeveld Tomatoes as an interesting internship. At the time, the company was expanding considerably near Schiphol Airport. "I wrote a letter and was very quickly offered an internship," he says.

Before starting his internship, Daan went to Vietnam for six months for his studies. "Just out of my comfort zone," he explains. But when he returned, he started his internship. "I was allowed to implement the digital cultivation platfom LetsGrow.com at the company and built an energy model. Most of the time I was in the office. Once a week at the Westland location, the other days at the Schiphol location." In the time after his internship, Daan kept in touch with Schenkeveld. When his studies were completed, he returned to the Schiphol location: as a junior cultivation specialist. "Step by step, I have grown in the business and I am still far from being out of the loop." But thanks to the guys here who are very knowledgeable about it, I am taking over more and more responsibilities."

Anything that gets attention...
Daan is proud to work at a big innovative company like Schenkeveld. "And you do meaningful work, because you contribute to the food supply. Isn't it cool that the product you make ends up on people's plates? That gives me personally a lot of satisfaction. Apart from that, it's also just a really nice company with a friendly team and we often have cool outings, such as recently, When we went to Formula 1 at Zandvoort." Schenkeveld's slogan is "everything that gets attention grows". That certainly applies to the employees too, Daan believes. "I came in thinking I had a bundle of knowledge, but discovered I still had a lot to learn. And I'm going to keep on doing that. Who knows where I can then grow in the coming years."