Home to pioneering companies

In 1997, AllPlant began as a small, ambitious company in Heerhugowaard with one goal: to grow and supply the finest young plants. Today, they have grown into a leading producer in tissue culture production, offering nearly 800 varieties to growers throughout Europe. Robots plant the tissue-cultured seedlings, LED lighting creating optimal growing conditions, and solar panels power the entire facility. Their ambition? To become Europe’s leading center of expertise for tissue-cultured garden plants.

For almost a century, Bakker Brothers has been developing vegetable varieties for professional growers around the world. The focus is not only on a variety’s genetic potential, but above all on how it performs under local growing conditions in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Over the years, one principle has remained the same: developing robust varieties that thrive in extreme climates, withstand high disease pressure, and cope with long transport routes.

From its base in Enkhuizen, Bayer is tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time: producing enough healthy food for a growing global population, while climate change, limited space, and scarce natural resources place increasing pressure on agriculture. It’s a combination of science and craftsmanship. Of biology and chemistry. Of digital technology and decades of expertise. Behind every tomato, cucumber, or pepper lies a world of testing, breeding, and continuous improvement. Work that largely goes unseen, yet ultimately reaches millions of people. Bayer shows how technology and nature go hand in hand, developing 17 crop groups whose seeds are cleaned, packaged, and shipped to growers around the world.

Bejo is an international family-owned company specialising in the breeding, production, and sale of vegetable seeds for open-field crops. Its story began more than 100 years ago with the breeding of cabbages, carrots, and onions. Following the merger in 1978, Bejo grew into a global company with branches in more than 30 countries. Headquartered in Warmenhuizen, the Netherlands, it employs around 2,200 people worldwide and offers a dynamic working environment with plenty of opportunities for personal and professional growth.

In 1914, Cornelis de Groot made his first notes on onion cultivation. Few could have imagined that, more than a century later, those notes would form the foundation of the world’s leading onion seed breeding company. Three generations later, the focus remains the same: mastering a single crop group down to the finest detail. From its base in Broek op Langedijk, the Netherlands, De Groot en Slot develops varieties of onions, shallots, and garlic for growers in climate zones around the world. Together with Bejo, the company has developed more than 200 onion varieties, suitable for cultivation from Spain to South Africa.

When Simon Groot travelled to Southeast Asia in the 1980s, he noticed something others had overlooked: smallholder farmers struggling to make ends meet with poor-quality seed. He decided to change that. East-West Seed was founded on the belief that high-quality vegetable seeds should not only be available to large-scale agriculture, but especially to the millions of smallholder farmers who help feed the world. Headquartered in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, with offices in fourteen countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the company develops tropical vegetable varieties that are resilient to heat, disease, and the effects of climate change. Seeds that make a difference—not only on people’s plates, but also to the livelihoods of farming families.

What began in 1938 as a small seed shop has grown into a global family-owned company that has been shaping the future of greenhouse vegetable breeding for generations. From its base in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, Enza Zaden develops tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, and dozens of other greenhouse crops grown around the world. Combining cutting-edge genetics with genuine passion and a commitment to sustainability, the company helps create more resilient crops, reduce waste, and make healthy food accessible to more people. Today, colleagues from more than 40 nationalities work side by side, and Enza Zaden’s seeds ultimately help feed around 480 million people every day.

More than 80 years ago, the foundation was laid for what Florensis is today: a family-owned company that helps shape the international ornamental horticulture industry. With production and breeding sites in the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Kenya and Ethiopia, Florensis supplies 4,000 plant varieties to professional growers around the world every year. The entire chain – from seed and cuttings to tissue culture (based in Heerhugowaard) and young plants – is managed in-house. This enables Florensis to achieve a 99% delivery reliability while keeping its CO₂ emissions low. AI-powered cutting robots, investments in local communities in Africa, and clear sustainability goals: Florensis tackles every challenge head-on. Chances are that the garden plants you see at your local garden centre or supermarket come from this unique company.

What began as a shared dream among passionate flower bulb growers in Sint Maarten has grown into the world’s leading gladiolus breeding company. Forever Bulbs is the place where new gladiolus varieties come to life. The company breeds, grows, processes, and exports gladioli for growers around the world. Through extensive local trials, Forever Bulbs develops distinctive varieties with strong performance and reliable growing characteristics.

Seventy-five years ago, Gitzels began growing vegetable seedlings in Zwaag. Today, the company operates a modern 13-hectare nursery in Wervershoof, where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. Heated in part by geothermal energy, the nursery produces more than 190 million young cabbage plants each year for open-field growers across the Netherlands. Gitzels also provides breeding services to seed and breeding companies. It’s a down-to-earth family business where decades of experience meet modern horticultural techniques.

Hazera’s story began more than a century ago in Tuitjenhorn, where Jan Broersen sold rapeseed to local growers. Today, Hazera is an international vegetable seed company, supplying high-quality seed solutions to growers around the world. With two headquarters in the Netherlands and Israel, subsidiaries in eleven countries, and a distribution network serving more than 130 markets, Hazera has remained true to its roots. Working closely with growers, understanding what happens in the field, and developing varieties that perform under real growing conditions have been at the heart of the company for generations—and continue to shape everything it does today.

Founded in 2000 with a single machine and a great deal of ambition, Highpack has grown into an established name in the seed sector, serving customers around the world. The company does one thing, but does it exceptionally well: packaging seeds. By weight, by count, and exactly to specification. It’s a craft in its own right. Some seeds are tiny and lightweight, while others roll in every direction. That requires precision, experience, and machines that perform exactly as they should. Highpack ensures that the seeds breeders have worked on with such dedication arrive in perfect condition at growers around the world.

What happens to a seed before it enters the soil can determine everything that follows. That is exactly what Incotec works on every day. Founded in 1968 in Enkhuizen, the company has grown into a global leader in seed enhancement. Much of what Incotec does remains invisible, yet its impact can be seen in every harvest. Through technologies such as priming, seeds germinate faster and more uniformly; through pelleting, they become easier to handle and sow with precision; and through coating, each seed enters the soil protected and ready to grow. At Incotec, science, biology, and chemistry come together to improve the very beginning of the agricultural chain: a single seed.

It all began in 1992 in the attic of a bulb shed, with a small laboratory focused on tissue culture and a clear ambition to make a difference. This was the beginning of Iribov: a company that has grown into an important partner within the seed industry. Imagine being able to grow thousands of identical, healthy plants from a single tiny piece of plant material. That is exactly what happens here, under carefully controlled and sterile conditions in the lab. With teams spread across four locations worldwide, Iribov provides clean starting material, propagates plants through tissue culture and helps protect crops from viruses. All of this is done for more than 500 different crops.

Two pioneers, separated by a century, yet connected by the same entrepreneurial spirit. In 1856, Matthias Christian Rabbethge began breeding sugar beet in Germany. A century later, Popke Vriend started his own journey with beans in the Netherlands. Although they never met, they shared the same mindset: start small, think big and never stop looking for ways to improve. Their curiosity and drive for innovation laid the foundation for two companies that continue to shape the seed industry today.

You probably don’t often think about what happens to a seed after it has been harvested and before it reaches the soil. PETKUS Selecta is responsible for precisely this part of the journey. The brands Selecta, PETKUS and ROEBER each represent a different area of expertise: Selecta stands for proven seed cleaning technology since 1947, PETKUS for world-class machinery and ROEBER, their own R&D institute, for the latest innovations. Three brands, one mission: providing solutions that help growers, laboratories and seed companies around the world move forward.

More than 75 years ago, PanAmerican Seed® was founded on one belief: the most beautiful flowers and vegetables start with the very best seed. Today, the company breeds flower and vegetable varieties that find their way to growers, producers and gardens around the world. With teams and locations stretching from Costa Rica to China and more than 1,000 colleagues worldwide, PanAmerican Seed combines global reach with strong roots in Seed Valley. As part of Ball Horticultural Company, the world leader in ornamental plant breeding, the company continues to build on a reputation for reliability, innovation and proven performance.

Ten people, one location in Hem, and seeds that reach some of the world’s most unexpected destinations within a week. Founded in 1992, Rossen Seeds specialises in supplying high-quality vegetable seeds to the Middle East, North Africa and South America, where producing healthy food is often challenged by climate, logistics and local conditions. Every seed that leaves the company has passed rigorous germination tests and phytosanitary inspections. Fast, without ever compromising on quality. That is how Rossen Seeds reaches the places where quality vegetable seeds are needed most.

In 1967, Seed Processing Holland began building seed processing machines in Enkhuizen. Today, the company is still based in the same location, but the machines designed here are now used by seed companies from China to the United States. From cleaning and sorting to treating and packaging, Seed Processing Holland develops complete processing lines for every stage of the seed processing journey. With increasingly energy-efficient machines, fully electric drive systems and data-driven solutions, the company is helping to build a seed industry that is not only more efficient, but also more sustainable.

Syngenta is a leading global agricultural company focused on developing innovative crop protection solutions and seeds for field crops, vegetables and flowers. With operations around the world, Syngenta supports growers in producing healthier, more sustainable crops across a wide range of agricultural sectors. Syngenta Vegetable Seeds is a dedicated division within Syngenta, focused on developing innovative vegetable seed varieties, and plays a vital role in delivering the company’s global mission.

From its headquarters in Zwaagdijk-Oost, Vertify conducts applied research for growers, breeders and seed companies across the Netherlands. From crop protection and fertilisation to cultivation techniques, this is where new ideas are tested in real-life conditions before they reach the market. Across its own trial locations, with drones, sensors and experts who are just as comfortable in the greenhouse or the field as they are behind a spreadsheet, Vertify bridges the gap between science and practice.