Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Founder Jan Hamer performed the opening ceremony and Nic Rumsey, a director of developer Carisbrooke Investments, handed over the keys to the new headquarters building, Remah House.

The company was formed in 1942 and a UK subsidiary was launched in 1989 followed a year later by the opening of a sales and administration office in Camb-ridge.

The opening ceremony also brought a welcome to the new tenants from IFG Life & Pensions, which has also moved into Buckingway Business Park.

Jan Hamer Sr first sowed the seeds of success when he formed Hamer Bloemzaden, a seed production and sales company, in his native Holland. The company steadily expanded and in 1956 moved to a new office and warehouse with a trial ground area in Zwijndrecht.

This site became head office until August 1991. The current headquarters office complex was then built on the nursery site.

During the mid 1980’s the founder’s three sons, who were now running the business, were quick to realise that the major growth in the industry would be in the young plant market.

They started by contracting out production to other propagators. However they soon realised that the only way to maintain control over quality of product and personal service with their customers, was to produce their own.

With this in mind they built the first 7,000 sq m of glass houses in September 1986 and the plug/seedling production started in December of that year.

By 1996 the total protected area had grown to 80,000 sq m, of which 65,000 sq m is down to plug production. The remaining area was used for trials, breeding and research work.

Then in 1998 a further 35,000 sq m of land was developed providing new offices, loading bays, shipping hall and trial areas and an extra 25,000 sq m for plug production, giving a total area protected area of 105,000 sq m (26 acres).

Today Hamer produces 500 million plugs annually, which are mainly sold in Holland, England, Belgium, Germany and France.

Exports also go to Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Spain and Africa. This puts Hamer in the forefront of European young plant production.

At the end of 1996 Hamer ventured into the vegetatively propagated arena. From 1998 a full range of basket plants and pot plants from cuttings has been available and the range is increasing year on year. In 1999 a range of perennials from cuttings was introduced.

In the late nineties Hamer expanded its activities into breeding and seed/cutting production. The company opened a nursery in Kenya to grow mother plants of basket and perennial plants to provide unrooted cuttings for their own nursery.

It then bought Quedlingburg Saadsucht, a breeding station in Eastern Germany concentrating on F1 hybrid seed raised material and vegetatively propagated material.

A 38 per cent stake in Kieft Seed Holland was purchased. Kieft concentrates on open pollinated breeding in cut flowers, perennials and bedding plants and has seed production facilities in Africa, France and Central America.

Also with Kieft, comes ownership of Seed Tuning BV, a highly specalised seed technology company.

In the UK, Hamer Flower Seeds Ltd, a subsidiary company, was formed in January 1989. Each year Hamer’s percentage of the UK young plant market has increased dramatically.

During 1996 it was estimated that Hamer became the second largest supplier of ornamental young plants within the UK. The UK team now consists of 14 dedicated sales and administration personnel.

In 2000, Florensis was born to identify the various Hamer-owned and associated companies under one banner.

Presently Florensis is the trading name for Hamer Flower Seeds Ltd:however on the 1st October the company name will change to Florensis UK Ltd.