Originally appeared in Feb. 2005 issue of Greenhouse Grower

Growing Globally

GroLink's specialty division has taken off, making the propagator known for much more than mums all over the world.

by DELILAH ONOFREY
Ornamentals Group Editor
donofrey@meistermedia.com

While mums put GroLink on the map, in five years the company has charted a promising new course by dramatically expanding into a wide range of specialty vegetative annuals.

Based in Oxnard, Calif., GroLink began about 20 years ago as California Plant Co. A group of Dutch cut flower growers formed the company to provide an alternative source of chrysanthemum cuttings when the company they had been relying on stopped producing chrysanthemums. Having a choice in suppliers was vital to keep the market competitive.

In the early 90s, California Plant Co. sold half of its ownership to Dutch chrysanthemum breeder Van Zanten and became Van Zanten North America. The two companies parted ways in 1999 when the grower investors decided they wanted to pursue products beyond chrysanthemums to diversify their base. The company was then renamed GroLink and was divided into two divisions – GroLink Chrysanthemums and GroLink Specialties.

Today, GroLink is owned by six grower partners and CEO Frank de Greef. In addition to 14 acres of greenhouse in California, GroLink has invested in 25 acres of greenhouse production in Brazil at a facility called Athena, which is two hours away from Sao Paulo in Sao Jose do Rio Preto. Combined, both facilities produce 110 million cuttings and support a product line of about 1,200 varieties.

With a strong history in chrysanthemums, GroLink is already at the top of its game with cleanliness protocols and virus indexing and is extending that expertise to all crops. The Athena facility is working on becoming certified by an independent agency in Holland called Naktuinbouw, which sets production quality standards in our industry. “It’s an authority in the world that people know and something the governments of the United States and Brazil should look at,” de Greef says. “If USDA were confident in Naktuinbouw, it would solve a lot of problems. I’d like to see it as the ideal instead of each country doing its own program.”

Brazilian Benefits
While most players in the offshore cuttings game tend to choose Costa Rica, Guatemala or Mexico, de Greef chose Brazil based on his past experiences and the potential to serve a strong local market for plants. He lived in Brazil for five years when he built and managed a facility for Van Zanten before working for California Plant Co.

“We went to Brazil because it is cheaper to produce high quality, uniform plants there,” he says. “It also offers international access with Sao Paulo having a large airport and lots of flights and easy logistics. We pay workers $10 a day, which is above minimum wage, and they are happy to work for us. Our competition in agriculture is sugar cane and citrus. If I could do everything all over again, we would not be producing in California. Although it has the best climate for chrysanthemums, it’s complex to build here and get permits in place. The climate and product are perfect, but it’s very difficult for business.”

De Greef takes pride in both facilities he built in Brazil. “There are between 600 and 700 people working at both companies I started. That’s so much employment for people in a Third World country.”

Last year, Athena was named company of the year by Bank of Brazil for its commercial success as an exporter to the United States, Europe and Asia. As part of the honor, the bank aired a commercial on prime time television featuring Athena’s director Lucilene Anatriello at the facility and then de Greef in Holland with the backdrop of the famous Aalsmeer flower market.

“When the local growers saw Athena in the commercial, they said, ‘What’s going on?’” de Greef says. “Selling locally, we had a low profile. Now more local growers are coming to us for new products. We’re thinking about doing a branded program with the growers of Brazil for the local market.”

Stretching Vertically
Over the last five years, GroLink has become an increasingly vertically integrated company. In addition to partnering with breeders, GroLink breeds chrysanthemums, kalanchoes and osteospermum. And even though it distributes through 20 brokers, 31⁄2 years ago, it established its own sales force of eight regional representatives to nurture grower relationships. The sales team is led by Michael Cade in Michigan and supported by long-time grower Paul Gaydos, who helps growers with production and trials new programs in the Southeast.

De Greef has also witnessed dramatic growth in sister company North American Royalty Administration (NARA), which was established to collect royalties for Van Zanten. NARA currently has 35 breeder contracts, large and small, and the level of service varies with each client, says NARA’s manager Cassy Bright. “Some are all set with most of what they need to do and others start with ‘We have some plants,’ and need help with everything,” she says.

In addition to collecting royalties and policing propagation, NARA can offer instant production and distribution channels through GroLink and Athena, as well as GroLink’s quarantine facility for crops that require it. NARA has also developed proprietary software that helps anticipate propagation and royalty yields and raises flags when production doesn’t match expected royalties.

De Greef says this culture of creativity, innovation and flexibility will continue to drive GroLink and NARA. “We’re not a me-too company and don’t copy people,” he says. “We don’t want to be a large company in the U.S. We want to be a global player through alliances. To do breeding, you need to be a world player. One continent is too difficult to realize returns. In general, it’s better to think internationally.” GG