Two Greenhouse Expansion Projects Taking Shape in the Northeast
June 15, 2022 
Dutch greenhouse company Havecon is managing the construction of new greenhouse facilities for two operations in the eastern U.S. For the first project, Confluent Energies selected Havecon Horticultural Projects and the Atrium Agri Consortium to design, engineer, and construct its first innovative vegetable production facility in Massena, NY. The full investment for the upcoming first phase, in addition to phases two through four, will be approximately $250 million combined.
Confluent Energies’ Massena operation will be among North America’s most sustainable, large-scale, controlled-environment agriculture producers. Upon completion, the complex will consist of four 10-acre greenhouses, growing leafy green vegetables with its primary focus on lettuce. Confluent Energies will be able to supply a market of 110 million consumers within one-day delivery.
“Our entire industry has been shifting towards this trend of bringing lettuce production towards the East Coast,” says Havecon CEO Henk Verbakel. “This will help to increase the level of food safety and will allow for more locally grown produce coming out of safe and temperature-controlled facilities. The technology our Atrium Agri Group and partners supply will allow Confluent Energies to be on grocery shelves year-round with a premium product.”
Phase one will begin production in the second half of 2023. Phases two, three, and four are scheduled to come online in 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively.
“Havecon has continued to show us behind the scenes that they have the right teams and capabilities to design and build such an advanced growing facility,” says Dennis Bunnell, CEO of Confluent Energies, Inc.
Confluent Energies, Inc. has secured preferred energy pricing in a Preservation Power allocation from the New York Power Authority to provide sustainable hydroelectric power from its St. Lawrence River FDR power plant.
Havecon has worked towards an optimal design for the facility in upstate New York and will engineer multiple facilities in this location that will provide consumers with superior produce while utilizing advanced, environmentally friendly technologies.
Top 100 Ornamental Grower Also Expanding
Plainview Growers, based in Allamuchy, NJ, is working with Havecon to build a new greenhouse at its headquarters in Allamuchy. Construction will start this summer, and the expansion will be completed by the end of spring 2023.
Plainview Growers is a family business, where Arie Van Vugt is a second-generation Dutch grower. In 1950, Arie’s father started growing different types of plants in his greenhouse. After working with his father for a while, Arie started his own business in 1985 under the name Plainview Growers. Due to their success, Plainview Growers grew out of its 8,200 square-foot nursery and, in 1996, a new plot of land was purchased in Allamuchy, where the first 8,000 square-foot greenhouse was built. Through dedication and hard work, Plainview continued to grow in recent years and has expanded with multiple locations.
Plainview Growers is currently #62 on Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Top 100 Growers list with more than 1 million square feet of environmentally controlled production. It grows orchids, succulents, and bedding plants for the Northeastern market. Now, with his four sons by his side, Arie continues to grow with Plainview Growers, seeing this latest expansion as their largest construction project to date. Joe, Arie’s eldest son, is in charge of the operational affairs, Tom is in charge of sales, Ben is in charge of the logistics organization and John, the youngest son, is responsible for the finances.
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