Geert and Katrien De Winter-Wouters are real specialists in fruit tree cultivation. The couple runs the business with no extra personnel, and their main focus is on the authenticity of the range. In order to match their range more perfectly to the demands of their international clients, Geert and Katrien aim to adapt their products at Geka-Plant better to the specific demands of the various export markets.
“Straight and authentic trees. That’s what our clients expect from us. And we can guarantee that authenticity because we do all the time-consuming propagation ourselves. We need to be 100% certain that our clients get what they ask for.”
From father to son
‘In 1975 my father started a tree nursery specialising in fruit trees and hedges. After working as a freelance assistant, I took over the company together with my wife in 1991. First we cultivated pot plants in addition to the open ground trees, but now we specialise entirely in fruit trees’, says Geert.
Adapting the range to the market
‘We focus our activities on 10 ha open ground, on which we grow a wide range of fruit trees, ranging from shrubs through half-standards to standards', says Geert. ‘The main varieties of cherry, pear, apple and plum are our four bestsellers. And obviously we offer a large variety of other trees. We of course like to make the most of changes in the market’, Geert continues. ‘So in recent years we have noticed more demand for trained fruit trees, because gardens are getting ever smaller. And we also notice increasingly that our international clients have specific needs for their individual markets. So, for example, in colder regions there is a demand for hardier rootstocks. The rootstocks also vary for individuals and fruit growers. In addition to this climactic and technical aspect each market also demands different varieties, suited to local consumer preferences. In order to match our range more perfectly to these specific market demands, we have recently begun growing the trees that our customers request. We want to do this more in the future, so that Geka-Plant can offer a suitable solution for every market’, says Geert.
A sharp rise in exports
‘In recent years we have invested heavily in our export business, and with some success, because our export share has grown dramatically,’ says Geert. ‘In 2015 exports accounted for about 38% of our turnover, while at the beginning of 2016 it was already more than 50%. Half of our exports go to the French market, followed in second place by the United Kingdom with 20%. The rest of our exports go mainly to North and Eastern Europe, where we have successfully expanded our customer base in recent years thanks to trade fairs and trade missions. In addition to the Netherlands and Poland we are now active in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden’, says Geert.
