"We often have to wash and chalk the deck over and over. This is quite labour-intensive and takes a lot of time."
- Rijk Zwaan -
In 2010, vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan opened a new seed cultivation site in San Jose Iturbide, Mexico. In a modern glass greenhouse of 3.5 hectares, Rijk Zwaan ProMex produces top quality tomato, pepper and cucumber seeds. Optimal use of the available light is the key here. That's why Stephan de Bock, Managing Director at Rijk Zwaan ProMex, chose to buy the Top Cleaner. Fast switchingStephan de Bock: “In 18 departments we grow different kinds of plants throughout the year. That is why we want to be able to switch quickly and efficiently in terms of climate control because every crop has a different lighting requirement. As a result, we often have to wash and chalk the deck over and over. This is quite labour-intensive and takes a lot of time. Therefore, we searched for an opportunity to mechanize this process. Ben Sosef of Royal Brinkman Mexico finally came up with the solution: the Top Cleaner.”
Cleaning and chalking
The Top Cleaner is an automatic greenhouse deck cleaner which cleans the outside of the greenhouse using various brushes. In accordance with the needs of the grower the Top Cleaner can be equipped with a spray bomb set so that the machine can also apply chalk and diffuse coatings on the greenhouse deck. Stephan de Bock: "We chose this option. This not only allows us to clean the greenhouse deck easily, but we can also apply a new layer of chalk quickly and easily. In this way, the Top Cleaner contributes to the production of high quality seed.”