Town & Country

C M Y K Page 1 Country T T own own & MANITOBA Editor: Pat St. Germain pdstgermain@gmail.com Saturday, March 22, 2014 & 22 22 22 22, 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 2014 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 22 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 2014 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 I'm the behind-the- scenes guy who fills up a lot of the garden centres in the Prairies," says manager and owner Kelvin Vanderveen. "People don't know where those plants come from, but most of them come from me. ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ Green Giant: Kelvin Vanderveen (above) says his greenhouses supply garden centres from Calgary to Thunder Bay. Photos by Darcy Finley. ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ BL MING BUSINESS THISGREENHOUSEISAPRAIRIEPERENNIAL ❀ BL ❀ BL ❀ MIN ❀ MIN ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ By Katie Dangerfield For the Free Press I F YOU'VE EVER BOUGHT A FLOWER OR VEGETABLE PLANT FROM A GARDEN CENTRE IN MANITOBA, CHANCES ARE IT CAME FROM VANDERVEEN'S GREENHOUSES. Based in Carman, the 45-year-old company has grown from a small, backyard business into a thriving wholesale operation supplying vend- ors from Calgary to Thunder Bay. "I'm the behind-the-scenes guy who fills up a lot of the garden centres in the Prairies," says manager and owner Kelvin Vanderveen. "People don't know where those plants come from, but most of them come from me." The largest operation of its kind in the Prairie provinces, with 20 acres of greenhouses in the Pembina Valley, Vanderveen's products include wave petunias, tomatoes, peppers, hanging baskets, planter pots and bedding plants. With one million square feet de- voted to bedding and potted plants, the Vanderveens have their hands full. From 6:30 a.m. when his alarm clock sounds, until 11:30 p.m. when he turns off his office laptop, Kelvin is busy making sure his plants are ready for spring. "Even though the plants aren't outside in the garden centre, we're busy filling the greenhouses with heating and rooting material," he says. "If we want to be ready to supply in May to all garden centres, I have to start growing now. Busy season lasts from February until around June." His favourite product is the wave petunia: It grows well in Manitoba, produces beautiful colours and is a great starter plant for any novice flower gardener. Vanderveen's own gardening roots run deep. In the 1960s, Jack Vanderveen started a small greenhouse business in Carman with two employees and only a handful of products. Over time, the business grew, and more hands were needed to run the greenhouse — including Jack's two sons, Kelvin and Les, who co-owned the business until Kelvin bought his brother out three years ago. "Both Les and myself did not even finish high school. At that time it was very hard making ends meet. So we both quit school and worked for our dad. It was a struggle for many years, but we enjoyed working and stayed with it. I've been doing it for about 35 years," Kelvin says. "It was a very small business when I started. We essentially began with zero and built up the company every year. Demands for our plants kept increasing and the business expanded tremendously over the last 25 years." A few years back, the heating bill expanded tremendously as well, so Kelvin decided to switch from natural gas to burning flax shives, which he gets from nearby flax straw processing plant Schweitzer-Mauduit Canada Inc. "I buy the flax shives from the plant and burn it with my specialty biomass boilers," he says. "In the winter I burn up to five semi loads a day and the ashes are used for fertilizers. I've designed the boilers to burn the shives, but this wasn't an easy process — it took a few years to work properly and it was a bit of trial and error to make it all work." Kelvin believes he's the first person in the world to burn flax shives for heat, but the investment has started to pay off, making the business more eco- nomically feasible during cold winters. The company sells to major retailers such as Loblaws, Canadian Tire, Rona and Costco, and in the busy season employs nearly 60 workers, including a third generation of Vanderveens. Kelvin's three sons — Kenton, Richard and Joran — work at the greenhouse, and brother Les still helps to manage the facility. "I enjoy working with my family and working in the greenhouse," Kelvin says. "I like seeing plants grow into a quality product and shipping them all over the Prairies. I also like having happy customers." ❀ INSIDE CUSTOM MANUFACTURER OF CONVEYOR SYSTEMS CONVEY-ALL INDUSTRIES /2 ALTONA'S CONQUEST /4 MORDEN'S PAMPERED PETS /6 MODULAR CONSTRUCTION PET'S BEST FRIEND Ratessubjettochange. www.caisse.biz TFSA • GIC • RRSP BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE BEST RATE $5 ,000 www .ca iss e.biz CON TEST COMPARE TO WIN UP TO 3.25 % 62 months 2.50 % 26 months Town & Country March 22.14 TC_xx_Mar-22-14_CO_01.indd 1 TC_xx_Mar-22-14_CO_01.indd 1 3/18/14 3:08:59 PM 3/18/14 3:08:59 PM

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