After several years of managing the Agro Park in the Mexican state of Queretaro, Jacques Jajati decided to build and run his own greenhouse operation, growing vine tomatoes. Together with a group of investors he set up a state of the art greenhouse in July 2012, named Sunny Fields. This modern 8 hectare Filclair greenhouse is situated in Agro Park, Queretaro. Agro Park (805 hectares) consists of high tech greenhouse clusters and is geared towards the cultivation and production of flowers and vegetables which are meant to successfully compete with sophisticated markets in, e.g., the USA and Canada.
Challenge
Jacques Jajati relates: “I believe that although high tech solutions may cost more upfront, it is well worth in the long run. It allows us to realize year-round production and to achieve high quality products. Therefore we took the best from everywhere,” in reference to the suppliers he chose for building and running his operation. For example, they opted for a 6 hectare polycarbonate greenhouse with a 6 meter high, double layered insulated ceiling and butterfly ventilation windows. The crops are growing on suspended gutters in coco-peat substrate. The greenhouse also uses a boiler system for heating and is capable of extracting useable CO2 from the exhaust system. “In our decision for automation we took the challenging Mexican weather conditions and water scarcity into account. We came to select a Dutch supplier that was present locally to provide us with good after-sales service.”
Solutions & Results
Sunny Fields adapted a Hoogendoorn iSii process computer to control their greenhouse climate, energy and irrigation. “So far, the decision to use a Hoogendoorn iSii has been a good one,” Jajati reported. “My employees that are in charge of growth management are very pleased with the simple entry level of the iSii interface. All the settings and data are available in their own language. We are also enthusiastic about the service Hoogendoorn gave us, including the implementation and after sales. From the start they have been in contact with us on a regular basis. This makes Hoogendoorn a valuable supplier.” Jajati continued, saying that the help he got from his suppliers has been an important part of his company’s success.