Sebastian Kipp – Head of Product Development and Market Support, Klasmann-deilmann
The global demand for fruit and vegetables is increasing rapidly. As an international producer of growing media for the horticulture sector, Klasmann-Deilmann has mapped out a strategy to optimally respond to this trend: “We want to be the front runner in developing advanced growing media solutions and new products, while doing more in terms of sustainability.”
Sebastian Kipp - Head of Product Development and Market Support
Klasmann-Deilmann’s premises in the German village of Geeste – close to the Dutch border – have clearly been designed with an eye for style, resulting in a contemporary and appealing workplace. KD´s headquarter is named “Innovation Center”, while the companies innovations are directly visible when entering the building. During a conversation with Sebastian Kipp, Head of Product Development and Market Support, it soon becomes clear that this is no average German company.
Your company is a leading player in the international substrate industry, providing growing media for vegetables, ornamental plants, shrubs and trees, herbs, edible mushrooms and soft fruits. How would you describe the sector?
“The growing media sector is impacted by a strong change process of reducing the use of peat towards more peat alternatives, while benefiting a lot by an increasing global demand for growing media. Both in combination makes it very attractive to work in this sector. Companies within the growing media business know each other very well and especially in our industry associations we work together to highlight the importance of growing media for global food production.”
How does Klasmann-Deilmann stand out?
“In our industry, we see ourselves as a premium growing media supplier with a reputation for high quality, knowledge, innovation and sustainability. However, we’re aware that we need to continuously develop our products and services in order to serve the fast changing horticultural sector with solutions on multiple levels. We don’t want to be only a substrate producer rather than offering horticultural solutions and new products. Our ambition is to become a solution provider for growers.”
So you have plenty of plans for the future. What are your focus markets?
“Our goal is to increase the food side of our business. Ornamental plants and food currently account for around 50% each, but we see that food is growing faster. Global food demand increases rapidly, particularly in the case of soft fruits like strawberries and blueberries. Moreover, there’s an ongoing shift towards soilless cultivation techniques. Thanks to advanced growing media solutions and modern fertigation technologies, soft fruits can be grown under controlled conditions, even in regions of the world where water is more scarce. As a result, more substrates will be needed also for soft fruit production.”
Sustainability is an issue in the peat industry. How are you addressing that?
“We’ve been investing in new innovations to replace peat for several years now, including wood fibre, coir, green waste compost and other renewable materials. We also put a lot of effort into developing digital tools helping growers to improve sustainability of their operations. Given that transportation of products and raw materials impacts our CO2 footprint a lot, we expand our production sites globally in order to be closer to our customers.”
Klasmann-Deilmann is a German family-owned company with offices, distribution centres and production around the world. How would you describe the corporate culture?
“Our company culture is characterized by an open and familial atmosphere, with a flat hierarchy. We like to work in interdisciplinary and international teams and share success with each other. Every employee is involved into development and strategy of the company. KD is an international company with a thousand employees worldwide, so it’s small enough to build personal relationships with colleagues, which we do across borders. The team is a good mix of young colleagues and experienced ones. Another great thing is that you’re given a lot of trust quickly, and you’re allowed to make mistakes.”
That doesn’t sound like a stereotypical German company.
“That’s because we’re not! We do a lot to keep our trustful relationships and motivation of our employees, as we see it as one of our most important assets. Within KD, there’s plenty of focus on career and personal development, combined with a healthy work-life balance. The company is very flexible in terms of working hours and remote working, which is very handy for instance if you have children. Besides that, you can get discounted gym membership, and the company organizes various events and social activities such as cycling tours and family days.”
You’ve been working here for over six years. What originally made you choose Klasmann-Deilmann?
“Mainly the fact that both the company and the growing media business are changing a lot – in a positive sense. We want to be the front runner in developing advanced growing media solutions and new products, while doing more in terms of sustainability. We strongly believe that a sustainable business approach and investments into innovations will make KD strong for the future and a great place to work. That appealed to me, and I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to join KD.”
Photo: Rutger Bronts
